Now Playing: Doom: The Dark Ages – Revelations (DLC)

There’s a certain degree of expectation when it comes to DLC content and to call Revelations a ‘DLC’ feels misleading. This is an old-school style expansion pack – the likes of which we rarely see these days. Hell, (no pun intended!) I put nearly as many hours into Revelations as I did the base game.

Revelations begins where the The Dark Ages concluded, serving not only as an expansion but a de facto sequel. As the Doom Slayer, you’re continuing your one man crusade against the Legions of Hell. Revelations expects you to hit the ground running, throwing you right back into the thick of the action.

If, like me, you haven’t played the base game for while, you might need to spend a little time – maybe even drop the difficulty a notch – getting yourself back up to speed. And I wouldn’t be ashamed about tweaking the difficulty when you start this DLC – it certainly feels like a step up in terms of challenge than the base game.

Revelations opens with a prologue chapter before the Slayer is cast into Purgatory. You retain access to all your weapons and upgrades but you lose access to your shield. In its place, you gain the Chain Spear. Oh boy – I can’t wait to dig into that! To say the Spear may take a little time to acclimatise to is an understatement.

The Dark Ages played a particular way – combat fell into a defined ‘flow’ or ‘groove’ just like Doom 2016 and just like Doom: Eternal. The Chain Spear turns that way and that ‘groove’ entirely upon its head. In a way, it’s like learning the game all over again. And the Spear, initially, feels incredibly weak to the point that you really do miss your shield because the shield provided a ‘safety net’ of sorts.

You can block and parry with the shield, but you can’t block with the Spear and the parry timing doesn’t feel quite so generous. You can dodge with the Spear, but it won’t give you breathing space in the same way a tactical shield charge would. Whilst the shield had offensive capabilities, it still felt like more of a defensive tool – but the Spear is the complete opposite.

The Chain Spear demands and, more importantly – rewards – aggression in a way that's more reminiscent of Doom: Eternal with a focus on frantic mobility and speed. You still feel the weight of the Slayer. Those thundering steps. But now – you’ll believe a Slayer can fly. The Spear does feel, as I said, somewhat weak initially. It’s a weapon that requires several upgrades before you truly unlock its potential.

But fear not – because you also get your shield back early into the campaign and once you do, you’ll be able to seamlessly switch between the shield and the spear on the fly in combat – sometimes when you’re literally flying! This gives you the ability to play Revelations with two very distinct combat flows or – if like me you want to mix things up – switch between those flows mid-combat depending upon the arena or the enemies you’re facing.

This is, without a doubt, tricky initially and does take time to learn. However, the more I upgraded the Spear and understood how to utilise it effectively, the more I went from missing my shield to barely wanting to use it at all. As a big fan of Eternal, the fast paced, aggressive mobility of its combat style made me feel all warm and fuzzy as I dodged, dashed and chain hooked my way from one demon to the next.

The Chain Spear is fantastic – an addition that completely transforms how The Dark Ages feels to play, and when combined tactically with the shield, provides an immensely satisfying, varied and absolutely relentless experience. Just don’t expect to be very good with it right away – it takes time (and upgrades) to master.

In Purgatory, the Slayer is tasked with travelling to three realms to retrieve pieces of a key that will enable them to escape the limbo dimension. Each realm has its own distinct visual theme, puzzles and encounters. With all three keys, you’ll embark upon a final mission in a new area (no spoilers!) culminating in a final boss fight. Or . . . not so final, as it turns out.

Because Revelations doesn’t end there. You then get access to a ‘Master Key’ that unlocks new areas in the previous realms with new encounters, new puzzles and new challenges – including some very enjoyable ‘classic’ mini-levels in the style of the original Doom games. Completing all of this extra content rewards you with yet another key which in turn unlocks another boss fight – and a damn hard one at that! But if you think it’s over – think again! Defeating that boss unlocks four more ‘Master Arenas’ to really test your skill.

The content value here is undeniably fantastic, but more importantly, it never feels like padding. Every new area introduces something worth seeing, fighting or discovering . . . and it’s all so polished, so perfectly paced. This is peak first person shooter. It just doesn’t get much better than this!

If you haven’t played The Dark Ages yet then do so and be sure to pick up this expansion alongside it. It actually went on sale at 50% off five days after I purchased it. Normally, that would irritate me, but Revelations is so damn good that I ain’t even mad. It was well worth every penny.

Given the recent lay-offs at id Software, I don't know what the future holds for the studio or for Doom. It’s a strange position to be in – they’ve just delivered not only an incredible Doom game, but an incredible expansion to go with it. But if this really is the end of an era for id, then what a hell of a way to go out.

9/10