Doom: The Dark Ages Review

Doom has long been a cornerstone of the first-person shooter genre, and its resurgence with the 2016 reboot cemented its status as an industry icon. This revival introduced fast-paced gameplay that ushered in a new era for the franchise. It was followed by Doom Eternal, which highlighted mobility and introduced an arsenal of weapons never before seen in the series. Now, id Software is pushing the boundaries even further with Doom: The Dark Ages.

Serving as a prequel to the 2016 installment, Doom: The Dark Ages follows the Slayer’s battle against the forces of Hell. It is set against a striking medieval setting that effortlessly complements the franchise’s brutal and visceral aesthetic, offering a highly cinematic and story-focused experience. While it retains the frenetic, demon-slaying action that fans expect, its approach to gameplay mechanics fundamentally differs from its predecessor, delivering an experience that is fresh, likely contentious, yet unmistakably Doom.

Green for Gore

Doom: The Dark Ages takes a complete 180 from Doom Eternal, opting instead for a more deliberate and grounded combat experience reminiscent of the original Doom. Players will engage in intense firefights, weaving through enemy attacks, strafing strategically, and unleashing hell upon their foes.

The Slayer is formidable, with heavy footsteps rumbling across the battlefield and powerful jumps obliterating nearby enemies. Armed with his signature shotgun and a newly introduced shield that reinforces the medieval theme, he is more imposing than ever—an agile yet tank-like force of that wreaks havoc on his unfortunate victims.

At the core of Doom: The Dark Ages is the Shield Saw, the key piece around which the game’s combat system works. While players retain access to a diverse array of weapons, including new tools of destruction that are introduced later, the Shield Saw is arguably the main event of this installment.

Beyond its defensive capabilities, the Shield Saw enables the Slayer to close the distance between himself and distant enemies, functioning like a grappling hook. While some enemies will try to keep you at bay, the shield encourages a more direct approach, rather than relying solely on evasive maneuvers.

Additionally, the shield introduces a parry system, where incoming projectiles marked in green can be deflected. Doom: The Dark Ages employs a color-coded system: red/orange signals danger, while green indicates an opportunity to parry. This draws inspiration from titles like Sekiro, emphasizing precise timing and a premium on defensive positioning.

Fortunately, the game’s parry window is forgiving on standard difficulty but requires more precision as players progress to higher difficulty levels. Doom: The Dark Ages also offers extensive customization, allowing players to tailor their experience by tweaking individual options, which is a great touch that can invite newcomers to the franchise.

The Slayer can also throw his shield, much like Captain America, to strike distant enemies. The game even introduces a mechanic to take advantage of this, as armored foes nearly impervious to damage will be susceptible to getting their armor coverings “heated” and can be detonated with a shield throw. While higher-tier demons won’t be eliminated in a single hit, they will be temporarily stunned, allowing them to deal with surrounding enemies. Throwing the shield will also aid in solving the various puzzles and traversing normally unreachable places.

All of these uses of the Shield make the Slayer an extremely capable killing machine, setting up the enemies for a generic finisher, or Glory Kills (or lack thereof). Eliminating the hordes of hell has never felt so satisfying, and killing them will award players with health and armor to keep the cycle of destruction going.

Speaking of Glory Kills, Melee combat also plays a crucial role in Doom: The Dark Ages, with new melee weapons that allow players to initiate, chain, or finish attacks. This integration of melee strikes alongside shield and ranged weaponry creates a dynamic and brutal combat rhythm that could see players shoot less and throw hands a bit more this time.

This combat loop is at the beating heart of Doom: The Dark Ages, with the Shield Saw as the engine that keeps it running at a furious pace. Even without the acrobatics of Doom Eternal, this latest entry still promotes run and gun gameplay, emphasizing strafing and parrying over other mechanics. It’s not a given that players who enjoyed Eternal will enjoy The Dark Ages due to how different it is, but it doesn’t diminish the fact that this latest entry is Doom through and through.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Doom: The Dark Ages is filled with spectacle at every turn, delivering a visually stunning experience while maintaining a steady 60fps. Even during the busiest sequences with bullets flying all over and being surrounded by demons, gameplay is buttery smooth as it further feeds into its frenetic pace.

The level design follows a largely linear structure, guiding players through a straightforward path with hidden passageways that offer valuable rewards. Simple puzzles are integrated seamlessly, requiring players to determine how to proceed rather than keep them guessing what to do. The game’s map also reveals these secret areas by default, making full exploration accessible and rewarding.

Certain levels deviate from this linear approach, introducing open-world-inspired sections where players must complete multiple objectives, such as closing portals and eliminating enemies, before progressing. These tasks remain focused on combat, ensuring players spend more time slaying demons than figuring out the complex environments.

Players face a vast and diverse roster of enemies throughout the game, including familiar foes like Cyberdemons and new threats such as the Agadon Hunter, reminiscent of Doom Eternal’s Marauder. The design of these enemies looks amazing. With the bump up in graphical fidelity, every encounter and skirmish with these demons is something to look forward to, thanks to the variety of attacks they throw at you, sometimes filling the screen with a hail of orange and green bullets to either dodge or parry back.

The Slayer wields a powerful arsenal to counter these threats, featuring classic weapons like the shotgun and super shotgun, alongside new additions. One of them is the Reaver Chainshot, a devastating launcher that basically fires a spiked morning star. Another weapon grinds skulls and fires bone fragments, effortlessly mowing down groups of enemies. Complementing these ranged weapons are new melee options, including a flail, reinforcing the game’s medieval theme.

Weapon upgrades play a crucial role, significantly enhancing the Slayer’s firepower. Some of these upgrades will ignite armor faster, while others will allow you to turn your shotgun into a burst-fire weapon. Weapon upgrades are not cheap, and you’ll need the various resources like gold and rubies scattered throughout each level, incentivizing exploration.

Upgrades come in pairs, and players can choose one benefit over another. Choosing a buff that provides your shotgun with bullets that burn the enemies won’t get you the other buff, and vice versa. This allows players some semblance of builds that can affect gameplay somewhat, but it doesn’t dramatically alter how the demons are dealt with.

Unlike previous entries, Doom: The Dark Ages balances weapon usage, ensuring that the Shield Saw and melee weapons play an equally vital role. Some encounters emphasize parrying and melee combat, forcing players into close-quarters battles rather than relying solely on ranged attacks. Certain demons relentlessly pursue the Slayer, demanding precise parries and melee strikes, creating a dynamic and engaging combat rhythm.

Mechs and Dragons

No discussion of Doom: The Dark Ages would be complete without mentioning its two colossal war machines—the Atlan Mech and the dragon, Serrat. They are not freely accessible; instead, they are reserved for specific levels, offering a shift in gameplay. While both provide a refreshing change of pace, the Atlan Mech delivers a more satisfying experience.

Piloting the Atlan Mech is straightforward, as players primarily punch through enemies while occasionally dodging attacks using the same parry system. Though the mechanics can become repetitive, the sheer spectacle of controlling a Pacific Rim-style mech is exhilarating, with each strike against towering foes landing with thunderous force.

Conversely, Serrat the Dragon introduces aerial combat, allowing players to soar through levels, hunt down demonic aircraft, and destroy flying fortresses. While the concept is exciting, the execution is somewhat flawed. Combat while on the Dragon relies on lock-on mechanics, forcing players into a stationary targeting mode as they dodge incoming fire rather than allowing the players to fly through the air freely.

Offering a nice mix of pace is the fact that players can dismount from the Dragon in specific areas of the level and continue clearing the forces of hell on foot. Those expecting free-form aerial dogfights may find this aspect limiting, but the thought of riding a mechanical dragon remains a standout moment.

Doom: The Dark Ages’ rocking soundtrack complements the high-octane action, which perfectly amplifies the visceral combat experience. Every weapon strike and melee hit resonates with impact, while exploding demons scatter across the battlefield in a bloody spectacle.

True to id Software’s track record, Doom: The Dark Ages ran flawlessly, without noticeable bugs during our playthrough and hardly any load times between levels. Everything worked as intended, and we didn’t experience falling out of levels or strange clipping instances, which are widespread in these types of games. DualSense haptics and adaptive triggers on the PS5 are present, but nothing to write home about. There is slight resistance when pulling the trigger, but it doesn’t elevate the experience in the grand scheme of things.

Verdict: Buy it!

Doom: The Dark Ages is another standout release from id Software. It showcases a bold departure from Doom Eternal’s gameplay foundations while innovating on the tried-and-true FPS formula. While the action remains fast-paced and visceral, this installment embraces a more grounded approach, delivering impactful and satisfying combat with every strike, but may take getting used to coming from previous installments.

The game successfully introduces new gameplay elements, such as the Atlan Mech and Serrat the Dragon. However, their sequences feel somewhat underdeveloped, serving as brief intermissions rather than fully fleshed-out mechanics. While they provide a welcome change of pace, it would have been nice to see them expanded upon to offer deeper engagement.

Doom: The Dark Ages is a hellishly spectacular experience and possibly worthy of Game of the Year nods. While Doom Eternal purists may find its more deliberate combat style a departure from previous entries, the game stands confidently alongside its predecessors as a must-play for longtime fans and newcomers alike.

*Doom: The Dark Ages was reviewed on a PS5 with a review code provided by the publisher.