DOOM: The Dark Ages Review

Fun as Hell, But Something's Missing

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Title: DOOM: The Dark Ages

Release: May 14, 2025

Platform: PS5 PC Xbox X|S

Developer: id Software

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks

Genre: First Person Shooter Action Dark Fantasy

ESRB: M

Reviewed on: PC

Time Played: 14 Hours

Intro:

DOOM: The Dark Ages places you in the Slayer’s boots long before 2016’s rampage — but instead of muddy castles and swords, we have flying fortresses, knights with radios, and a mech-suit war against hell itself. It’s brutal, bloody, and sometimes downright bizarre. The gameplay remains great, especially with that satisfying new shield mechanic, but between the strangely modern setting and the absence of Mick Gordon’s signature sound, something felt… off. Let’s dive into what this game does right, what it fumbles, and whether it’s worth ripping and tearing your way through another chapter of Slayer history.

Where it starts

This game takes place long before the events of the 2016 release of DOOM, still placing you in the giant boots of the Slayer. He is currently under the control of the Maykrs through the use of a Tether. Even though he is being controlled, he still puts his skills to use defending humanity by destroying demonic hordes. Prince Ahzrak of Hell is searching for the Argent Heart, said to be protected by the Night Sentinels of Argent D’Nur, setting up for a vicious war where only the Slayer can sway the tides.

Laying Waste to Demons

Playing from the Slayer’s perspective, you will progress through chapters, moving from one fight to another. The primary objective is to Rip and Tear your way through countless demons placed in your path by any means necessary, typically using wicked guns or powerful melee weapons. The Slayer even utilized a shield during these times, making it both a defensive and offensive tool simultaneously. The awesomely destructive skills of Slayer lay waste to anything he deems threatening.

Elites

As you progress, there will be many demons, mostly cannon fodder that can be easily dealt with, even when they appear in great numbers. Eventually, they will be accompanied by various elite beasts, which require more effort to defeat. These foes boast special attacks and sometimes armor, so you’ll need to whittle down their health while keeping your own. Ultimately, you aim to daze them for a gruesome finishing blow. Unfortunately, not all finishing attacks have a satisfying brutal cinematic, but the ones that do feel oh so good!

Wicked Guns

You will have access to various guns, and most weapons will feature different variations, such as more powerful shots that use the same ammunition, just in larger quantities. The enemy and weapon design requires you to swap weapons based on the situation to progress with ease, or you may find a gun you love and stick with it. Your choice of weapon may heavily depend on the game’s difficulty and your preferred playstyle.

Melee Weapons

Along with your guns will come a few melee options. Strong attacks with only a few charges available. Melee attacks will send a shower of ammo down everytime you use it on any enemy. The charge time can increase by picking up special items or actions, allowing you to use it more frequently. Eventually you will gain access to a skill tree of sorts, increasing the utility of melee weapons, but more on that later.

Shield Work

Almost always, your left hand will hold the saw shield—a versatile item you can use to deflect incoming attacks and throw at your enemies. It will also aid in mobility at certain points in the game. Throwing your shield will destroy damaged armor and eliminate groups of enemies upon impact. You can also use it to rush forward and slam into your foes with the same effect. When enemies attack, whether physically or from a range, their attacks will glow with either a red or green hue. Red attacks can be blocked but may eventually break the shield, requiring a quick cooldown before it can be used again. Green attacks, however, can be parried back at your foes, causing significant damage while protecting yourself.

Runes

Eventually, you will unlock the use of Runes, special abilities that can be equipped to the shield. You can have only one in use at a time, but they offer some incredible enhancements to the parry mechanic. It can call down lightning, create a fissure in the ground, or, my favorite, shoot a swarm of daggers at your enemies. The rune effects provide a fantastic AoE advantage during a large fight filled with attacks from all directions.

Buying Upgrades

You will find gold lying around or receive it as a reward for completing chapter challenges. The gold will be used at Sentinel Shrines to upgrade your equipment and runes. All upgrades will enhance the usefulness of your weapons within a tree. As you purchase upgrades, the cost will steadily increase the farther down the tree you go, sometimes requiring more than just gold to buy. Rubies and Wraithstones are rarer materials needed for the more expensive upgrades. Thankfully, at the end of every chapter, you are shown how many resources are available and whether you’ve found everything, giving you an idea of where to find the necessary funding.

So many collectibles

Scattered throughout most chapters are hidden areas containing gold, codex entries, and adorable toy versions of characters from the game. If you enjoy exploring a bit between battles with demons, there will be plenty for you to do. You will have access to a map of the chapter, which shows you the general location of some secrets. However, you will need to figure out how to get there.

Difficulty Options

There is a difficulty option to select how tough you want the game to be, but there is also a comprehensive set of sliders that allow you to change your gameplay. You can adjust the game’s speed, the damage output of both you and your enemies, the aggressiveness of the enemies, and even the timing of the parry window. Using those settings you can create the perfect challenge for yourself, or make it a breeze getting through the game.

Can the kids watch

True to the DOOM series you won’t find aggressive language, however, there will be copious amounts of blood, terrifying demons losing pieces of themselves as you shoot them to death, and ripping out parts of enemies to crush in your hands. Although the destructive nature and absolute carnage of the Slayer is awesome, some kids are best put in the other room while you play.

Final Thoughts

I would love to hear any thoughts or questions you have about the game or my review, so leave me a message in the comments below. While you do that, let’s move on to my final thoughts and ratings.

This was a fun new addition to the DOOM series, especially if you’re into the lore of the Slayer and his past. The game is titled The Dark Ages, but it looks nothing like what one would expect the dark ages to look like. There are castles and a semblance of armor from an older time, but along with these elements come very modern concepts. You can find a platoon of knights riding in aerial vehicles, communicating with one another via headsets or giant mech suits to fight kaiju-level demons. And guns—there are so many guns in these dark ages. Don’t get me wrong; it would have been a very bizarre DOOM game without guns—they just almost seemed out of place. I found it amusing how technology could be so advanced while the clothing and architecture of everything looked like what we would refer to as our dark ages.

A sorely missed element of the game would be Mick Gordon’s musical composition. The music here still fits the game, but it lacks a magical touch. There was something special about DOOM 2016’s music that truly made the game shine. At one point while replaying, I put on the original OST for DOOM 2016 in the background while muting the in-game music, and it still complemented the gameplay and visuals, creating an excellent experience.

The overall look of the game met expectations for DOOM. Many of the enemies resembled those we’ve encountered in the past, with only minor changes like added fur. I understand this is meant to be a heavy metal hardcore game and world, but I did find some designs excessive and almost comical. For instance, a giant enemy ship flying through the air resembles a metallic skull. Nevertheless, it was thrilling to run through hellscapes and destroy demons. The game features a variety of captivating environments with impressive designs.

The story was entertaining, following the Slayer as he fights back against the forces of Hell while dealing with his own issues of being held by a lease. But it was sadly overshadowed by the gameplay. There were cutscenes at the start and end of each chapter, but I was mostly waiting to get back to the carnage. As far as story elements go, it was very straight forward, no character growth, or romances to the dismay of some. But it kept continuity throughout the game and gave us something to think about.

The shining point of DOOM is definitely the gameplay, which provides access to a wide variety of weapons to bring chaos and destruction to Hell. There was also a greater emphasis on melee combat. Although the melee weapons were charged, I always had a shield, and I used it frequently. This gave me the option to rush forward and demolish large groups or throw into large enemies, stunning them for a few hits, making it an essential part of my arsenal. The parry mechanic was very helpful, although the window of opportunity remained quite large, even when I set it to the lowest possible option.

I’ve played all of the DOOM remakes up to this point, all on normal difficulty, and this one was by far the easiest. Thankfully, there were plenty of difficulty options if I wanted to increase the challenge a bit. On normal, I found great synergy between the skills for the shield and the Impaler rifle; those two weapons carried me through the entire game. If I chose to play on a higher difficulty, it would require more thought on weapon usage and body placement. My favorite combo couldn’t get me through every situation.

Between all the achievements and challenges, there was some replayability to the game. Beating it on different difficulties rewarded me with new Slayer skins, and a weapon with maxed skills created a challenge that required me to use it in a certain way. After completing a chapter, I could return to any level, equipped with a list of how many secrets or pieces of gold I might have missed during my first time through, making it quite nice to go back and work on completing everything.

With that, I would like to boil all these thoughts down into numbers and place this game on one of my shelves.

The visuals were typical for DOOM, flashy colored projectiles and copious amounts of demons being ripped apart. Nothing phenomenal, but not trash, I’m giving it a 3.

The story, although interesting in terms of the Slayer and lore, sadly took a far back seat to the gameplay. I was able to pay attention to most of it, but it didn’t hold my attention as well as others, that’s another 3.

Gameplay offered plenty of opportunities for a personalized playthrough with all of the different sliders, and the shield gameplay was very satisfying. All in all I’m feeling a 4.

Replayability was there with all of the different challenges offered, however it can feel very repetitive and dull, it’s getting a 2

This game was fun, it’s great for some mindless demon slaughter for a time and maybe some challenging objectives, I’m giving it another 3.

Giving DOOM: The Dark Ages an average score of 3 out of 5, placing it at the good end of my Mid Shelf. A must-play if you are invested in the deep lore of the Slayer and DOOM series, and definitely worth checking out if you have access to Xbox Gamepass. On the other hand, the price may be a little steep; if you really need some DOOM, you might be better off playing one of the other two.