During a recent hands-on demo of Doom: The Dark Ages, I found myself unexpectedly reminded of Halo 3. As I mounted a cyborg dragon and unleashed a barrage of machinegun fire at a demonic battle barge, the parallels became clear. After taking out the vessel's defensive turrets, I landed atop the ship, stormed its lower decks, and turned its crew into a bloody mess. Bursting through the hull and leaping back onto my dragon, I continued my crusade against Hell's machines.

Fans of Bungie's iconic Xbox 360 shooter will recognize the similarity to Master Chief's assault on the Covenant's scarab tanks. While the helicopter-like Hornet has been replaced by a holographic-winged dragon and the giant laser-firing mech by an occult flying boat, the essence of an aerial assault transitioning into a devastating boarding action remains. Surprisingly, this wasn't the only moment that echoed Halo. Although The Dark Ages' combat core is unmistakably Doom, its campaign design feels reminiscent of late-2000s shooters, with elaborate cutscenes and a push for gameplay novelty.

Over two and a half hours, I played four levels of Doom: The Dark Ages. The first level, the campaign's opener, mirrored the tightly paced, meticulously designed levels of Doom (2016) and its sequel. The subsequent levels introduced piloting a colossal mech, flying the aforementioned dragon, and exploring a wide-open battlefield filled with secrets and powerful minibosses. This departure from Doom's focus on mechanical purity feels more akin to Halo, Call of Duty, and even old James Bond games like Nightfire, known for their scripted setpieces and novel mechanics.

This direction for Doom is intriguing, especially since the series once moved away from such elements. The cancelled Doom 4 was set to resemble Call of Duty with its modern military aesthetic, increased emphasis on characters, cinematic storytelling, and scripted events. After years of development, id Software scrapped these ideas in favor of the more focused Doom (2016). Yet, here they are in The Dark Ages, set for release in 2025.

The campaign's rapid pace is interspersed with new gameplay ideas reminiscent of Call of Duty's most notable novelties. My demo began with a long, elaborate cutscene reintroducing the realm of Argent D'Nur, the opulent Maykrs, and the Night Sentinels—the knightly brothers-in-arms of the Doom Slayer. The Slayer is depicted as a terrifying legend, a nuclear-level threat on two legs. While familiar to Doom enthusiasts, the deeply cinematic approach feels new and reminiscent of Halo. This extends to the levels, where NPC Night Sentinels are scattered throughout, similar to UNSC Marines. Though they don't fight alongside you, their presence creates a sense of being part of a larger force, much like Master Chief.

The introductory cutscene includes significant character work, and it remains to be seen if this is something Doom truly needs. I'm a fan of the prior games' minimalistic storytelling approach, and I'd prefer if The Dark Ages continued to tell the Slayer's tale through environmental design and codex entries, with cinematics reserved for major reveals, as in Eternal. However, the cutscenes in The Dark Ages serve their purpose well, setting up missions without interrupting Doom's intense flow.

Other interruptions come in the form of new gameplay segments. After the opening mission, which blends shotgun slaughter with parrying Hell Knights using the Slayer's new shield, I found myself in the cockpit of a Pacific Rim-like Atlan mech, wrestling demonic kaiju. Then, I was soaring on the cybernetic dragon, taking down battle barges and gun emplacements. These scripted levels introduce significant shifts in gameplay, echoing Call of Duty's novelties like Modern Warfare's AC-130 gunship sequence or Infinite Warfare's dogfighting missions. The Atlan feels slow and heavy, with a skyscraper-high perspective that makes Hell's armies resemble Warhammer miniatures. The dragon, by contrast, is fast and agile, offering a different experience with a wide-angle third-person camera that feels distinct from classic Doom.

Many of the best FPS campaigns thrive on this variety. Half-Life 2 and Titanfall 2 set the gold standard, while Halo's enduring appeal partly lies in its mix of vehicular and on-foot sequences. However, I'm uncertain if this will work for Doom. Like Eternal, The Dark Ages is a complex shooter that demands constant attention, weaving together shots, shield tosses, parries, and brutal melee combos. In contrast, the mech and dragon sequences feel less engaging, almost like on-rails experiences with combat engagements resembling QTEs.

In Call of Duty, switching to a tank or a circling gunship works because the mechanical complexity isn't far removed from on-foot missions. But in The Dark Ages, there's a clear divide between gameplay styles, akin to a middle school guitar student playing alongside Eddie Van Halen. While Doom's core combat will always be the star, during mech battles, I found myself longing to return to the ground and use a double-barreled shotgun.

My final hour of play introduced "Siege," a level that refocuses on id's exceptional gunplay but expands Doom's typically claustrophobic levels into a vast open battlefield. The goal—to destroy five Gore Portals—echoes Call of Duty's multi-objective missions, yet it reminded me of Halo with its grand scale versus the tighter routes of earlier levels. This level forces you to rethink the effective range of your weapons, use charge attacks to cover vast distances, and employ the shield to deflect artillery from oversized tank cannons.

Expanding Doom's playspace can lead to unfocused moments, as I found myself backtracking through empty pathways, which disrupts the pace. I'd like to see The Dark Ages incorporate the dragon more like Halo's Banshee, allowing flight across the battlefield and divebombing into miniboss battles to maintain momentum and integrate the dragon more seamlessly.

Despite these concerns, I'm fascinated by the revival and reinterpretation of ideas once deemed unsuitable for the series. The cancelled Doom 4 was said to have many scripted set pieces and an obligatory vehicle scene, similar to what we see in the Atlan and dragon sections. Marty Stratton from id Software confirmed in a 2016 Noclip interview that Doom 4 was closer to Call of Duty, with more cinematic elements, story, and characters. It's intriguing to see these elements return in The Dark Ages, with its boarding action setpieces, lush cinematics, expanded cast, and significant lore reveals.

The core of The Dark Ages remains its on-foot, gun-in-hand combat, which continues to be the heart of the experience. While I'm skeptical about some of the new gameplay ideas, I'm also excited to see how id Software integrates them into the proven modern Doom formula. As I eagerly await the full release on May 15th, I'm curious to see if Doom: The Dark Ages will be a well-crafted late-2000s FPS campaign or a disjointed one.