Key Takeaways
1. Gameplay Changes: Doom: The Dark Ages introduces a shield for gameplay, altering the dynamics from Doom Eternal by focusing more on mobility, parrying, and melee combat rather than traditional weapons.
2. Performance and Technical Aspects: The game runs on the new idTech8 engine, requiring around 70 GB of storage, and performs well on various systems, delivering smooth gameplay even on high settings.
3. Exploration and Game Structure: While primarily linear, the game includes open-world segments for tackling objectives, with a focus on exploration and collecting upgrades through mini-boss encounters instead of traditional collectible hunts.
4. Weapon System Overhaul: The absence of weapon mods is replaced by weapon classes that offer variants, allowing players to customize their approach, though ammo management remains critical.
5. Soundtrack and Lore Development: The game features a new soundtrack that, while metal-heavy, doesn’t match the impact of previous entries, and it expands the lore by exploring events before Doom 2016 while introducing new villains and narrative depth.
Doom Eternal concluded the story from Doom 2016 quite effectively with its second DLC. This set the stage for Doom: The Dark Ages, which allowed idSoftware to take the series in a fresh and exciting direction. And it did so in a remarkable way. The experience feels like three games combined into one neat package, and I’m totally onboard with that. From the very beginning, Doom: The Dark Ages makes it clear that it is a different beast from Eternal. You begin with a shield. Yes, a shield in a Doom game. This shield becomes crucial for gameplay, providing mobility, clearing weaker enemies, blocking damage, and parrying attacks. Alongside melee weapons, the shield will be your main tools for most of the game, while traditional weapons almost seem secondary at first. More on that later.
Changing Dynamics
One of the first things you’ll notice is that the Doom Slayer feels much heftier. He has a real weight to him, and when you fall from high places, low-tier demons vanish around the point of impact. The double dash and the verticality found in previous titles are missing. The motto “Stand and Fight” is almost misleading, because if you stay still, you’re likely to get killed. The annoying tutorials are eliminated now, allowing you to test weapons on real demons rather than being stuck in a tutorial limbo.
Unlike typical AAA games that often require over 100 GB of storage, Doom: The Dark Ages only needs about 70 GB. It would have been iconic if it was 66 GB, you know, because of the history of Doom. Technically, it’s one of the more demanding games released this year. I’ve been playing on a Ryzen 7 5800X3D with a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, and it’s been very smooth. With settings maxed out on Ultra Nightmare, I’ve been able to maintain an average of 80–100 FPS with DLSS Quality turned on. The game runs on the new idTech8 engine, the same one used for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Path Tracing wasn’t enabled in our review copy, but it should be available at launch. We’ll have a separate piece detailing how Doom: The Dark Ages performs on maximum settings shortly after its release. For now, here’s how it worked on several laptops we tested.
Performance on Various Systems
You should find it runs easily on lower-end machines. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get it to work on my Steam Deck, likely due to missing drivers. It’s not Deck Verified, and according to the minimum system requirements, it likely won’t officially support it. Still, idSoftware continues to prove why they are top-tier in the gaming industry. During my gameplay, I encountered just one pesky bug where a monster appeared slightly out of bounds, halting my ability to finish that fight. A bit of quick thinking later, I dealt with it, and the game resumed normally. Doom: The Dark Ages is closely tied to Nvidia, and here’s how it performs with DLSS. Frame Generation gives a boost, but it does introduce some input latency. However, in this game, that isn’t as noticeable at up to 1440p on a laptop with an RTX 5080 GPU. It becomes more apparent at 4K, but realistically, a desktop GPU or an RTX 5090 would be better for that resolution.
You’ll need to retrain your muscle memory from Doom Eternal to get into the groove of Doom: The Dark Ages. It’s not too hard, and soon you’ll be ripping and tearing again. The core gameplay loop remains unchanged. You progress through areas, battle demons, and unlock new regions. Rinse and repeat. As you advance, segments are broken up by traversal puzzles. These puzzles aren’t as challenging as those in earlier games, but hey, the frustrating platforming sections are thankfully gone.
Game Structure and Exploration
Most of the game offers a linear experience, which is expected, but there are a few “open-world” segments where you can tackle objectives in any order. On regular difficulty, there’s no real incentive to prefer certain areas over others, but this could shift at Nightmare difficulty where upgrade materials found in the open world could give you an edge in tougher encounters.
The ‘lives’ system from Doom Eternal is back, but you’re limited to three at a time. If you check your map and explore thoroughly, you shouldn’t run out, as each map has a few lives scattered around. You probably won’t die much early on at lower difficulties, and if you do run out of lives, you can always replay earlier levels to gather any lives you missed.
Parrying is key to the gameplay, and mastering it makes encounters significantly easier. Not everything can be parried, but anything that can is marked in bright green. If that color doesn’t please you, you can change it in the settings to something that fits your style. You can parry both melee attacks and projectiles, though the former requires quick reflexes. You’ll often find yourself in chaotic situations with numerous projectiles flying at you. More like Doom Returnal.
Unique Gameplay Elements
Doom: The Dark Ages breaks the monotony by allowing you to control a massive Atlan mech. While in the mech, you’ll exclusively battle Titans scattered throughout the map. The mech combat feels a bit clunky, and the movement isn’t as smooth as other gameplay sections. Most encounters are close combat, but the game does throw in a weapon or two. And yes, parrying exists here too, in the form of perfect dodges. Fortunately, there aren’t too many mech levels, and they’re relatively short.
In contrast, the dragon segments are much more enjoyable. The flight controls are fantastic, and there’s a certain thrill in breathing fire down a Titan’s throat, far more satisfying than just beating one to submission with fists. While the Titan segments are mostly linear, there’s still plenty to discover, so make sure to explore every corner.
Speaking of upgrades, you no longer need to scour the map for Sentinel crystals or keys. Health, armor, and ammo upgrades are now linked to specific mini-bosses that appear from time to time. You’ll encounter most of them fairly easily, but some require optional encounters. This new approach makes upgrading less tedious, but it has some downsides.
Upgrade Systems and Collectibles
For one, you don’t choose what aspect of your character to upgrade. Want that extra health for survival? Sorry, here’s an ammo upgrade for a weapon you rarely use. From a balance perspective, it makes sense to prevent players from becoming too powerful too quickly. Personally, I’m not a fan of this change, but your experience may differ.
Gear upgrades have also undergone significant changes. You now need to find gold to upgrade your shield, melee weapons, and guns at Sentinel shrines. While most levels have gold located conveniently, you’ll often find it hidden in hard-to-reach places. Once again, keeping an eye on the mini-map will help you gather enough gold.
At higher upgrade tiers, you’ll need Rubies and Wraithstones. Unlike gold, these are much harder to find and usually require discovering secret areas. Wraithstones often require you to complete challenges involving destroying a set number of objects scattered around the map. Unlike gold and other collectibles, these don’t have markers, so you’ll need to stay vigilant.
As a franchise known for its secret hunting, Doom: The Dark Ages includes a variety of collectible items like lore entries, weapon skins, and toys hidden throughout the maps. Some are easy to spot, while others will necessitate substantial backtracking. I’m not the best at finding secrets, but I managed to collect most of them on my first attempt, and you should too.
Weapons and Enemies
Now, let’s talk about weapons, a vital component of any Doom title. Weapon mods are no more, but they exist in spirit as weapon classes. As you progress, you unlock different variants of weapons, each designed for specific tasks. For instance, you start with a standard shotgun and later receive its more powerful counterpart, the super shotgun.
Except for one, each weapon class offers two variants. And yes, there’s a BFG, although it goes by a different name. Bethesda showcased it in the second trailer, and if you paid close attention, you might already know what it is. It’s now a crossbow and packs just as much of a punch. And yes, ammo for it is limited and hidden away, so don’t waste it all at once.
Once you fully upgrade a weapon, optional challenges unlock that require you to perform specific tasks with that weapon. You’re not obligated to complete them unless you want to earn all achievements. Weapons that initially felt underwhelming become quite powerful after a few upgrades. Like in Doom Eternal, quick switching is essential since you will run out of ammo.
Doom: The Dark Ages brings back the traditional cast of Doom monsters, with a few notable absences you may notice. The lower-tier enemies still include imps, zombies, soldiers, and two different types of shield bearers. You’ll also encounter Mancubus, Arachnotrons, Cacodemons, Cyberdemons, and a few others. Sadly, no Marauder this time.
While each level has ammo dumps scattered around, your primary source remains low-level enemies. The absence of a chainsaw makes acquiring ammo feel less intense. Some might argue that a chainsaw doesn’t fit thematically in a medieval setting, but then again, neither do shotguns and giant mechs.
Soundtrack and Lore
Since Mick Gordon blew everyone away with the soundtracks for Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal, music has become a defining feature of the series. Tracks like ‘BFG Division’ and ‘Rip and Tear’ are now part of internet lore. Mick’s unique blend of Djent, metal, dubstep, and industrial sounds truly makes you feel like the Doom Slayer—an entity too angry to die. In ‘Cultist Base’, the intensity hits you when the music kicks in (yes, really). It perfectly complements the ripping and tearing happening on screen. ‘The Only Thing They Fear is You’ does the same, placing you firmly in the Slayer’s mindset.
Finishing Move Inc took on the task of continuing Mick’s legacy, but sadly, they missed the mark. While the game features a distortion-heavy metal soundtrack, it fails to evoke the same visceral rage as Mick’s tracks. It feels more like a corporate attempt at edginess. You’ll understand what I mean after some time. Given how poorly Mick was treated previously, it’s understandable why they won’t collaborate again. But I can’t help but wonder why Bethesda didn’t consider someone like Andrew Hulshult, who did an excellent job with The Ancient Gods’ scores.
Let’s be honest, until Doom 2016, the story wasn’t important. But now that idSoftware has created a rich universe with deep lore, it’s hard to overlook it. Doom: The Dark Ages, as the title suggests, takes place before the events of both previous Doom games. You start as a pawn of the Makyrs (the ones you completely destroyed in Eternal), assisting the Sentinels in fighting demons. King Novik, a minor character from Doom Eternal, plays a crucial role here. You begin by running errands for the Sentinels, and as events unfold, you find yourself facing hell again. However, this time it doesn’t involve obliterating an entire facility to open a portal. There are two main villains: Prince Azhrak and the masked Witch, both of whom appear multiple times in the trailer. The game is confirmed to receive standalone DLC later, which should hopefully clarify how we ended up in a coffin at the start of Doom 2016.
Final Thoughts
Taking about 20 hours to complete, Doom: The Dark Ages is a worthy sequel that justifies the five-year wait. It’s an outstanding game that everyone should try at least once. Some may argue its $80 price tag is a bit steep, but in this case, you’re definitely getting your money’s worth. Plus, it’ll be available on Xbox Game Pass at launch. Sure, there isn’t much in terms of replay value since you revisit familiar maps, but you can ramp up the challenge with numerous difficulty sliders. If you’re feeling brave, you can even turn off the entire HUD for an authentic Doom Slayer experience. idSoftware hasn’t shared what’s next for Doom: The Dark Ages, and I genuinely hope it receives the attention and care it deserves.
With GTA VI pushed to 2026, Doom: The Dark Ages might have had a chance at Game of the Year, but Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 exists, and that game has captured audiences like no other. Additionally, with Death Stranding 2, Ghost of Yotei, and possibly even Half-Life 3 (wishful thinking) on the horizon, Doom has a tough climb ahead. However, it can still capture accolades in other categories, and it deserves every one of them.
Doom: The Dark Ages has the potential to divide fans. Some will undoubtedly prefer the speed of Eternal over The Dark Ages, and that’s perfectly fine. Others may argue that it suffers from the open-world Souls-like trend that’s currently popular. I never expected idSoftware to blend Doom with elements from Sekiro and Returnal, but here we are. In conclusion, play this game, even if you’re not a Doom enthusiast, as it, much like the original from 1993, will change your perspective on FPS titles forever.
