Doom is back again. And it’s back with style. The latest title from id Software, Doom: The Dark Ages, is a prequel that puts you in the more badass than ever armor of the Doom Slayer during some of the events described in great detail through codex entries in Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal. More specifically, you play as the Doom Slayer when his reputation as a living legend and the bane of all hellspawn was just kicking off. This was a title I was particularly looking forward to this year. All the pre-release footage made this game look like a surefire hit, but what really solidified things for me was when game director Hugo Martin said this about the game:
“In Doom Eternal, you felt like a fighter jet. In Doom: The Dark Ages, you’ll be an iron tank.”
Beforehand, I was already greatly anticipating this game, but once I heard that line, I went from going, “Oh, hell yeah,” to “Yeah, let’s f@&k some sh*t up!”. As much as I grew to enjoy the extremely fast-paced ferocity of Doom Eternal and zipping around the different enemies I encountered as I blasted them into oblivion, I was ready to focus less on acrobatics and constant weapon-switching in favor of just plowing through the hordes of Hell like a bulldozer. As far as I’m concerned, Doom: The Dark Ages delivered on that power fantasy in spades. Full disclosure, I’m still a “Hurt Me Plenty” (normal mode) player with the Doom games, and while easier than Doom Eternal, this game still provided a fair challenge that didn’t make me want to bash my head into the wall.
The story follows the Doom Slayer when he was allied with the Night Sentinels of Argent D’Nur and aided them against the never-ending demonic forces of Hell, who are led by Prince Ahzrak. There’s an even stronger focus on narrative in this game compared to the previous ones, with more cinematic cutscenes sprinkled into each of the game’s 22 missions. But truth be told, the narrative is this game’s weakest aspect. It’s not terrible by any means, and it certainly has its badass moments, but there aren’t any huge reveals or moments of worthwhile character building. The background lore revealed through codex entries, at least, is just as detailed and informative in this game as it was in the previous titles. And the cutscenes and gameplay look and run great, to boot.
Along with the previously mentioned codex entries, other collectibles like weapon skins and action figures of the different characters and enemies you encounter are scattered around the maps, and just as in the previous games, finding all of them can sometimes be challenging because of how well hidden some of them are. Some collectibles can also be earned by completing set challenges in each mission, such as destroying a certain number of enemies simultaneously or parrying attacks from specific enemies a certain number of times. The last bit of collectibles are gold, rubies, and wraithstones, which are used to upgrade your weapons and fit them with special perks (more on that later).
For those who like to find all collectibles and complete missions at 100%, most of these collectibles won’t be too challenging to find, though missing a couple here and there is still possible, particularly in a few specific missions that go out of their way to hide them. And unfortunately, going back to find collectibles isn’t as simple as it was in the previous games, particularly in Doom Eternal, which let you use a teleportation function to return to specific points in each level so you can grab any stray collectibles you missed. In this game, once you pass certain “points of no return” marked on the map, you can’t go back to previous areas to get any missing collectibles. Reloading previous checkpoints can help, but in most cases, you’ll likely have to restart or replay a mission to get those missing collectibles. I found this to be quite irritating at times.
On the plus side, the missions are a blast, so replaying a few of them isn’t all that terrible. The majority of the time, you’ll be charging through each mission blasting away at demons like in any other Doom game. All manner of demonic monstrosities are thrown at you, including redesigned versions of our favorites: Imps, Pinkies, Hell Knights, Mancubi, Cyberdemons, etc. Some newer ones include spellcasting Acolytes, aggressive and cybernetically enhanced Komodos, and armored Battle Knights, as well as mutated versions of previous enemies, namely Cacodemon Hybrids and Cosmic Barons. Many of the maps in this game are more open compared to previous entries, often giving you two or three objectives simultaneously, like taking out large enemy units, and you get to choose which ones to tackle first. The more open environments also make it easier to flank enemies and bypass certain targets over others. At times, special marked enemies will provide buffs to other surrounding enemies, so targeting them first is normally the best strategy. Other boss versions of enemies will be protected by a shield that can only be removed by killing the underlings that support it, and once you kill the boss enemies, you are awarded with an upgrade to your health, armor, or ammo capacity.
One issue I had with the previous Doom titles was how easy it was to run out of ammo, and while refilling ammo could be accomplished easily enough by taking out an enemy with the chainsaw, it was slightly annoying having to resort to the chainsaw so frequently. In Doom: The Dark Ages at least, I found myself running out of ammo far less often, and that’s thanks to the biggest change in gameplay: the melee. The Doom Slayer gains access to three different melee weapons as the story progresses: the Power Gauntlet, Flail, and Dreadmace. Each weapon offers their own advantages and disadvantages, such as electrifying enemies, setting them on fire, or shattering enemy armor, and some are slower than others but do more damage. Hitting enemies with melee weapons has them drop ammo, and given how often you’ll be smacking enemies around with melee weapons, running out of ammo is normally not going to be a concern. Classic weapons like the Combat Shotgun and Super Shotgun return, and we get a couple new versions of the Plasma Rifle, along with the Skullcrusher, which uses the crushed remnants of skulls as ammo, the Shredder and Impaler guns, which fire metal stakes at differing levels of speed and force, the Chainshot, which fires a highly damaging ball and chain at enemies, and the BFC (Ballistic Force Crossbow), the possibly more powerful medieval crossbow version of the BFG 9000.
The biggest game-changer for Doom: The Dark Ages is the Shield Saw. While strafing and dodging was the name of the game in previous titles, the Shield Saw is the Doom Slayer’s main tool for surviving the hordes of demons that aim to end him in this game. Strafe running is still an option in this game, but many demons will be able to shoot you with pinpoint accuracy, and the only way to avoid damage is to block with the Shield Saw (if you can’t take cover behind a wall or something). The Shield Saw can also be thrown to outright kill weaker demons and stun larger ones, and it can help destroy enemy armor after it’s been weakened by your guns. You can also perform a shield charge and plow into enemies from halfway across the battlefield, lending you a surprising amount of mobility. Most importantly, parrying “Hell Surge” attacks will allow you to stun enemies, and combined with one of several shield runes, you can decimate surrounding enemies with lightning strikes, a cascade of energy blades, and other useful effects. And when battling specific enemies, the Shield Saw synergizes well with certain guns. When battling a Cyberdemon, for example, getting in close to parry its melee attacks will make it vulnerable to counterattacks from either the Chainshot, which will be fully charged after a shield parry, or the Super Shotgun, which destroys enemies at close range.
Now we come to the two new mission types in Doom: The Dark Ages. First are the missions where the Doom Slayer (finally) pilots an Atlan mech and pummels the crap out of Titan demons Pacific Rim-style, and second are the missions where he rides on his personal cybernetic dragon mount, Serrat, and takes to the skies to shoot down demon ships. Both these new mission types sound AWESOME on paper. In reality, they’re…still pretty fun, but I’m rather easy to please. The mech missions are more exciting and still make the Doom Slayer feel like a powerhouse, especially during those moments where his mech picks up giant versions of mini-guns and shotguns and uses them to mow down TONS of Titans back-to-back. The dragon-riding missions are admittedly less exciting since you’ll mainly be disabling large demon ships by shooting their turrets, which will allow the Doom Slayer to dismount Serrat and board the ships so he can fully destroy them from within. When shooting the turrets on Serrat, you automatically lock on to them and have to avoid their blasts by dodging to the sides or up and down as you hover overhead, then rinse and repeat. These missions were a nice change of pace, but they would have been far more engaging if they played like Ace Combat or Star Fox, where you are capable of taking part in aerial dogfights.
I can’t say this game is perfect. But it doesn’t have to be. The main reason people play Doom games is to feel like an unbreakable, incorruptible, unyielding badass who slays every demon he encounters without mercy to the tune of kickass metal music. Doom: The Dark Ages delivers on that series tradition, and it innovates and changes up the formula just enough so that it doesn’t feel like too much of the same. This could very well be my favorite Doom game, and it could be yours too.
Developer: id Software
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release Date: 15th May 2025
