A knight to dismember
By Paul Hunter
Doom: The Dark Ages is the latest entry in id Software’s long-running demon-slaying series, published by Bethesda. Built using the new id Tech 8 engine, this release goes back in time—literally. Acting as a prequel to the reboot era, it drops you into a medieval hellscape filled with monsters, massive weapons, and a whole lot of firepower.
Despite some shifts in direction for this new release, the core of Doom is still very much intact. This isn’t some sprawling open-world spin-off, instead, you’re still ripping demons apart, dashing between mobs, and juggling health and ammo pickups while the music kicks into overdrive. But that doesn’t mean things haven’t changed. There’s a newly introduced shield system that functions both defensively and offensively, dragon-flying sequences, and massive mech battles that are more like controlled chaos than side distractions.
This isn’t just more Doom—it’s Doom with some excellent, often surprising twists. The gameplay is faster than ever, and while the story takes a bigger role this time, you’re never far from your next combat arena. From sword-swinging ghouls to screen-filling hellbeasts, the action rarely lets up.
So, with bigger levels, extral tools, and a fresh engine under the hood, does Doom: The Dark Ages rip and tear its way into something worth checking out? Let's find out!
Doom: The Dark Ages puts more focus on narrative than any modern Doom game before it. This time, the story aims to build a prequel foundation for the events of Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal. You take on the role of the Doom Slayer once again, only now his origins and connection to the larger universe take centre stage. There’s a clear attempt to make the lore grander, with detailed cutscenes, new characters, and major developments.
The added story content includes cinematic breaks between combat, and sometimes entire missions are structured around major plot reveals. Compared to the minimal narrative in Doom 2016—where the Doom Slayer famously ignored a lengthy explanation by smashing a screen—this game as a more structured vibe.
If you’re here to blast demons and move on, the amount of story might seem excessive. That said, cutscenes deliver great spectacle, and the lore can be interesting if you’ve followed the series closely. There’s real effort in connecting everything together into one long, continuous timeline.
Fortunately, the game doesn’t punish you for ignoring the details. If you choose to engage with the plot, you’ll find deeper context for familiar enemies and factions. If not, the moment-to-moment gameplay doesn’t depend on understanding the narrative.
In short, Doom: The Dark Ages tries to give the franchise a broader mythos without fully abandoning its gameplay-first identity. The heart of Doom—facing down waves of monsters with a scowl and a shotgun—remains intact, even if it now comes with more backstory than ever before.
Doom: The Dark Ages keeps the brutal rhythm of its predecessors but swaps out high-tech environments for a medieval war machine aesthetic. The flow is still fast and aggressive, but now you’re wielding gear that looks forged, not fabricated. The moment combat begins, the game asks you to push forward, stay mobile, and tear through enemies without hesitation.
The new setting doesn’t mean the mechanics have slowed down. While mobility is more grounded this time—with no double-jumping or dashing—you’re still juggling weapons mid-fight and pushing forward with relentless aggression. The core loop remains recognizable, you’re managing resources mid-fight by using finishing moves and specialized weapons to stay alive, but some new weapons bring a different flavour. The Flail, for example, adds weight to melee encounters and works well when crowd control is needed. The Flail punishes overconfidence, since it leaves you exposed if you swing at the wrong time. The Shield Saw blends defence and offence, giving you the option to block while dash bashing to close gaps.
Dragon-riding sequences are one of the game's biggest twists. At one point, I jumped onto a Mecha Dragon and launched a barrage of missiles mid-flight, then dropped back to the ground to finish off what was left. It was over-the-top in the best way possible, and it's not a gimmick—it worked as a central part of the combat loop rather than breaking it. That said, these set-piece moments are spread out. Most of the time, you’re still on foot, dealing with waves of enemies in tight arenas that demand constant movement and weapon switching.
Enemy AI never lets up. Each fight builds a rhythm, forcing you to improvise based on ammo availability, cooldowns, and arena layout. One section dropped me into a medieval fortress with two Agaddon hunters and a swarm of Imps. I ran out of shotgun shells mid-fight, switched to the Ballista, and ended up shield bashes while backpedaling through flaming hallways. It was chaotic, stressful, and oddly satisfying once I cleared it with a sliver of health.
While the core design sticks close to Doom Eternal, the changes in weapon style and pacing help The Dark Ages carve its own identity. Fights retain their breakneck tempo, but they are heavier—like every swing, shot, and step comes with greater impact behind each blow. It’s a shift that works well with the new setting, and the game maintains a tight, unyielding pace.
Doom: The Dark Ages trades the sleek steel of sci-fi for iron, bone, and scorched stone. The world is grimy, oppressive and brutal. Instead of neon-lit labs and alien fortresses, you move through war-torn castles, burning villages, and blood-streaked ruins. It’s a sharp turn from Doom Eternal’s tech-heavy landscapes, but the transition works. The medieval tone doesn’t water down the chaos—it makes it more brutal.
The enemies match the game's aesthetic. Classic demons return, but they’ve been redesigned with twisted armour, exposed sinew, and jagged weapons that look pulled from some cursed forge. The animations give them personality—some lunge like wild animals, others drag themselves forward, eyes locked on you. Each encounter plays out like a massive battlefield skirmish. These changes keep combat visually interesting without losing the familiar silhouettes and attack patterns longtime fans will recognize.
Sound design pulls a lot of weight. Metal-on-metal clashes, fire roaring in the distance, and the crunch of a Glory Kill all hit hard. The soundtrack leans into heavy industrial tones with layers of choral and percussive elements. One track mixed guttural chants with distorted guitars—it kicked in right as I entered a siege zone. The timing was perfect, even if the music almost drowned out the gunfire. That’s not a complaint. The score drives the tension and gives every room a sense of dread and urgency.
Lighting plays a more active role than in past entries. Many rooms are dim, with flickering torches or stained-glass light pouring across stone floors. Shadows stretch long, making you second-guess what’s around the corner. The game doesn’t rely on darkness for tension, but it uses it well to break up the intensity and shift the tone. These visual breaks give your eyes a second to breathe before the next fight kicks off.
The HUD closely follows Doom Eternal’s design, meaning a clean and easy to read UI. Weapon swapping, upgrade tracking, and objective markers all feel familiar. With everything else looking so different, this consistency keeps the experience grounded and readable.
Final Score: 9/10 - Amazing
Developer: id Software
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Modes: Single-player
A key was provided by the publisher.
By Paul Hunter
Doom: The Dark Ages is the latest entry in id Software’s long-running demon-slaying series, published by Bethesda. Built using the new id Tech 8 engine, this release goes back in time—literally. Acting as a prequel to the reboot era, it drops you into a medieval hellscape filled with monsters, massive weapons, and a whole lot of firepower.
Despite some shifts in direction for this new release, the core of Doom is still very much intact. This isn’t some sprawling open-world spin-off, instead, you’re still ripping demons apart, dashing between mobs, and juggling health and ammo pickups while the music kicks into overdrive. But that doesn’t mean things haven’t changed. There’s a newly introduced shield system that functions both defensively and offensively, dragon-flying sequences, and massive mech battles that are more like controlled chaos than side distractions.
This isn’t just more Doom—it’s Doom with some excellent, often surprising twists. The gameplay is faster than ever, and while the story takes a bigger role this time, you’re never far from your next combat arena. From sword-swinging ghouls to screen-filling hellbeasts, the action rarely lets up.
So, with bigger levels, extral tools, and a fresh engine under the hood, does Doom: The Dark Ages rip and tear its way into something worth checking out? Let's find out!
Doom: The Dark Ages puts more focus on narrative than any modern Doom game before it. This time, the story aims to build a prequel foundation for the events of Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal. You take on the role of the Doom Slayer once again, only now his origins and connection to the larger universe take centre stage. There’s a clear attempt to make the lore grander, with detailed cutscenes, new characters, and major developments.
The added story content includes cinematic breaks between combat, and sometimes entire missions are structured around major plot reveals. Compared to the minimal narrative in Doom 2016—where the Doom Slayer famously ignored a lengthy explanation by smashing a screen—this game as a more structured vibe.
If you’re here to blast demons and move on, the amount of story might seem excessive. That said, cutscenes deliver great spectacle, and the lore can be interesting if you’ve followed the series closely. There’s real effort in connecting everything together into one long, continuous timeline.
Fortunately, the game doesn’t punish you for ignoring the details. If you choose to engage with the plot, you’ll find deeper context for familiar enemies and factions. If not, the moment-to-moment gameplay doesn’t depend on understanding the narrative.
In short, Doom: The Dark Ages tries to give the franchise a broader mythos without fully abandoning its gameplay-first identity. The heart of Doom—facing down waves of monsters with a scowl and a shotgun—remains intact, even if it now comes with more backstory than ever before.
Doom: The Dark Ages keeps the brutal rhythm of its predecessors but swaps out high-tech environments for a medieval war machine aesthetic. The flow is still fast and aggressive, but now you’re wielding gear that looks forged, not fabricated. The moment combat begins, the game asks you to push forward, stay mobile, and tear through enemies without hesitation.
The new setting doesn’t mean the mechanics have slowed down. While mobility is more grounded this time—with no double-jumping or dashing—you’re still juggling weapons mid-fight and pushing forward with relentless aggression. The core loop remains recognizable, you’re managing resources mid-fight by using finishing moves and specialized weapons to stay alive, but some new weapons bring a different flavour. The Flail, for example, adds weight to melee encounters and works well when crowd control is needed. The Flail punishes overconfidence, since it leaves you exposed if you swing at the wrong time. The Shield Saw blends defence and offence, giving you the option to block while dash bashing to close gaps.
Dragon-riding sequences are one of the game's biggest twists. At one point, I jumped onto a Mecha Dragon and launched a barrage of missiles mid-flight, then dropped back to the ground to finish off what was left. It was over-the-top in the best way possible, and it's not a gimmick—it worked as a central part of the combat loop rather than breaking it. That said, these set-piece moments are spread out. Most of the time, you’re still on foot, dealing with waves of enemies in tight arenas that demand constant movement and weapon switching.
Enemy AI never lets up. Each fight builds a rhythm, forcing you to improvise based on ammo availability, cooldowns, and arena layout. One section dropped me into a medieval fortress with two Agaddon hunters and a swarm of Imps. I ran out of shotgun shells mid-fight, switched to the Ballista, and ended up shield bashes while backpedaling through flaming hallways. It was chaotic, stressful, and oddly satisfying once I cleared it with a sliver of health.
While the core design sticks close to Doom Eternal, the changes in weapon style and pacing help The Dark Ages carve its own identity. Fights retain their breakneck tempo, but they are heavier—like every swing, shot, and step comes with greater impact behind each blow. It’s a shift that works well with the new setting, and the game maintains a tight, unyielding pace.
Doom: The Dark Ages trades the sleek steel of sci-fi for iron, bone, and scorched stone. The world is grimy, oppressive and brutal. Instead of neon-lit labs and alien fortresses, you move through war-torn castles, burning villages, and blood-streaked ruins. It’s a sharp turn from Doom Eternal’s tech-heavy landscapes, but the transition works. The medieval tone doesn’t water down the chaos—it makes it more brutal.
The enemies match the game's aesthetic. Classic demons return, but they’ve been redesigned with twisted armour, exposed sinew, and jagged weapons that look pulled from some cursed forge. The animations give them personality—some lunge like wild animals, others drag themselves forward, eyes locked on you. Each encounter plays out like a massive battlefield skirmish. These changes keep combat visually interesting without losing the familiar silhouettes and attack patterns longtime fans will recognize.
Sound design pulls a lot of weight. Metal-on-metal clashes, fire roaring in the distance, and the crunch of a Glory Kill all hit hard. The soundtrack leans into heavy industrial tones with layers of choral and percussive elements. One track mixed guttural chants with distorted guitars—it kicked in right as I entered a siege zone. The timing was perfect, even if the music almost drowned out the gunfire. That’s not a complaint. The score drives the tension and gives every room a sense of dread and urgency.
Lighting plays a more active role than in past entries. Many rooms are dim, with flickering torches or stained-glass light pouring across stone floors. Shadows stretch long, making you second-guess what’s around the corner. The game doesn’t rely on darkness for tension, but it uses it well to break up the intensity and shift the tone. These visual breaks give your eyes a second to breathe before the next fight kicks off.
The HUD closely follows Doom Eternal’s design, meaning a clean and easy to read UI. Weapon swapping, upgrade tracking, and objective markers all feel familiar. With everything else looking so different, this consistency keeps the experience grounded and readable.
The Verdict
Doom: The Dark Ages shifts the series into a brutal medieval setting without losing what made it work. Combat remains intense and unforgiving but now it's heavier, with new mechanics like the shield saw and mounted fights adding variety. The story adds weight by digging into the Slayer’s past and exploring the world’s grim history while letting the action lead. Presentation ties it all together with intense sound design and gritty visuals that match the darker tone. It’s not a reinvention, but a smart reimagining that respects the series’ roots while offering something fresh.Final Score: 9/10 - Amazing
DOOM: The Dark Ages details
Platform: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PCDeveloper: id Software
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Modes: Single-player
A key was provided by the publisher.