DOOM never fails to impress, and it doesnt look likeDOOM: The Dark Agesis going to buck that trend. Shortly before its gameplay showing in January, we had the chance to get an early look at the first-person shooters Xbox Developer Direct presentation, following which we got to sit in on a Q&A session with the media attended by game director Hugo Martin and executive producer Marty Stratton. From the way DOOM: The Dark Agescombat is evolving and how its placing an added emphasis on exploration, to the new approach it is taking to storytelling and more, the duo spoke about plenty during the session. You can read the full Q&A below."Its campaign only. We made that decision really from the jump. We wanted to basically free ourselves to create things like the Atlan and the dragon experience."DOOM has always been a fusion of sci-fi and trips to hell and back. Why the switch to a medieval setting?Hugo Martin (Game Director): We wanted to do it from the beginning. When we started out rebooting the franchise, theres kind of like a how-to book on creating IPs, sort of established by great brands like Lord of the Rings and directors like George Lucas. Usually, you want to create an interesting world and give that world like a history, and then you want to have heroes with a great and interesting past. And if youre lucky enough and the fans are happy enough with what you did, youll get to make more iterations of your IP- your game, your movie. And youll be fortunate enough to explore some of that past, and thats what weve been able to do. We wanted to make this from the beginning. This is very much like a full realization of the Slayers testament, and were super psyched.I really like the idea of doing sliders for custom difficulty. Can you dive into some aspects you can change and why you decided to go with this approach?Marty Stratton (Executive Producer): Some of the things that you can adjust- you can adjust the game speed, go up or down- and thats a good place to start. The really important thing with the sliders is you can go down or up with them, so you can make the game easier, so to speak, in various different ways, or much harder. Its really fun to actually go the other way and ramp up the speed or tighten the parry window. You can change the damage against you. So quite a few options there.It works for a number of different reasons. It works for approachability of the game, allows players to weve got some pretty hardcore players out there allows them to ramp it up and create these ridiculous experiences for themselves. Even on the accessibility front, it really does make the game more accessible for somebody who maybe has motor difficulties or wants to dial in the experience just for them. Weve actually done a good bit of testing on that front and really got a great response from the accessibility side of things, too.Will DOOM: The Dark Ages feature any multiplayer modes?Stratton: It will not. Its campaign only. We made that decision really from the jump. We wanted to basically free ourselves to create things like the Atlan and the mech experience and the dragon experience. Those are both almost like mini-games within the game. We know our campaigns are to a great extent what people come to the modern DOOM games to play, so we decided to put all of our efforts behind that and really create the biggest and best DOOM game weve ever made.Every sequel is a reaction to the games that came before it, but in what specific ways is the combat in DOOM: The Dark Ages a reaction to the combat in DOOM Eternal?Its a reaction to both [DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal]. We feel really lucky to be able to make the third entry in the DOOM series. Any time you get to make a game three times, theres so many lessons that youve learned and experience that you could bring to the table. So we really do feel like this is the best DOOM game weve ever made together, and thats not just a tagline, we really do feel that. That was our goal, to make the best game weve ever made together.Theres a lot of lessons learned there, like what we learned from DOOM (2016) and watching people play. Thats the best part, you release the game, you get to see the response, and read all the positive comments, but in particular, I like to harp on the negative ones and see what people didnt look. In 2016 it was that it was too repetitive, and in Eternal, some people thought it was too hard. I actually thought it was too complex. I think that the complexity of the control scheme led to unnecessary difficulties. You really want to be fighting the demons, the bad guys, not the controls."The first thing I say about DOOM: The Dark Ages is its a grounded Slayer."The Dev Direct is really a deep dive into the design story of DOOM: The Dark Ages. Everything I say in there is stuff that Ive said to the team throughout development. Those are basically our core pillars of development- going all the way back to our greenlight, that stuff was in there. I like the analogy- an ergonomic control scheme, fewer strings on the guitar, so to speak, is really what the goal was. Something that felt intuitive. So that way when we do pressure the player, theyre not reaching for buttons that arent really familiar with.Certainly a lot was learned there, by watching people and reading their feedback on Doom Eternal and 2016. It almost sounds like I dont like the games that we ship, because youre just tearing apart whatever youve made. But thats our job, you have to be self-critical. You learn more from the negative feedback sometimes that you do the positive stuff, so were always looking at those things. You cant make everybody happy, but you do your best.And I think I spent more time playing classic DOOM on this project than I did on any other one. There was a real deep dive there is at the beginning of every project and just realizing why the original DOOM has stood the test of time is its really one of the accessibly shooters, first-person single-player campaigns, ever made. Thats not to say its easy. I dont think an ergonomic control scheme or intuitive control scheme and a combat system thats streamlined means its easy. But I think it means that its going to be an easy game to get into, but you could still make an experience thats harder to master. Obviously, thats always the goal.And despite it being incredibly accessible, it was still really challenging. As soon as you turn on classic DOOM on harder difficulty, its really tough. So the parts of older DOOM that didnt age well, that arent great for the modern audience in some cases, not for everyone is the getting lost, or some of the signage in the levels- the exit of the level, the texture of the door, is exactly like the rest of the wall so you cant really see it. Things like that, you know. I think theres a lot of modern conveniences that the original DOOM doesnt have around exploring a level.But when it comes to combat, its really incredibly streamlined, and thats why its still fun to this day. The first thing I say about DOOM: The Dark Ages is its a grounded Slayer, more powerful and grounded over the acrobatics of DOOM Eternal- thats what that means. Youll see when you play it that its really a return to form. It feels more like classic DOOM than any game weve made up to this point. Its crazy to think that after ten years, were still learning things from that original game, but its not surprising.Stratton: There wasnt a lot of places to go after DOOM Eternal, you know. You couldnt go higher, couldnt go more vertical, particularly once you got through The Ancient Gods. When we start a new project, its like, whats new, how do we do something that will feel new and make this game stand on its own? And that was really the impetus around a lot of the changes.Martin: Innovation. Totally. Thats how we felt about 2016 [and Eterna]. We couldnt just do the exact same thing again. I know that would please people, but we really see that those games tend to be not as sticky. The opening weeks, everybodys super stoked, but then they just kind of fade away. And people still talk about DOOM Eternal, because we didnt choose to do DOOM (2016) 2.0.And we really mean it when we say we want every game we make to stand on its own. We dont want to repeat ourselves. The core essence of being aggressive is still there, and you know, weaving between projectiles and things- which is actually not really emphasized in 2016 or Eternal, but its a major feature in The Dark Ages, as it was in the original DOOM.So its really about each game standing on its own. We always think like if you were to buy the modern DOOM trilogy, youd really want each game to have its feel. So theres that goal right away, we want to try and make something new."We always think like if you were to buy the modern DOOM trilogy, youd really want each game to have its feel. So theres that goal right away, we want to try and make something new."You mentioned story being taken out of the Codex and into the cutscenes, but will there still be a codex for that nitty gritty lore on top?Martin: Yeah, there will still be a codex, but its less of a requirement this time. Yeah, you know out of the codex and into the cutscenes is really the goal. We think that the story, if executed well, can enhance the experience. It shouldnt be a requirement, and its not a requirement this time around that you read every codex in order to understand whats happening in the story.Can you talk enemy variety? How do they suit and adapt to the more heavy feel of the Slayer?Martin: Um, its their projectiles. I mean, its about their movement. We have, as always, chess pieces. Theres new chess pieces. But the board, I would say, is flatter to create more space for that strafe-to-aim combat loop that we see in classic DOOM. What you realize when you play classic DOOM is that theres a lot of movement required in the game to be successful by the slow-moving projectiles. The slower you make the projectiles move, you create this almost schmup pattern, that three-dimensional schmup pattern that moves through the space, and the player has to weave between that on their way to delivering damage to the demons. Weve balanced the range of the weapons to be medium-to-short range, so that way youre encouraged to take the fight to the enemies, move through that maze of projectiles, just like in classic DOOM, as theyre whizzing by and delivering that killing blow with melee, shield, and guns. So theres a lot thats been balanced out to create this new loop.Is this an open world game, or does it just have open world elements?Stratton: Definitely not an open world game, but it is the most expansive worlds that weve ever built. Kind of kind of goes from typical, what I would say is normal linear DOOM, to these larger sandboxes, where just you know the exploration really opens up. You get multiple objectives that you can kind of complete in any in any order. And I mean, when we say exploration, there is a lot of exploration in this game. And its for power.I mean, I think thats one of the things that is really important. You kind of got a little bit of a taste of it in the Dev Direct. Youre finding resources and other things that allow you to improve yourself. You know, upgrade your guns, upgrade your shield, your melee so it isnt just the secrets or the toys [that youre finding], it really is an exploration for power. And, you know, exploring on the dragon is really fun, Im sure well talk about the dragon a bit, too. But yeah, its our most expansive worlds weve ever made, and when you get out on those battlefields it really does you feel like youre on a battlefield. Its pretty amazing.Martin: I think people will see, too, that the level design has that kind of balanced maze-like feel where Im doubling back to the space that I started in, but this time have the key and it unlocks the space in interesting ways. Theres a lot of that, where were returning to spaces and unlocking them to find progression items. Theres secrets everywhere and, as Marty said, the secrets are really tied to the players progression, so theres a great motivation there. I mean, youre still finding toys and things like that, but really, its a much greater focus on progression items.Weve streamlined the economy and the currencies in the game. I think thats another thing we learned from DOOM Eternal is, like, if you have too many currencies and too many skill trees, you can confuse the player. Weve streamlined it this time. So theres more secrets and the skill trees are less confusing. The currencies, theres fewer of them, and theyre more intuitive. Youre finding gold, and you know what gold does. Gold unlocks things.So yeah, were super proud of the work that the level designers did. We think its some of the best work weve done to date.Stratton: One other thing that I think will impress people, and I dont want to give too much away about this in detail, but the places that this game takes you to, the realms that you explore, theyre truly I mean, it just sounds hyperbolic every time we say its like nothing weve ever done before in a DOOM game. But it really is true. I mean, you go to some places where you just literally stand and you look around and youre like, this is unbelievable.Martin: We didnt do the multiplayer so we could make a better single-player game. Absolutely. So we couldnt do the dragon, the Atlan, and all this other stuff if we were spreading the teams resources around to different game pillars. So were really just focused on single-player, and I think it shows in the experience that we made. I mean, hopefully you saw it in the Dev Direct. Were really proud to share it with everybody. And Ive said this before, thats a deep dive of the game. Its the design story of the game. Were sharing with you design pillars that we use in the office every day. Thats the real story of The Dark Ages. Were not hiding anything. Its all right there."There will still be a codex, but its less of a requirement this time. Out of the codex and into the cutscenes is really the goal."Id love to hear about the decision to make The Dark Ages feel more heavy and have the Slayer be a tank as opposed to Eternal, which was more jump and shoot.Martin: Its just got to be different, thats all. I just dont think as a gamer I want to play the same thing, especially if I loved the game. I want to play a DOOM game, dont change so much that its not a DOOM game. I want to feel strong. Theres got to be a good amount of speed and exploration and power. But Im okay with you changing what that power fantasy is, especially if the change you make brings it back closer to classic DOOM. Im super down for that, and thats that was the goal is. Innovation is the goal, it really is. You know, it has to be. Youre competing for gamers time.Its a fantasy world, but its our fantasy world. So, you know, were in the fantasy genre, medieval, but theres sci-fi elements, and youre the iron tank battling the forces of hell in this medieval war. Thats just something that sounds fun that Id like to do.Stratton: And thematically, and from a story perspective and lore perspective, when we talk about this being a prequel, that is where that was always intended to be. And it fits in that prequel timeline. Back in the time of the Sentinels and that kind of thing. When we started years and years ago and built those Slayer testaments, I mean, its almost predetermined as to where the story could come back to, and it just fits and works so well.Is this the biggest Doom adventure yet? Stratton: Oh yeah, for sure. Yeah, I would say by a lot. Especially when you use the word adventure. I dont think weve ever used the word adventure with DOOM games, you know, but it really is I mean. Its an epic adventure for the Slayer, from the worlds that he ventures to, to piloting an Atlan, to taking control of a mecha-dragon. I mean, its truly like nothing that players have had their hands on before in the game.Youre not shy about recognizing and respecting its history. Was Quake 1s original vision and inspiration here at all in terms of the setting and melee focus at all? Martin: Not really. The inspiration was really the Batman comic, Batman Year 1, when we wrote the fiction for DOOM 2016. Im a pretty good comic nerd. There are bigger comic book nerds than me, but Im a fan. And I just loved [the idea of] Slayer Batman Year 1. And as we wrote the fiction for the Slayer and his history and the Slayers testament stuff, that what we called it internally. There was that we were calling it Slayer: Year One. Thats what it was actually called for a while, which I still think is a really cool name. I was worried that Slayer: Year One would be too much of a deep cut. But The Dark Ages is very cool.In particular, the main inspiration was- once we knew wanted to make a medieval theme, then a critical piece of reference was Leonidas coming out of the Hot Gates in 300. That one great scene, its a panning shot, theyre tracking with Leonidas as he takes out a bunch of guys first with a shield, then with a Spartan sword. Sorry, first with a spear, then with a Spartan sword and shield, and the time dilates in and out. That was a big focus for us. I actually made a meme for the team where we swapped out the Spartan sword for a shotgun. I think weve done a good job of capturing, credit to the team. They did an awesome job.Another big source of inspiration there was, again, not so much Quake, but Frank Millers Dark Knight. He drew an older, more powerful, thicker Batman, and I just loved that comic so much. I always thought it would be so interesting to just like, instead of a Ferrari, youd be more of a monster truck. I think I said that, and thats what we were working on. And weve been talking about that for years and years. Thats not just lip service, I mean it. We were really just inspired by those great moments in that comic, like when he fought that guy in that mud pit. He was just this huge old guy. and his Batmobile is enormous, and everything is just heavy about him. It just seemed like a really interesting way to take the Slayer.How does the game dictate which of the three melee weapons to use when the button is pressed?Martin: Well, you pre-select the melee weapon. There are three of them in the game, as I said. So not unlike swapping out equipment items in Eternal, youll swap to whichever. You can, through the dossier, pick whatever melee weapon you would like to use. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, and you progress throughout the level unlocking each one. You dont start with all three. You start with the gauntlet, sort of the quicker, lighter one of the group, which I still love to use even in the endgame. And yeah, you charge them up, not unlike how you did blood punches in DOOM Eternal.Theres a good mix of 2016 in Eternal and The Dark Ages for sure. The gameplay in Eternal is really dynamic, and theres lots of elements of that in The Dark Ages."Its an epic adventure for the Slayer, from the worlds that he ventures to, to piloting an Atlan, to taking control of a mecha-dragon."When it comes to exploring huge, open areas, are you able to call in your Atlan or dragon, or are those only accessible at predetermined points? Stratton: Yeah, theyre predetermined points. Theres entire levels youll play as an Atlan. The dragon is a little bit different. Youre kind of piloting your dragon through environments with a good bit of exploration and places you can go. One of the examples that you see in the in the Dev Direct, there is that kind of floating city. In that level you pilot your dragon, and you kind of take out these hellgallions, take out their defenses and then you land on them and board them. You kind of fight your way through them and take them out from the inside and then jump off, and theres places in the city you can land.And you can do all of those in different orders. Theres massive titans that you can take out that are invading forces for the city. So yeah, its slightly different, but theres big levels as the Allen and then big levels that you play as the dragon, kind of on and off. But theyre these pace breakers that are nicely thrown throughout the game. Theyre not as quite as deep as the Slayer, but theyre fast-to-fun, and you get to do them a few times. They have their own bosses, they have their own kind of AI that you fight against, their own gameplay loops. But theyre very quick to learn and fun to master, for sure.Are you doing another hub, like the ship in Eternal, or is this back to the more linear structure of 2016? Martin: Its the linear structure of 2016. The Dark Ages is a combination of Eternal and 2016, with more of the visual style of 2016, more cinematic and gritty, with elements of the gameplay of Eternal, but streamlined. There was a tremendous effort for an ergonomic control scheme thats intuitive to use. That was a really big focus for us.How much side content is there, and how long do you expect a thorough playthrough to be?Martin: Its really long. To be honest, we dont want to be too long. Thats important, you dont want a single level to overstay its welcome. I watch Brad Shoemaker play [DOO Eternal: The Ancient Gods]. And that just got- you know, it was fun, it was like an exercise in design for us, but it just got long. I mean, it was like an hour and 45 minutes. And I dont think that thats right for a DOOM level. I think that maybe for DLC its okay.I think the sweet spot is just right at about an hour, no more. And so honestly, right now, what were doing is just refining that, making sure that we stay within that space. But it is a massive campaign for sure.Stratton: Yeah. I mean, it kind of depends on how youre playing, like any game. But its the biggest game, the biggest campaign weve ever made by a good bit. And if youre exploring those levels, theres just tons of opportunity.Martin: I think its going to be mostly about secret hunting. If you explore all the secrets and youre a completionist, I mean youre certainly going to make for a much larger experience for yourself.What other stories, games, books, movies, TV, etc. do you consume to help inspire you to create such expansive worlds, stories, characters, weaponry, etc? Martin: Oh, too much, according to my family. But thats the job, right? Its a tough job, but somebodys gotta do it. [Laughs.] Its fun. So its Batman and just a little bit of everything. 300 was definitely a big influence, and- Yeah, just so many things. Myths and legends and other games, our game. I cant say it enough, just playing the original DOOM For anybody who wants to be a developer or a game director, I tell the parents of my sons friends who say they want to get into dev, Im like, that whole thing that you cant play too many video games, thats not really true. You kind of have to to get into this business.I think the key is you just dont want to be derivative. We really worked hard to make the combat, the exploration, and the story feel unique, though I think people will like it.Stratton: This is this is an entirely invented world. There is no googling, hey, I want to see a mecha-dragon. Its having the vision and then communicating that vision to people who are just masters of the iterative process that gets you to something as cool as the dragon or the Atlan or whatever, that are all influenced by similar things. Hugo has these great conversations with everybody and people bring new ideas to the table, so its a pleasure to work with these people, many of them for many years. We get in sync on these kinds of things. Because everybodys just thinking of it the same way.What types of challenges will be present for the player who wants to master the gameplay loop over hundreds of hours?Martin: The difficulty sliders, for sure. Youll have your nightmare, youll have your ultra nightmare, youll have your extra life mode, which is going to be a little bit different this time, a little bit harder. And then on top of that, you can do an ultra nightmare run with the difficulty sliders dialed up, which is going to be fairly insane. I would say its going to be nuts.Stratton: Yeah, including game speed. Weve never given access to these kinds of things before. You can dial up the game speed, you can dial up the difficulty, like shortening the parry windows. Parrying is a big deal in The Dark Ages. And then changing the damage done to you, you can really create a very, very challenging experience.It was mentioned that the game is a great entry point. What do you think will appeal most to new players? Martin: The combat. I think the three pillars, theyre designed for everyone. I dont think that you can separate the two audiences. I think youre going to get in trouble doing that. Any good experience I feel is kind of designed that way. You know, like its not like the iPhone is made for just some people. Or Elden Ring or The Matrix, you know. So I think people will hopefully enjoy the combat, the exploration, and the story. You have to consider that this may be peoples first DOOM game.I dont think it would be weird to play the series in chronological order if you wanted to- The Dark Ages, 2016, and Eternal. That might actually be really interesting to play it that way, you know. So yeah, I think hopefully the core pillars of the game will appeal to both audiences.The final boss of Eternal was one of the more heavily criticized parts of the game. What did you learn from that criticism when designing bosses for The Dark Ages?Martin: It sounds like a bit of a skill issue in this question. Im just saying. You could just get good. [Laughs.]You know, [we learned] how far to push the player, and you cant have a complex control scheme. Thats really what it comes down to. When you streamline your control scheme, then youre actually able to ask more of the player. I think when you look at the footage of the extended gameplay, I think thats played on Hurt Me Plenty, just to keep the token system in a manageable state, because the higher up difficulties you get, the enemies become more active. So for the sake of demos, were usually playing on Hurt Me Plenty or even lower.But when theyre throwing these attacks at you, each attack is a decision that you have to make, each projectile, you have to consider where this enemy is and all that. You can press the player more when you have a really ergonomic control scheme. So I think its just making sure that in those moments with those boss fights that the buttons that they press arent too far out of reach. Theyre familiar to them and the gameplay loop and that the core kit of the Slayer feels intuitive.Did Finishing Move compose all the music that we heard today?Stratton: Yeah, they did the trailer that we released last year at E3 I still call it E3 and everybody loved that. And yeah, they did all the music in the Dev Direct. Just awesome. Theyre great team of just awesome dudes and great musicians. We cant wait for people to get their hands on this.What are you most excited for people to see about this iteration of DOOM? Stratton: I think how much its DOOM, but different, I guess. We have been doing DOOM for 11 years. We release a game and then we start working on the DLC and then we start working on the next game. We never get that gap of time where you just kind of stop thinking about it.I know theres a lot of people out there that have continually played and played- and thank you. I do see the numbers and our fans are amazing. But I think theres also a lot of people who play the game, and then play other games consume other media. And Im excited for people to come back for this and for new people to get to experience it, and just see just how epic it is, how expansive it is. And get their hands on this new gameplay loop, because it is just so DOOM, but its different.That is the exciting part of making something like this. You spend a lot of time working as a team and bringing it all together in this last push that were on. And then you get to put it in peoples hands, and know that theyre experiencing it fresh. And I think that freshness is always super awesome.Martin: For me, its the shield. I think, as you said, you can name so many things, like the Atlan and the skull crusher. I think the shield, its a critical part of the loop, as you saw in the Dev Direct. And it does so many things. And I think its really, really cool. And it looks awesome."This isnt designed to be the end of something."Whats the name of that gun that grinds up skulls and shoots skull fragments? And whose idea was that? Martin: Its called the Skull Crusher. Can you believe it? I dont know who- I want to say it was Peter Sokol, and my apologies if thats incorrect. But as Marty said, its really a team effort. So many people come together to make this stuff. I believe Ethan Evans made the design of the Skull Crusher. And from a concept perspective, I think it was Peters initial idea. We all contributed to the idea and its what makes it really great.I think we get to work on this super silly stuff. And its always about a ridiculous premise with sincere execution. And nothing really represents that more than the Skull Crusher.Stratton: I think it would be an awesome presentation, something I want to do it where we just take one thing in the game and we say, whos responsible for that? Something like the Skull Crusher or a character that people love. And if like we actually detailed out everybody that touched it over the course of development, you would have a tree of like 30 people. Its unbelievable, because there isnt a single thing that goes into making a video game where its just like, oh, I can take credit for this. Its such a team effort and thats a perfect example.With DOOM: The Dark Ages being the third DOOM game youve worked on, are you considering it as a conclusion to the trilogy or more of its own thing?Martin: I dont think I can answer that. Were not supposed to talk about other ideas. So, uh I like making DOOM games, so I wouldnt have a problem doing this for a long time. Id say this isnt designed to be the end of something, you know? But genuinely, sincerely, were really just focused on this right now. But no, it doesnt have, like, a period on the end of the sentence.Can you explain how the new Glory Kill system works?Martin: Its really fluid. That was one of the big pillars. We wanted you to feel like a weapon of mass destruction, and when you look at that footage of Leonidas coming out of the Hot Gates, its like hes moving from enemy to enemy and taking them out in one fluid motion. With the synced Glory Kills, player control is taken away and it kind of breaks the flow of the experience. Its not an issue in Eternal and 2016, because youre not really taking out three, four, five, six enemies at a time. But in this game you are.So it was really important that youre able to finish off an enemy, to go to transition from melee strikes to guns to shield play to an execution or a glory kill, and not feel like theres a break in the action, where youre losing precious seconds to that animation, and then over there is another AI thats staggered thats waiting to be executed, but you dont get to him in time because you had to wait for the animation to finish.By leaning on the physics part of our engine, the incredible team that we have, the animators, did just a tremendous job. Youre given control. Theres no control taken away. You can stagger and this happens a lot, it was in the Dev Direct where theres like four, five, six enemies that are highlighted, ready to be taken out, and you could just take them out in one run. And again, really just feel like Leonidas in the Hot Gates, which is fantastic.As much as we love Glory Kills, I just didnt know that another game featuring Glory Kills was going to pull people in.Stratton: And the fluidity, it plays into everything youre doing, whether its your weapons or the way you use your shield. We havent even talked about it, but the shield has a capability to move you very fast through the world, where you kind of lock onto an enemy with the left trigger and then you hit the right trigger and it pulls you through the world long distances, and you smash into the character. Then you have the melee combos, you stagger them, then you go straight into a Glory Kill, or youre using your gun in the course of that. The momentum that you feel would be completely broken by a synced Glory Kill, so its amazing how cohesive it all is.Martin: It also always looks different because its using physics. It really helps address the issue of repetition, which is a challenge with the Glory Kill system in previous games. You start seeing the same animations again and again, even as great as they are. And so this time, it always feels a little different depending on what angle youre hitting the enemy from. It was a little scary to pull away from synced animations, but once we did, we had a play test, and everybody was like, oh, this is so good.Can we expect the same amount of collectibles and secrets hidden around the maps in traditional Doom fashion? Martin: More. And the collectibles will have more meaning because theyre tied more to the progression of your power. So a little bit less in the way of records and toys. Youll still have toys, but much more in the way of like gold and critical resources to level up your strength throughout the game."Theres a bigger story. Its one of the pillars of the game."Will there be an enemy much like the Marauder, who will push the player to really learn the combat loop in this one?Martin: Yeah, several. Those are the black belts on the battlefields, and we certainly have them. They will test your skill and knowledge and your ability with the parry system. So there are enemies who throw combos of attacks, and you dont just parry one melee strike, you have to parry several in a row in order to falter them. The falter system definitely plays a role in this game, where parrying will falter enemies, so youll want to do that to help create openings for yourself.Will the game have more cutscenes than previous games? Martin: Yeah, theres a bigger story. Its one of the pillars of the game. And its fluid, its connected to the experience. It helps explain the what, the where, and the why. What are you doing? Why are you going there? Who are you going to fight and stuff? And we build up this fantastic villain for you to face off with. Its cool, its a good story. Its a good compliment to the other pillars of the game.