Over the last few years, the first-person shooter genre has lost a lot of its luster. Legacy franchises like Halo or Call of Duty have either failed to capture the magic of its predecessors or were unable to evolve their respective series in a meaningful way. However, one major FPS franchise has been consistently immune from this issue—DOOM, and now its latest entry, DOOM: The Dark Ages.
Since the first game released in 1993, DOOM has constantly evolved the genre, and in some cases, even the gaming medium itself. From the very first entry in the series all the way to DOOM: Eternal in 2020, id Software has always raised the bar with each new entry and never failed to push DOOM in new and interesting directions. Yet, in spite of id’s track record, it was hard not to be a bit concerned when DOOM: The Dark Ages was announced.
After the fast-paced combat of Eternal, the idea of switching to a medieval setting with a far-slower combat loop seemed like a clear downgrade. How could the franchise possibly evolve any further if The Dark Ages took place centuries before the events of DOOM (2016)? Thankfully, with DOOM: The Dark Ages, id Software has delivered arguably its best work yet and have once again evolved the genre in ways that no one could have possibly expected.
The Unholy Crusades
Despite any preconceived notions of the franchise, recent DOOM games have managed to tell a compelling story through cutscenes and Codex entries. The Codex in particular does a great job of expanding the world of DOOM and detailing its many characters, demons, locations, and lore. The main issue with this format, however, was how many major story beats were communicated exclusively through the Codex.
If you wanted to learn the backstory of certain protagonists, you would have to collect a specific codex page in the world to find out more. Otherwise, you were left clueless. Thankfully, this problem has been rectified in The Dark Ages, and id Software have managed to craft the franchise’s most interesting narrative to date.
Throughout both DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal, the codex entries alluded to an era known as “The Unholy Crusades.” This period was where the titular Doom Slayer was a powerful initiate in the Night Sentinels, an army of warriors that have conquered the stars in the name of the mysterious Maykrs.
This period in time is where the Slayer earned his name and established his presence as the Hellwalker, a creature capable of making even demons quiver in fear. The Dark Ages takes place right in the midst of this era, when the Slayer is still a collared super weapon of the Maykrs. When he is once again needed by the Sentinels and the Maykrs, he is deployed into battle to do what he does best: rip and tear, until it is done.
Most of the story for DOOM: The Dark Ages is told entirely through cutscenes, rather than the traditional codex format. Further, instead of all cutscenes taking place through a first-person perspective, they instead feel like something out of a film, complete with a wider aspect ratio. There are still some cutscenes that are in first-person, but the new style really helps to flesh out the story even more. This change is even more necessary due to how in-depth the narrative is.
For the first time, the Slayer has a cast of multiple human supporting characters. We get to see the Night Sentinels at their prime, led by King Novic and his commanders, Valen and Thira. There are also more focus on the Maykrs as we finally begin to understand their goals and their interest in the Doom Slayer. Plus, the antagonists are better than ever with Prince Ahzrak and his mysterious companion, simply known as The Witch, being great foils to the Slayer that push the character to his limits.
To those who have played the previous entries, seeing certain characters and certain names return will come as a pleasant surprise. Yet even if this is your first entry into the DOOM franchise, the story does a great job on introducing you to its history and lore, regardless if you choose to read the codex or if you instead want to focus on the cutscenes.
Realistically though, you aren’t going to play a DOOM game for a narrative filled with deep lore, intriguing characters, and numerous twists and turns. That should be the cherry on top for what is supposed to be a non-stop action-packed heavy metal album brought to life. Thankfully, DOOM: The Dark Ages succeeds on that front too. From the very game’s first moments, you are thrown into these unholy crusades as the unstoppable force against an army of demons.
It’s the ultimate power fantasy that only builds as the Doom Slayer is constantly doing some of the coolest things I’ve ever seen in a video game. Throughout the game, he tears apart demons in new and creative ways, whether its through his arsenal of deadly weapons, his towering Atlan (which is essentially a giant mech), and his own personal cybernetic dragon. I was constantly at the edge of my seat with a huge grin on my face as I got to see the Slayer in his full glory after two games worth of buildup.
Initially, I was admittedly quite skeptical at the prospect of a prequel, especially one that takes place in medieval times. The prequel trend has grown slightly tiresome as of late, and it was hard to imagine how a franchise so linked to the prospect of futuristic weapons and locations would handle taking place in “the dark ages.”
That said, I was pleasantly surprised to see how much of a natural fit this setting was for the franchise. The darker atmosphere and abundance of castles and dragons meshes well with the Night Sentinels’ futuristic medieval aesthetic. Even the weapons had a slightly medieval flare, with the super shotgun now appearing like a flintlock pistol.
The presentation is further boosted by the visuals. I played DOOM: The Dark Ages on PlayStation 5 and every level looked absolutely staggering. The medieval setting oozes personality and the different locations you explore are filled with charm and intrigue. You explore other worlds introduced in previous games like Argent D’Nur and of course, you will frequently be navigating the dark kingdoms of Hell itself.
However, there are also several new locations unlike anything we’ve seen in the series before. One of my personal favorites was the Cosmic Realm, a world that feels like something right out of the writings of H.P. Lovecraft and Robert Chambers. It is an eldritch horror nightmare come to life and it has some of the best designs in the series. It’s a testament to how good the level designs are that, once I completed my playthrough, I spent almost half an hour just scrolling through the artbook to admire it even more.
Overall, DOOM: The Dark Ages‘ presentation is fantastic. The story is intriguing yet still filled with exciting moments that make it feel like the perfect summer blockbuster, and the medieval setting is a great fit for the series that I’d love to see explored even further. In the grand scheme of things however, these elements are irrelevant.
As mentioned before, a good story and visuals are only secondary to what people really play DOOM for: bloody, fun, and challenging action. That concept can’t just apply to the narrative, it must also be on display in the gameplay.
So how does DOOM: The Dark Ages change up the formula? While the new style may seem like a drastic and unnecessary change for fans of the previous games, I think the new gameplay is incredible in its own right and was some of the most fun I’ve had with the DOOM franchise to date.
Ripping and Tearing Has Never Felt So Good With DOOM: The Dark Ages
When id Software first announced DOOM: The Dark Ages in 2024, something immediately caught my eye. While Eternal emphasized fast-paced gameplay, gameplay for The Dark Ages was slower and more methodical. In interviews, director Hugo Martin elaborated on the style more, saying that in DOOM (2016), you needed to run in gun. In DOOM Eternal, the focus was jump and shoot. Whereas in DOOM: The Dark Ages, the mission statement is simple: “stand and fight.”
From a distance, this may seem like a downgrade, especially with the removal of other features from recent entries such as glory kills. In execution, the formula is a far more grounded return to form for the series that I had an absolute blast with from beginning to end.
In DOOM Eternal, the Doom Slayer felt like a high-speed jet. You were constantly maneuvering around the battlefield, never standing still, switching weapons as quickly as humanly possible to break down an enemy’s weakness. Numerous opponents like the Marauder would test your reflexes and more importantly, your patience.
When I replayed Eternal a few weeks ago, while I still enjoyed the game, I found it a hard style to return to. It’s not a game you where you can relax, rather, it’s one that constantly asks you for your utmost concentration. The overabundance of platforming segments certainly didn’t help. The Dark Ages is the exact opposite of this, as the Slayer instead feels like a tank.
Even though The Dark Ages is a prequel, the Slayer feels stronger than ever before. When he walks, the ground shakes, and when he jumps from a great distance, it causes a small earthquake. The sheer power of the Slayer is exemplified in the gunplay, where he has several new instruments of destruction to make ripping and tearing that much more satisfying.
A lot of classic weapons, like the plasma gun, shotgun, super shotgun, and rocket launcher have received new flair and functionality to add to the medieval theme. For instance, the plasma gun, now titled the Accelerator, features technology that blends the Maykr’s science with the engineering prowess of the Night Sentinels, creating a rapid-fire weapon that is both very similar and very different to the version of the weapon that more people are familiar with.
There are several new weapons as well, such as the Shredder, Pulverizer, and Chainshot. These are perfect additions to the DOOM sandbox, due to both its designs and utility in combat. My favorite example is the Pulverizer, a weapon that grinds an infinite supply of skulls and fires the resulting shrapnel in a wide spread. Not only was it a great weapon for killing demons in a wider area, but it’s also an ingenious concept that I’m surprised no one thought of earlier.
The Dark Ages also has an increased focus on melee combat. Instead of having a chainsaw and “glory punch,” the Slayer can utilize a Shield Saw and numerous medieval weapons. The new melee weapons, such as the mace or the flail, provide the same utility as the chainsaw and allow you to quickly replenish ammo in the midst of combat. Each weapon has its own strengths and weaknesses. For instance, the flail has a very quick cooldown and three charges, whereas the mace has only one charge and a slow cooldown, but it deals more damage and provides more ammo.
On the other hand, the Shield Saw operates unlike anything I’ve ever seen in a FPS. As if you’re Captain America, you can throw the shield across the battlefield, instantly killing fodder demons within moments. When attacking bigger demons, it holds them in place for a few moments, allowing you to deal more damage. Projectiles now move far slower, similarly to the original DOOM in 1993, which allows you to parry damage and quickly counter enemies, rather than needing to fly around the map in order to escape a demon’s attack.
The increased melee focus for The Dark Ages took some getting used to, especially with how the gunplay feels far slower than its predecessors. The removal of the traditional glory kill animations may also feel like a downgrade. Once I got used to it though, it immediately clicked. The slower pace feels far more natural with this style, and the more streamlined glory kills helps make combat feel that much more smoother. The new mechanics feel like a great new evolution for not just the series, but the broader FPS genre. I would love to see more shooters have a broader emphasis on melee as well as gunplay.
I also really enjoyed how the game emphasized player choice. While I do wish weapons like the Chainshot were more powerful and had more use, I far preferred being able to choose which weapons I liked and suited the situation, instead of needing to constantly change weapons on the fly to adapt to an enemy’s weakness. Plus, if you really don’t like the slower combat, you can adjust the game speed in a slider in the settings. I personally never used this option, but I appreciated that it was there at all.
Something else I really liked was the new “weapon types” feature. Rather than weapons having specific modes that you can switch on and off, such as being able to choose if you wanted a shotgun to have a grenade launcher or shoot at a faster rate-of-fire, now there are two weapons available per weapon type.
Take the aforementioned Pulverizer weapon, for instance. It, as well as the Ravager weapon, both fall under the “Skull Grinder” weapon type. With just a push of a button, you can quickly swap between both weapons under one type. Unlike the Pulverizer, the Ravager has a faster rate-of-fire at the cost of a smaller spread of bullets. Both feel satisfying and both have their uses in each combat scenario. This applies to the rest of the weapons throughout the game, and with the added upgrades, you’ll find yourself having a blast experimenting with all the different options that the game offers you.
On the subject of gameplay evolutions, the most exciting addition featured in the trailers was the reveal of the new dragon and mech segments. In select moments throughout the game, you will be able to take control of the Slayer’s personal mech in action sequences that feel right out of the Pacific Rim film (which is fitting since director Hugo Martin was a concept artist for the movie). These levels continue the theme of granting players the ultimate power fantasy.
You tower over regular demons and their tanks as you stand toe to toe against monsters the size of skyscrapers. Every melee attack feels devastating as you feel its power and weight through the controller’s vibrations. The mech levels aren’t very difficult or had any particular depth or strategy to them, but they never felt like they needed to have either. Fans have been waiting for the opportunity to pilot a mech since it was teased in DOOM Eternal and the payoff of being able to use giant-sized guns against gargantuan demons was more than worth the wait.
The levels where you pilot the Doom Slayer’s dragon, named Serrat, essentially function like dogfights. You fly around a massive battlefield, using Serrat’s guns and quick maneuverability to destroy Hell’s fleet of ships. Surprisingly, the flying controls don’t feel as clunky as you might expect. Every action feels quick and responsive and the blend between dogfights and landing on the ground to take the fight directly to the demons of Hell’s fleet is perfectly thrilling.
It would’ve been so easy to make these gameplay segments a one-off, but each is given the right amount of complexity and depth. At no point do these levels get tiring or repetitive, even if you’re functionally doing the same thing over and over again. Every level is fun to explore, every fight is satisfying, and the segments where you control a mech or a dragon are a great change of pace from the “stand and fight” style.
The biggest change that took some getting used to is the more open level design. Instead of linear levels, DOOM: The Dark Ages has several completely open areas, where there are plenty of secrets and objectives you can tackle in any order. On the one hand, it is sometimes frustrating having to backtrack to areas repeatedly in order to find a secret, only to realize that you missed something really obvious.
On the other, like with the countless other new mechanics, its a change that feels right for the series. DOOM has always emphasized exploration, ever since the very first game. In fact, all the way back in that first game, there were never any objective markers or linear exploration.
In countless interviews, developers noted how the game was meant to evoke the style of classic DOOM, and you can feel that in every level. It feels like the perfect blend between the style that John Romero, John Carmack, Tom Hall, and countless others created, and the style that id Software is known for with the recent DOOM games.
Unfortunately, despite everything that DOOM: The Dark Ages does right, there is one key issue that is worth noting. While it’s not related to gameplay, it’s something that is extremely key to the DOOM experience: its soundtrack. Many are likely familiar with Bobby Prince’s original soundtrack from 1993 and tracks such as the iconic E1M1, which would go on to become the theme for the franchise.
Others will have undoubtedly heard the fantastic score created by Mick Gordon for DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal. Songs such as Rip and Tear, BFG Division, and The Only Thing They Fear Is You are frequently in the conversation for some of the best tracks in gaming history. It’s hard to ignore Gordon’s phenomenal work.
Finishing Move, a duo known for their work on Halo and Borderlands provide the soundtrack for The Dark Ages. I personally really liked the soundtrack and the more traditional metal focus. Certain compositions, particularly in the Cosmic Realm and the main theme in both the early game and main menu, are the exact kind of beats you’d want and hope for in a DOOM game. Although it doesn’t come close to matching the soundtracks of DOOM and DOOM Eternal, the work they’ve done with the soundtrack of The Dark Ages is commendable.
The biggest problem with The Dark Ages isn’t its soundtrack, but rather the sound mixing. The base audio settings have the sound effects set way too high and the ones that play through the controller are borderline bass boosted. More importantly, the soundtrack is far too quiet, even when raised all the way to its maximum level.
As a result, the soundtrack isn’t as memorable as previous entries. It is a massive shame for a series where the score is such an important piece of its identity. Perhaps it will become more popular once the full soundtrack releases. Unfortunately, even if it did everything right, The Dark Ages’ score might live in the shadow of the soundtracks that came before it.
Regardless of this issue, DOOM: The Dark Ages is still a fantastic time from beginning to end. The gameplay mechanics exceed expectations and evolve the series in the genre and new and exciting ways. It’s an exciting new beginning for the franchise and I can only hope that id Software will continue to continue the momentum it has been building since 2016.
A New Beginning With DOOM: The Dark Ages
DOOM is a series that is key to the legacy of not just first-person shooters, but the gaming industry as a whole. It is one of many franchises that can be credited with bringing the medium into the mainstream, for better and for worse. The series has caused so much discourse about the nature of video games and its place in society. However, it has also brought so much joy and fun to people around the world, myself included.
While my entry into the series was DOOM (2016), I’ve fallen in love with id’s work ever since and have enjoyed every moment of both it and DOOM Eternal. In fact, DOOM Eternal is still one of my favorite games ever and one that I hold in high regard. As a result, DOOM: The Dark Ages had a lot to do to impress me, especially with how stripped back the gameplay was compared to Eternal.
Yes, the game is by no means perfect. Despite Finishing Move’s great work on the soundtrack, the disappointing sound mixing means that the score is severely lacking in comparison to other entries in the series. However, everything else exceeded my wildest expectations and I am pleased to say I was not disappointed with the final result.
The narrative is a fantastic summer blockbuster that balances intense action and a medieval aesthetic with deep lore and a thrillingly dark atmosphere. The gameplay is fantastic and filled with some great new innovations for the genre, such as the mech and dragon segments, the emphasis on melee combat, and the massive explorable levels.
The slower, more methodical gameplay and grounded style may be unappealing after the high-speed action of DOOM Eternal, but personally, it was a fantastic change of pace and one that I can’t wait to explore further. This doesn’t just feel like it’s moving the franchise forward, but also moving the entire genre in a new direction.
That, to me, is the most important takeaway of DOOM: The Dark Ages. While I was initially skeptical at the prospect of a prequel, I now desperately want to see more from the “Unholy Crusades” era. There is so much potential with this setting and I imagine that the developers have so much more planned, especially with a campaign DLC being in development. Either way, id Software have fully won me over with their trilogy thus far and no matter where the DOOM franchise goes next, I will be there on day one no matter what.
Disclaimer: Bethesda provided Final Weapon with a PlayStation 5 copy of DOOM: The Dark Ages for review purposes.
