Doom: The Dark Ages vs High On Life 2
Slower medieval Doom vs flawed comedic shooter — pick your priority: weighty combat or absurdist laughs.
id traded Eternal's mid-air chess match for medieval ground combat and a parry button — heavier, slower, and divisive in ways Eternal wasn't.
Falls short of HoL1's voice-cast peak — HoL2 trades sharper writing for skateboard mechanics, leaving the gunplay split 56/44 among critics.
Steam popularity
Shared scale — sparklines are directly comparable across both games.
Doom: The Dark Ages
Jun 2026 peak CCU 2,083 ↑ 24% MoM
All-time peak 31,401
High On Life 2
Jun 2026 peak CCU 222 ↑ 51% MoM
All-time peak 2,937
Key differences
Combat speed
Doom: The Dark Ages slows to ground-based parry combat, heavier and more deliberate than Eternal's aerial loop.
High On Life 2 offers standard FPS gunplay with skateboarding, but critics rate it 56% recommend for uneven shooting.
Narrative tone
Doom: The Dark Ages leans into minimal storytelling, focusing on medieval hell-war set-piece spectacle.
High On Life 2 attempts satirical comedy but IGN notes a step backward in writing quality from the first game.
Mechanical depth
Doom: The Dark Ages trades Eternal's deep combat loops for heavier, less compound mechanics that divide players.
High On Life 2 adds skateboarding traversal but fails to sharpen gunplay, resulting in a split reception.
Which one is for you?
Pick Doom: The Dark Ages if
- You found Doom Eternal's platforming and ammo juggling exhausting.
- You want a Doom that feels weighty with a parry shield as core.
- You enjoy id's large-scale set-pieces like Atlan mechs.
Pick High On Life 2 if
- You finished High on Life 1 and want more Squanch-style absurdism.
- You enjoy Borderlands-style FPS comedy and tolerate uneven gunplay.
- You're curious about a 12-hour shooter with skateboarding traversal.
Bottom line
Choose Doom: The Dark Ages for its deliberate, parry-heavy combat and spectacular set-pieces; High On Life 2 is only worth it if you loved the first game's humor and don't mind lesser gunplay.