DOOM: The Dark Ages Review

When you think about first-person shooters, you can’t help but think of DOOM. Rightfully so, given that it stands as one of the grandaddies of the FPS genre – helping lay the foundation work for a plethora of shooty-bang-bang’s that now dominate the gaming space. This history means that as a series, it has an oddly heavy burden to bear, as expectations remain sky high for it to prove just why it should be considered still relevant, rather than a relic.

So, if DOOM (2016) re-established that shooting demons never goes out of style, and DOOM Eternal asked questions regarding “can a brick shit-house demon slayer also be a gymnast”, it means that a new incarnation had plenty of room to explore new concepts. So we find ourselves in the rain-slicked era of DOOM: The Dark Ages, asking a new question for a new era of DOOM gamers:

What if a shield was also a circular saw?

I’ma get medieval on your arse

Set in the past, The Dark Ages gets to ask some fun questions in regards to how conflict within the DOOM-iverse came to be so hellish. It’s not quite an origin story, as there is no birth of the Slayer – but that doesn’t stop the writers from fleshing things out. Christ, you basically see some of your favourite Demons in their awkward teenage years – right before you cave their face-hole in with a cannonball on a chain.

The tale plays out as a pulpy super-fantastical version of the Man Vs. Heaven Vs. Hell malarky that defines modern Doom games, albeit with a hearty twist of medieval mayhem. It feels like something from a 90s era comic book, with a smarmy villain accompanied by his mysterious advisor in a bid for ancient power that will be familiar to all. The magnificent difference is that you are not really a hero in this tale, with major story beats happening well offscreen to whatever the Slayer might be up to – instead, you are personified more as an unstoppable force of nature that occasionally gets a nudge in the right direction by the bystanders. Are you helping? Sure, but it’s mostly a convenient side quest to your main priority: bathing the cosmos in demonic blood.

The forces of hell need a better dental plan

One could posit that the story is a bit shallow, but really I’d be more inclined to say it is very deliberate in the sense that the beats are clearly crafted to ensure that something epic is always right around the corner. There is no long cutscene with some random character expositing at the Slayer, trying to connect with whatever humanity he has left – bugger that – you can say a whole lot more by having the guy literally fight his way out of the afterlife to continue his most sacred mission. It is supremely my jam.

With 22 chapters, the campaign is every bit as girthy as it needs to be – noting that not all chapters are created equal. This isn’t a slight against the game, some chapters are designed to be shorter, sharper experiences – especially when you account for the different gameplay types that id Software has implemented. Piloting the hulking Atlan mech for the sake of fisticuffs against building-sized titans is a fun experience, but one that is better in smaller doses, while the dragon sections freely mix up regular boots-on-the-ground combat and flying to make a level feel like an immensely huge space to conquer. Even the regular DOOM experience is kept fresh with how some chapters take place in a Battleground rather than a linear space, allowing you to stretch your limbs and murder things in a hub-like space rather than a dozen curiously curated corridors.

‘Aura Farming’ as the youth would say

In a bold move for id Software, they’ve re-re-invented their own bread and butter for the sake of giving The Dark Ages a proper identity separate from its predecessors. Players could argue that the more grounded nature of the game feels at odds with the high-octane expectations of modern shooters, but once you have a flail in your hand and the toothy maw of a demon in front of you, the urge to run and jump away all but vanishes. This is a shooter that loves its melee, so get stuck in and open your mind to bone-crunching creativity, resplendent in its parry windows and savage rebukes.

This is helped by the extremely satisfying ‘stickiness’ you feel when mashing your melee. Every colossal slam of your melee weapon has this brief moment of hangtime, where you can then choose to SLAM again or disengage to perhaps shoot or parry while the screen slows down ever-so-briefly. If you choose to wallop the baddy again, you rocket back into them, fist-first, and once again enter that brief pugilistic pause. If you have the melee charges (or upgrades) available to keep lunging and punching, you can literally beat a large demonic dork to death – ricocheting off them and returning like a lethal demon-slaying yo-yo. If this isn’t really your speed, there is always a later option to instead go all-in with a single earth-shattering strike, effectively pasting whatever poor schmuck had outstayed their welcome.

Sometimes you behold the environments, other times they behold you

The real star of the show is absolutely the Shieldsaw. Initially a simple tool for rebuking attacks and charging through barricades and enemies, throughout the Dark Ages it evolves into the heart and soul of everything you do. It dictates the cadence of combat – via either defense or offensive means – and offers a ton of utility for exploring the world. It’s one part Leviathan Axe, two parts Captain America shield and every bit as DOOMish as it needs to be. This thing deserves a spot on the Mt Rushmore of creative video game weapons, right alongside Half Life 2’s Gravity Gun and God of War’s Blades of Chaos.

That’s not saying that the gunplay has been slept on, because the developers have carefully ensured that every archetype of weapon is present with some delightfully medieval twists to keep them fresh. This is then uplifted with an upgrade system that gives you twice the bang for your metaphorical buck, as you dump literal bars of gold into unlocking two perks at a time and freely choosing (and swapping) between the two as a means to customise your ballistic experience. Later upgrades require more scarce goodies, such as Rubies or Wraithstones, to grab a weapon’s capstone ability, shifting the gun into its final, terrifying form. There is also a fantastic system to avoid weapon glut within the game, as every standard firearm has two unique modes to swap between, such as your Grenade Launcher becoming a Rocket Launcher at the push of a button. It’s a great way to tick all the fun shooty boxes without turning the weapon wheel into a staggering mess.

Something of note that I deeply enjoyed is that the game never has a clearly defined Fuck You moment. There is a steady tide of strength in your Slayer, and as it rises, so too does the challenge within the game. So often when a title is focused on providing the most badarse power fantasy it can, it will fall into that awful trap of stripping your strength – either by having some enforced encounter with something tougher than you, or literally taking away what makes you strong – to play into the idea of absence makes the heart grow fonder. It is a total cop-out when it happens, and I am relieved to see that this complete shit-sandwich of a design choice is still absent from the DOOM experience.

This guy has a lot of confidence for someone in range of 3x melee charges

Environment design is fantastic, with the return of DOOM’s ever-exceptional Automap – revealing your path, fog-of-war style, as you progress. Keen-eyed folks will quickly realise that most environs curl and snake around previous encounter rooms, meaning that your progress will double-back through familiar areas – even if you don’t outright step foot back into them. One early level had a large space that I initially thought I needed to get into for the sake of secret-checking, but peering through barred windows I came to realise it was the first combat space of that particular level – a big wooden amphitheatre where I learned the devastating effectiveness of the Pulverizer weapon, still soaked in prior blood and carnage. You’ll be amazed at how much effort goes into making optional side areas and secret locations – I did not expect to see a callback to the Mario 64 infinite staircase in 2025, but here we are.

When the last limp creature corpse hits the floor, you’ll often start to feel like these sprawling spaces are large enough to warrant panic at figuring out where you are, where you need to go next – even with Automap. Thankfully, The Dark Ages has a ready-and-waiting objective ping system to make sure you have a heading if you’ve run out enemy resistance to clue you in. It’s well worth having a wander, if only to make sure you get to take in the hellish detail of the game’s set dressing. Genuinely, some of the coolest shit I saw in the game was just randomly off the beaten path. You’ll be duly rewarded with numerous goodies for the sake of progression, sinking the hooks ever deeper into your desire to try and finish a level with a 100% completion rating.

Even I, a seasoned secret-seeker, would pour over every nook and cranny and complete a level with a sense of self-assured satisfaction …only to discover that I had only found 6 out of a possible 9 secrets. Diabolical stuff from those devilish developers. Couple this with a generous smattering of simple (but effective) puzzle-solving elements to keep you on your toes, and you got a stew going. A DOOM stew.

Lock S-foils in attack position 

The evolution of DOOM’s unique modern aesthetic has manifested in a title that is not afraid of colour, but moody in all the right ways – whether it’s an ocean of fire in the depths of hell, or a goopy nightmarescape of unblinking eyes and noodly limbs. There is careful consideration to make sure that landmark setpieces are always awe-inspiring, with myself having stopped at least half a dozen times to just drink in a vista that looked more like the art of a madman than a video game. The new presentation of cinematics within the game gives the developers free rein to really go to town with their delivery, so the jaw-dropping moments of vivid awesomeness are never lacking.

There is a lot of subtlety to the sound design within the game – a surprising amount of delicate noise to make the game feel incredibly immersive. The dull CLINK of a porcelain vase as you walk past it stands out amongst the cacophony of other noise – considering that this is the kind of game you’d imagine to sound like someone dumping car parts and offal into a woodchipper. Every key event in your mechanic experience is punctuated in a way that feels punchy and welcome, so your 500th shield deflection feels just as welcome and awesome as your first.

Now, it would be criminal to not mention music, given the history of the modern DOOM soundtrack. Of course, Mick Gordon is not present for The Dark Ages, which is a disappointment by every metric, but the efforts of new production team Finishing Move Inc. are far from a slouch. Big moments get a chest-thumping backing track to punctuate them, combat music is a grinding metal beat that perfectly pairs with dismemberment – there are even a few tracks that I have actually sought out on other platforms to listen to again. Nothing quite has the spine-jarring impact of something like BFG Division, but it is still a solid tick for the music, considering that Mick Gordon’s boots are downright impossible to fill.

Who brings a laser lance to a shoulder cannon fight!?

Final Thoughts

DOOM: The Dark Ages feels almost entirely made from my dreams. A slightly more grounded shooting experience, with an emphasis on well executed timing and shooting massive demons with your even more massive guns – it’s a hit. My only real point of concern is the stark truth that the game is banking heavily on people engaging with it from a completionist perspective, given the lack of any co-op or multiplayer option. It almost feels like DOOM: The Dark Ages has slid a little too far into the past, emerging as a 16 hour story experience and nothing more. I know when I finished my initial playthrough, I marvelled at how I had managed to scrape by with 90-100% completion on most chapters – so there are still some secrets left for me to explore, but man, what if I had achieved 100%? It would feel like a punch in the gut. I know there is some DLC coming, described as a ‘campaign’ DLC which is neat – but man, if ever there was a DOOM for co-op, it was this one.

Reviewed on PC // Review code supplied by publisher

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