I did something stupid with this review. Though I only had six days to clock, assess, and pen this article, I attempted Doom: The Dark Ages on Ultra-Nightmare difficulty. It’s the one where your save file deletes if you die. And then you cry.
Instead of you hearing my shriek an f-bomb from your house, I somehow managed to pull it off. And that’s not some isolated idiocy—I believe I was the first console player in the world to smash out Ultra-Nightmare on Doom 2016 and then Doom VFR in 2017—two equally stupid feats that are really just a damning testament to my lack of a life.
I mention all this to let you know how intimate a relationship I have with not just this game but with the Doom series entire—OG and reboot era both. I am more than qualified to answer the most important question about Doom: The Dark Ages: If you buy it to rip and tear, how long until it is fun?
If you’re a veteran returning to Dark Ages, first impressions are going to come as a shock, because this sure ain’t no Doom Eternal 2. 8-way dodging? Purged. Mothership mid-mission HUB space? Banished to the ninth circle. Chainsaw somehow present in a sci-fi setting? Gutted out like some glory-killed Heavy. Some of these cuts sting and feel as needless as the artistic rendering of Cacodemon buttholes (circa ‘93); others are smart decisions not worth demonising.
Some of these cuts sting and feel as needless as the artistic rendering of Cacodemon buttholes (circa ‘93).
Firstly, because those mechanics changes make narrative and practical sense here. We’re winding back the clock to a primordial time and place when the Slayer—humanity’s most broodingly bad-arse protector and bunny adorer—was doing things a helluva lot differently. His job description was to literally get medieval on people’s arses.
Secondly, iD Software freely admits to wanting to head off towards something more akin to the slow projectile slaloms of the original sin—classic Doom. And they have a right to do that; Doom’s style has never been static. Taking a shot at some big changes feels like a bold, devil-may-care experiment to me.
I should also note that I usually kick off my reviews with a plot synopsis right about now. However, this seems like a waste of time here, as the story of Dark Ages is thinner than an emaciated imp. It almost feels like somebody hooked a fifteen-year-old up to an IV of red cordial, gave them a copy of The Big Book of Heavy Metal Album Art, and then asked them to come up with something bad arse that steadily escalates into “even more coolerer” stuff.
Is the end result over-the-top and a little meatheaded in spots? Yeah. Is that a problem for me? Nope. I don’t play Doom for Shakespeare. I’m here for a power fantasy turned up to 666.
I don’t play Doom for Shakespeare. I’m here for a power fantasy turned up to 666.
This new adventure focuses on a fresh group of humans and deities of frankly little concern doing what they do in largely predictable ways in order to facilitate more face-melting metal and ultra-violence. If you put a BFG to my head and asked me to name all the major players in it, I probably couldn’t. I cared more about my nameless dragon mount than any character with a speaking role.
Macabre Mechanics Explained
Let’s talk about different mechanics leveraged in cool new ways. As I said earlier, everything has been reconsidered and rejigged rather than evolved onwards from Eternal, but does Dark Ages climb to new heights and deliver the gold? At best, it feels like a competent gem of a side-grade rather than an evolutionary leap; at worst, it might seem a little diluted during the appetiser, but then iD brings delicious new flavours and a fresh-feeling flowstate to boot.
Dark Ages trades Eternal’s aerial pirouettes and grapple hooking for weighty, toe-to-hoof barbarism. Younger Slayer is now a medieval mantank, clunking from foot to foot and ignoring aerial acrobatics for raw, weighty power. Mind you, he still absolutely barrels along, like an M1 Abrams that got a Back to the Future hover conversion.
There’s also a new combat loop that thrives on the dynamic synergy of your new Shield Saw that blocks via L2, can be thrown by L1, and can clear out a wide arc of trash mobs with this cooldown-controlled homing Shield Dash. Also on cooldown (or replenished via a dedicated item) is your devastating melee weapon attack, which eventually comes in one of four flavours.
Honestly, guns can almost become secondary if you know how to balance those super-satisfying aforementioned mechanics and spec them for lower cooldowns. Your shield is what’s key here. It’s part parry solution, part weapon, part personal space enforcer. Striking, blocking, and countering—that constant fencing against a full horde soon became a lovely game of high-speed chess that had me stomping my feet for more.
It’s part parry solution, part weapon, part personal space enforcer.
To maximise that sensation, you’re definitely going to want to engage auto-run (which, in an act of sheer heresy, is defaulted to off), and then Dark Ages just feels phenomenal through a DualSense controller. Truly, it was difficult to mourn Doom Eternal, as I was loving the flowstates I dropped into while threading my way through these literal bullet hells. Dark Ages is streamlined, but it’s satisfying. Unfamiliar, yet kinetic and sublime.
Aside from monsters with unique strategies—like armour that needs to be heated up with repeated hits before being shattered, and big green barriers that need to be parried back to sender—Dark Ages doesn’t throw up too many new tricks. However, Leader enemies are an interesting facet that can put you on the back foot. Basically, a large immune variant of a foe will appear and will stay as untouchable as Elliot Ness until you reduce its confidence (read: shred a small community’s worth of lesser fiends); then, it’s open heart surgery time for a great reward.
As for boomsticks, you have a weapon wheel chopped into 12 guns filled with mostly new stuff, which, realistically, are the usual suspect archetypes sporting interesting new unlockable functions that can be purchased at upgrade shrines with gold collected in the field. There’s a decent perk pool for all of these, and I dig that ticking off skill-based mini-goals can cash you up to buy them.
I also really like that this arsenal is cleverly bundled into six double weapons, which can be quick-switched with a tap of square into what are effectively their sister variants (e.g., shotgun to super shotgun and grenade launcher to rocket launcher). When used in conjunction with the dedicated Swap Back to Previous Weapon button, I went through most of the game keeping my four favourite attitude adjusters at my fingertips. This keeps the game tempo relentless.
I went through most of the game keeping my four favourite attitude adjusters at my fingertips.
That approach works because Dark Ages eases up quite a bit on the whole concept of the Slayer pairing specific monsters with specific guns, like you and I might wines with cheeses. Again, that’s a complexity loss that pained me to begin with, but it’s been sacrificed upon the altar of game speed and mayhem. So, in the long run, it didn’t hurt me plenty at all.
I will, however, round out this section by saying that some features didn’t really need to go the way of the dodo. Player invasions, Master Levels, and Empowered Demons made stronger after player kills—I really hope those get bolted back in, post-launch. Because as I stand on this side of the end credits, there’s not a lot of things to saddle back up for.
Devilishly Handsome Symphony of Destruction
Dark Ages is a feast for the eyes—if your idea of a meal involves crumbling stone, molten lava rivers, and demon entrails (yum!). More than that, it actually blew my mind when I finished the game and then decided to crank the Game Speed up to 150%. Even running at that clip, it’s insanely, buttery-smooth with no discernible frame rate drops.
The idTech engine flexes its muscles elsewhere. Most notably with the occasional gargantuan level design like we’ve not seen before in this series, dynamic lighting that makes every lantern flicker with ominous intent, and textures so crisp you can count the rivets in your gauntlet.
While not always present in the 22 missions on offer, these Mancubus-sized levels let you Choose Your Own Adventure with objectives and side conquests and/or collectibles that aren’t exactly well hidden on your map. Some of these overworlds are intimidatingly sprawling, to the point where they want for custom objective marker functionality on your map screen (but there is none).
It’s nice to get a mix of claustrophobic, linear dungeons, those larger playgrounds, and then, all of a sudden, a visual palate cleanse in the form of a Panzer Dragoon joyflight or a “kaiju punch-out” to mech your day. You never really know what’s coming next, though what arrives always adds to what is an overall epic ride.
these Mancubus-sized levels let you Choose Your Own Adventure with objectives.
Better yet, Dark Ages sounds as good as it looks, mostly. The Slayer’s footfalls thumping out like war drums never get old, your Shield Saw whirrs with mechanical ferocity, and every gat and gib is delivered with punchiness you’ll get a kick out of.
When it comes to the soundtrack, this is only good-to-great in my mind. One has to pity the poor bastard tasked with following Mick Gordon’s masterpiece-level work on the last two Doom games. Adjust any sky-high expectations you may have down accordingly. This is not exceptional and experimental genre fusion that deserve a spot in your Gym Playlist. But it’s still very decent, though.
Possess or Pass?
Now that I’ve laid out the barebones of Dark Ages and fleshed that out with positives and negatives, let’s cut right to the heart of the matter: a verdict. I approached this prequel with an excited, open mind but also with that little nagging question: “Can Dark Ages really evolve the series beyond the approaching-perfection of its predecessors?”
I think what’s here is a medieval mosh pit of mayhem that’ll leave you grinning under your helmet, even if it doesn’t quite outshine its elders. Some of the flesh of Doom 2016 and Eternal has been peeled back sensibly in service of a new way; some chunks of epidermis shouldn’t have been extracted at all.
Personally, I liked it and would recommend a purchase. I recognise that it doesn’t quite topple the high-water mark set by its feature-rich and more complex forebears. However, and paradoxically, there’s an old-school purity to this new niche carved, and I loved the infernal delights of its moment-to-moment massacring. In short, and please excuse the unholy wordplay, it’s a sacrilicious ritual of stripped-down slaughter that’s worthy of possession.
Doom: The Dark Ages was reviewed using code on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S provided by Bethesda.
