Bethesda had announced Slay Your Way streams starting this week for DOOM: The Dark Ages, with many creators engaging in the hellish, demon-slaying action. Depending on whom you ask, the very idea is exciting, with reactions all around.
In the positive camp, people expected to scream for the sheer joy of it. Lunar Holo-Wolf said, “Hell yeah, can’t wait!” and even asked whether they could get involved in the streams. Lyne Taperz was all praise for Bethesda, characterizing the VTuber inclusion as a “fresh choice for newcomers.” While Juan Pablo Ramat considered the channel amazing. Simple, straight to the point, with no comments added.
Fuck me, there goes all the hate! User MoistGoiter really went scorched-earth on this one: “You couldn’t pay me to watch any of these creatures.” Ouch! Another, Rai__YT, regretted not buying the game after seeing Bethesda sponsor “cringetubers and Emiru.” And then, Jazzy The Horse began trashing Twitch itself, dismissing it as “all transvestites and soft pron.” Yikes!
There was every reason to have a soundtrack discussion next. Callum Lyal, a freelance artist, discussed the game’s OST and reckoned it very flat, lacking the glory kills from the old DOOM games. Darth_Corvus101, alias Lee, insulted it, saying it was “the most generic rock music you can listen to” before abandoning the pretense of civility and labeling it “dogwater.” Looks like not everybody is a fan.
Well, not all the hate is for the game. Some people really hate Twitch as a platform. Ben_Spencer_ labeled it “kinda gay,” wondering why anyone would watch streams instead of edited videos. Meanwhile, XerceousAkalae seemed to think legit DOOM creators were being sidelined in favor of randos with no ties to any community. Fair? Maybe. Salty? Definitely.
And then, of course, there’s the random detours. Like the dude who posted a picture of a “Doom bike” for no contextual reason. Or the fella demanding that Bethesda fix Starfield before hyping DOOM. And then Luiz Arthur went full-rage in Portuguese, calling them “fudida” (which, uh, translates into something terribly unkind).
But yeah, all the chaos had some gems, like Bone_DaddyXx coming in defense of Distortion 2 as a “multiple world record speedrun holder” when there was an attempt to tear down the streamer lineup, and SpadesOfDOOM conjuring the absurdity of walking out to witness… well, whatever wild DOOM-related thing they are referencing.
So, what about the verdict? DOOM: The Dark Ages has unwittingly become a source of controversy, Bethesda be damned! The streams are on, the creators are playing, and the fans… well, they’re either excited, mad, or here for the drama.
The Slay Your Way streams will be on several creator channels, for those who wish to witness the events. Otherwise, there remains the next DOOM, or just the old DOOM: the demon-slaying train seems not stopping anytime soon.
Oh, and here’s another plus: no one is debating whether Joel is alive or dead this time around. Small victories.
