Doom The Dark Ages has finally arrived, and id Software is doing more to bring back that classic Doom vibe than fiddling with the freneticism that made its predecessor, Doom Eternal, unpalatable for many of the series’ most fervent fans. Tucked away in the rip-tearing shooter’s settings is a very special toggle that will give both player and Slayer some serious flashbacks.
Echoing my sentiment in my Doom The Dark Ages review, the iconic FPS series is typically at its best when id lets its creativity flow, and the studio loves to hide a treat or two in its options tabs. Eternal’s HUD skins, for example, were a zesty delight that added a pop of personality to your playthrough and were, for me at least, a crucial vibe setter. Keen to delve into Doom The Dark Ages’ menus as soon as I got access, I wasn’t disappointed by what I came face to pixelated face with.
You see, there is a setting in The Dark Ages that lets you switch up the Slayer’s HUD face avatar to the classic 90s visage. Sure, the default hologram projection of the rebooted Doomguy is pretty(?) enough to look at. But the right way to view one of gaming’s most iconic mugs is, I’m sure you’ll agree, the sprite way.
Whether you’ve snuck in early after coughing up the cash for the premium edition – hopefully having saved a few bucks via our Doom The Dark Ages deal post – or are eagerly waiting for the big Doom The Dark Ages Game Pass drop, you can set things right as soon as you reach the main menu. Simply head into the settings, shuffle along to the UI tab, and shift the ‘Face Avatar Style’ to ‘Classic’ in the HUD section. Congrats, you now have a vintage Icon of Him to admire.
But this isn’t the only setting worth tinkering with when you first get into Doom The Dark Ages. Elsewhere in the UI section, you can tweak how imposing threat detection is, which can either clear away visual clutter or better help you keep track of the action, depending on what you set it to.
Then there’s auto-sprint in the Game tab, which is self-explanatory, but is surprisingly turned off by default. Doom has always been about staying on the move, even though the Slayer is more like a marauding fortress than a subsonic missile in The Dark Ages, so this is well worth flicking on.
Depending on how godly your interpretation of the Slayer is, you can even turn off his pain grunts. That’s right, you can make him immune to suffering – I certainly wish I had that option haha… ha.
Anyway, as a final tip, if you want to tailor one of the best new PC game experiences as granularly as possible, load into one of the Doom The Dark Ages missions and crack open the Difficulty tab. From there, you can alter the game speed, modify your damage, and much more. This is especially handy for hoovering up missed collectibles in subsequent runs, as you can run and gun through missions infinitely faster.
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