Maybe Doom: The Dark Ages didn't need mechs and dragons after all

Doom: The Dark Ages gets a lot right with its gameplay. The shield parrying is a welcome addition to the FPS space, and each of its weapons -- a personal favorite being the evergreen shotgun -- is both useful and fun. The Dark Ages is extremely my thing, too. What's not working for me, however, are the few sections where the Doom Slayer pilots a giant mech or rides on the back of a dragon-like creature with mechanical, neon wings. Though these sections hit and miss for different reasons, they both don't seem to fit well alongside the rest of the game's parry-focused or FPS gameplay.