LogIn"Yes, that's a blasphemy."
Following the removal of the "Hey, Not Too Rough" difficulty setting from Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal, yet another classic skill level from the original Doom games has met its demise, with id Software cutting the "I'm Too Young To Die" from Doom: The Dark Ages, a highly anticipated prequel, set to hit the shelves later this week.
First spotted by Reddit user Superb_Dentist_8323, the OG "I'm Too Young To Die" option – a.k.a. Very Easy – will not be returning in The Dark Ages, having been replaced with a much more neutral and watered-down "Aspiring Slayer."
While many laughed off the change as a total nothingburger, many others lambasted the developers for removing a feature that's been a staple of the series since its inception, describing it as "a blasphemy," "a stupid change that doesn't even match with the rest of the difficulty names," "lame," "pointless," "boring," and "generic." Some have also compared ITYTD to Wolfenstein's version of Very Easy – "Can I play, Daddy?" – arguing that while these may be offensive to some less-skilled players, they've become iconic to their respective series, and removing them would be far more offensive to long-time fans.
Besides drawing attention to the name change of the Very Easy mode, the screenshot shared by Superb_Dentist_8323 has also sparked curiosity about the "Pandemonium" setting. For context, the hardest difficulties in the latest Doom installment were Nightmare and Ultra-Nightmare – identical in difficulty, but the latter meant the game ends if the player dies.
The introduction of what seems to be a potential middle ground between these two has left players guessing about its function, with the prevailing theory being that it will be a rebranded version of Doom Eternal's "Extra Life Mode," where the game ends if all Extra Lives are exhausted, reminiscent of classic arcade games.
One way or another, we'll be able to find out for ourselves when the game launches on May 15, 2025. Learn more about DOOM: The Dark Ages on Steam and don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.