Overview
- The upcoming title, DOOM: The Dark Ages, will focus exclusively on a single-player campaign, enhancing the overall experience for players.
- Previous multiplayer features in DOOM 2016 were overshadowed by its successful campaign, prompting the developers to omit multiplayer in the new installment.
- This choice allows the developers to dedicate more resources towards creating a rich, narrative-driven campaign in DOOM: The Dark Ages.
The announcement that DOOM: The Dark Ages will be exclusively a single-player experience has been met with understanding from fans. Creative Director Hugo Martin has articulated the team’s vision for a game that prioritizes storytelling and immersive gameplay without the distractions of multiplayer features. The move reflects a trend, as many recent additions to the DOOM franchise have downplayed multiplayer engagement due to its limited appeal.
Since the franchise’s resurgence with DOOM 2016, it has set new standards for modern single-player first-person shooter (FPS) campaigns, despite its multiplayer aspects being largely ignored. Although DOOM 2016 significantly advanced the single-player format, its downloadable content, which focused on multiplayer additions, failed to capture the same excitement. The game offered variations like team deathmatches and classic modes, which were underappreciated compared to the gripping campaign. In contrast, DOOM Eternal attempted a fresh take through its Battlemode, showcasing one player as the Slayer battling against opponents controlling demons, yet this too could not match the campaign’s overwhelming success.
Despite some enjoyment found in DOOM Eternal’s Battlemode, it too struggled to capture player interest like the main campaign did. During a recent interview with GamesRadar+, Martin elaborated on the rationale behind excluding multiplayer from DOOM: The Dark Ages. From the project’s inception, the choice was clear: “We made the decision early to just focus all of our energy on trying to make the best campaign we could,”Martin explained.
Focusing on Campaign Brilliance at the Expense of Multiplayer
Martin further elaborated that during the development of DOOM Eternal, numerous ideas—including mechs—were layout but ultimately set aside due to time and resource constraints imposed by the competitive multiplayer mode. Excitingly, trailers for DOOM: The Dark Ages indicate that players will finally have the chance to pilot mechs in gameplay, a feature that previously existed only as wrecks in DOOM Eternal.
Adding multiplayer features to Triple-A titles presents significant challenges in today’s gaming landscape, as Martin points out, emphasizing that “you can’t just do a little multiplayer.”Instead, multiplayer modes tend to be designed as part of a live-service model, a direction the DOOM: The Dark Ages team consciously aimed to steer clear of. This decision resonates positively with enthusiasts of DOOM’s traditional high-octane single-player gameplay, as DOOM: The Dark Ages is set to deliver a substantial and narratively enriching campaign that embodies the essence of what makes DOOM extraordinary.