[h1] Id Software's "Semi-Open World" DOOM & Terrible Game Design[/h1]
The pioneers of the 90s shooters, Id Software, to Wolfenstein, Doom, Quake, their design philosophies have been studied by multiple developers and studios, while you can't recreate their own perfect formula, it stands throughout time that their earlier titles have been so great in game design, they're still considered to be cult classics, and enjoyable games despite their age and dated gameplay/engines. Rage was a subject of moving away from the design that made them well known. Remember those early concept gameplay and trailers of what seemed to be Doom 4? This is what Rage feels like, genuinely, it feels akin to Doom 3 as well if you look a bit closer [i](maybe it's a bit of a stretch but you decide for yourself[/i]. [b]I tried as much to like the game and move past its flaws, but the expectations from a legendary studio and their iconic "it'll be released when it's ready" phrase proves that this should've been given more time.[/b]
[h2]The Good[/h2]
Id Software KNOWS how to create an atmosphere, all of their classic titles, the Quake games, Doom 3's horror and dreadful atmosphere, everything about the environment compliments the atmosphere yet it's still stuck in a linear fashion they're known for, every texture while not as detailed due to its groundbreaking Megatexturing technology from their proprietary engine, Id Engine 5, which allowed the map itself to essentially be one giant texture rather an individual ones which at the time was impressive and showed more capabilities and promises to how the game was rendered as well, despite having baked lighting, it still has its moments that puts you in “Awe” where it shows you distant landscapes and locations such as the starting location to where you’ve woken up, all the way to the Dead City sewers, or even the so called “Open World” map itself, each level has been handcrafted to look empty and desolated, it’s more like a ‘Mad Max’ meets ‘Borderlands’ in an alternative universe, where there is more mutant variations and that the human enemies are british.
Characters are designed well, the women in the game follow the usual trope of having too much skin in a post-apocalyptic world like they’re femme fetales [i](not complaining)[/i], anyways moving forward, especially individual characters that barely have dialogue, the animations pop out more and are unique as they don’t have an overly smooth/fluid-like style to it, they have a certain ‘bounce’ to them, to when they transition into a different pose or show emotions, and every enemy you kill blends its own ragdoll animations with obvious mocapped ones upon their death, each enemy you kill feels different, similar to Left 4 Dead. A-List celebrities as VA’s in this game, decent sound mixing and tone to the characters they portray. Id Software has created a world that feels believable even though it’s pure fantasy, proves they CAN make good worlds if given enough time, this is where the good part of the game ends.
Oh, and you can skip dialogue if you move far enough from the character that’s speaking to you, especially helpful during long discussions, just WON’T SHUT UP, too much exposition from some of the major characters, the mystery of who you are or how the world reacts feels less rewarding to find out.
There's official modding too but it's now a dead community.
[h3]The Bad[/h3]
The game’s mechanics are half-baked, good in concept, execution planned horribly. If you treat this game like Doom, it won’t treat you the same way, your weapons feel inconsistent with its damage and enemies would sometimes TANK a literal shotgun blast up close and personal, it depends whether its 1-3 shotgun blasts and that feels outrageous, it makes the shotgun less powerful than it seems, aiming is useless so don’t bother, your shots are as accurate as it can get when hipfiring anyways. The vehicular combat feels like a last minute addition, in some sections of the map you’ll find the Authority roaming coming for you, they’re basically useless if you’ve bought tons of ammo, and speaking of ammo, the game is SOMETIMES generous with how much money you’re able to get, I never felt like I ran out of ammo. In the beginning? Absolutely. Later down my gameplay, apparently not anymore as scarcity only exists if you don’t plan on buying ammunition, making the survival aspect of it more dumbed down than it is, you can choose NOT to purchase anything but if a game presents you the option and an alternative to your problem while actively encouraging you to do so then that’s bad game design in general, it should be punishing while also rewarding the player, played a Soulslike game that felt such a slog to continue. It presents you with a ton of options for your arsenal but the ongoing trend of [i]”This weapon feels useless, I won’t need it anymore”[/i] makes gear progression and experimentation disappointing as a whole.
As I’ve stated above, the environment and atmosphere is GREAT, especially with some locations and their design, although this means they're incredibly linear, even the “Open World” itself as well [i](from Point A to B[/i], not often needed to return to any of the locations you’ve visited before unless you spot a door that requires a Lock Grinder [i](you’d usually have enough crafting components for one anyways)[/i]. Crafting is a nifty thing, but I always never utilized it unless it’s told to me or if I found new recipes. There is no map at all because the Open World is simply just a semi-open world with a few hubs that bridge the gap of [i]“Come here to collect quests”[/i] and such.
[h3]The Ugly[/h3]
The core gameplay loop is disappointing, and overall I never felt like I was into it anyways, I pushed a couple of hours to see maybe I could get used to it but apparently not, and the feeling from it just felt off in general. The driving needs some getting used to but it felt like I was controlling an overly sensitive RC car, actually it felt like I was playing Fuel. Some players are able to get used to it either because they’ve played it for a while, are fans of Id Software or just enjoy how the game is presented to them.
You’re also missing out on additional content and settings, such as higher texture resolutions, the game doesn’t create a cache folder for you, you have to MANUALLY create it yourself even if you’ve enabled High Texture Caching. You miss out on the Anarchy Edition DLC, while a bit overpowered, it is additional content not being sold to you at any way because it’s “Pre-Order”, which can easily be unlocked anyways but not shocking honestly to see it not included in its digital retail release [i](perhaps some copies have it, I don’t know)[/i]. There are some technical issues I can’t fix such as missing sounds when walking and running, dialogue and everything else works fine.
The lore never managed to hook me, it felt to me that it was forgettable or included for the sake of padding, they make it so that you are immersed in such a believable world with characters that fit in the place but can’t get a grasp to why the world is so beautiful in the first place and I love to invest my time in stories, whether it’s a game, book, novel, etc, lore is so an art. I don’t think Id Software has had a good story at all, but maybe I’m wrong and eventually if there is a time to revisit this, I would try to with the save I have in 2026.
[h1]Verdict[/h1]
Rage had the potential but it was clear from the beginning the project was doomed, whether the Sequel or the Scorchers DLC is any better is up to you as I’ve bought the base game only back then. I don’t inherently regret my purchase, rather I expected quite a lot especially as this IS an Id Software game, they had John Comrack, and still made a lackluster mediocre experience. I want to like this game but it doesn’t want to like me back whatsoever, there are times where I definitely enjoyed some of the moments. Buy it on sale.
