Doom: The Dark Ages Promises a Thrilling Descent into Infernal Chaos

The slogan “Stand and Fight” has been plastered all over Doom: The Dark Ages marketing: a catchphrase that feels at odds with the modern Doom series. Doom 2016 was applauded for its fast gameplay and Doom: Eternal took that one step further with the Meat Hook that let you whip around the battlefield at breakneck speeds. The movement–for many–is what makes Doom, Doom. So to see Doom: The Dark Ages’ encourage players to hold their ground and fight seemed antithetical to that finely tuned formula. At least, that’s what I thought. After three hours of hands-on time with id Software’s next shooter, it seems like Doom: The Dark Ages has found a hypnotic balance between its iconic fast-paced gameplay and the blow-for-blow combat that Dark Ages is bringing to the mix.

Doom: The Dark Ages is a prequel to Doom 2016. The forces of hell are invading a realm heavily inspired by the medieval era, and the Doom Slayer is summoned to do what he does best: Rip and tear through demons. Although this may sound like standard fare for a Doom game, The Dark Ages appears to be taking its story a bit more seriously. It’s still a campy, somewhat self-aware, bloodsoaked romp through demon guts, but the team wanted to use the fantasy setting to its full potential. According to game director Hugo Martin, “When you think of fantasy, and Lord of the Rings, you think huge… There’s a grandness, an epicness to fantasy that people expect.” Despite the shift to fantasy, some of Doom: The Dark Ages’ biggest narrative inspirations for its story were action films like Roadhouse, Die Hard, and First Blood, when it comes to keeping the story engaging throughout its runtime.

While I loved Doom 2016’s minimal approach to storytelling, I’m curious to see what id Software does with Dark Age’s setting. The arenas, enemies, characters, and weapons have all received a medieval makeover that fits the setting and series perfectly. Gothic castles loom over battlefields, enemies use a mix of medieval weaponry and sci-fi firearms, characters are donned in plated armor, and macabre weapons like the Pulverizer grind up skulls and fire out deadly bone shards. It’s a match made in heaven, or rather, hell. That said, Doom: Eternal’s greater emphasis on story felt superfluous. There were some clever callbacks to previous games and fun moments, but when it comes to Doom, all I want to do is shoot, shred, and eviscerate demons. Thankfully, The Dark Ages has plenty of that.

As with previous Doom games, the weapons are the star of the show. There are some returning firearms like the iconic Super Shotgun, but The Dark Ages brings a slew of new guns that fit neatly into the gothic setting. The aforementioned Pulverizer fires out a horizontal spread of skull bits that can shred multiple demons at close range, the Impaler fires out rune-adorned rail spikes that deal high damage at long range, and–my personal favorite–the Chainshot launches a retracting cannonball that pulverizes demons at close range. Of course, each weapon comes with a handful of upgrades and modifications that can alter their characteristics. Doom’s weapons have always been larger than life, but The Dark Ages setting has allowed id Software to really push the boundaries of what a weapon in Doom can be. “[They’re] brutal. […] The Rail Spike, the Skull Crusher. They’re all supposed to be like little torture devices you’re holding,” Martin told me.

Doom: The Dark Ages biggest shake-up to the gameplay is the Shield Saw. During combat, you can block and parry attacks with it, bash enemies, and throw it around the battlefield. It’s most useful purpose–at least for my playstyle–was the dash. By holding your up shield, you can lock onto an enemy and rush them down in one swift motion. While it doesn’t offer the same verticality as the Meat Hook, it’s far more controlled. Your inertia and momentum aren’t working against you when you rush down an enemy. Instead, you speed across the battlefield and deliver a satisfying shield bash to whatever poor demon the Doom Slayer sets his sights on.

While I didn’t use the Shield Saw’s block all that much, the parry is paramount. When an enemy or projectile glows green, a well-timed block will stun the demon or send the projectile right back. It’s a fairly straightforward mechanic that fits in surprisingly well with Doom’s gameplay loop. You can’t parry every move so you’re still spending most of your time running and gunning, but when I did see that green glow, I found myself subconsciously repositioning in hopes of exploiting it. It may seem like a simple addition, but the parry does what any good parry system does: It adds more risks for more rewards. I would regularly put myself in harm’s way to rush down enemies and projectiles as they started to glow green just to hit the parry.

The Shield Saw feels like a natural extension to the Doom Slayer’s kit, but it isn’t just for bludgeoning unfortunate demons. A lot of Doom: The Dark Ages’ puzzles and platforming segments are built around the Shield Saw. Like Kratos’s axe in God of War (2018), the shield can be used to activate switches, knock down weak walls, and launch the Doom Slayer up to hard to reach areas. While the puzzles in the Doom games rarely offer more than a brief change of pace, the Shield Saw brings just enough to the table to keep the moments interesting.

The Shield Saw goes hand-in-hand with Doom: The Dark Ages’ new melee weapons. The chainsaw from Doom 2016 and Eternal has been replaced by a handful of blunt weapons and new mechanics. These weapons require a “charge” in order to use them, and–at least in the beginning–can hold up to three charges. You can find pickups on the battlefield or you can parry an attack to charge your weapon. Unlike the chainsaw, the further along in the preview I got, the rarer these pickups were. As a result, I mostly relied on parries to refill my melee charges. This loop fits seamlessly into the “stand and fight” mantra because when you’re facing down a Tyrant, the most efficient way to kill it is to get in its face, parry its attacks, and follow up with a powerful melee attack. Of course, you can still melee enemies without a charge, but it’s fairly ineffective against anything other than the imps and fodder demons.

Doom: The Dark Ages brings a lot of fresh ideas to its combat loop, and in order to let players experiment with all these new weapons, mechanics, and strategies, id Software has created some of its largest arenas to date. The final level I played in my preview, titled Siege, took place on a wide-open battlefield that consisted of multiple objectives that could be completed in any order. This approach to level design is nothing unique, but it’s a first for the modern Doom games. While I still think I prefer the more linear level design when it comes to Doom, this section was a nice change of pace and gave me ample opportunities to test out some of the new mechanics with some unique encounters. One of these optional scenarios had me eliminate a VIP demon. However, in order to damage the special demon, I needed to lower its morale by killing dozens of other demons. I died a handful times, but with each new attempt I was able to try out different approaches in a more free-form and open-ended way than we saw in Doom 2016 or Eternal.

These large, open-ended battlefields complement the “epicness” Martin mentioned, but another component of The Dark Ages’ grand scale are the Dragon and Atlan mech missions. While neither of the segments I played had the mechanical depth of Doom’s grounded combat, they did offer a different perspective on The Dark Ages’ world. I soared over a sprawling city as an aerial assault took place, occasionally dismounting my dragon to decommission Hell Carrier dropships from the inside. In the Atlan mech, I was going toe-to-toe with some of Doom’s most formidable demons that are typically saved for boss fights.

The aerial and mech combat are built around well-timed dodges. Like on foot, enemy attacks that glow green are your tell. Dodging a green attack slows down time and lets you strike back with a deadly attack of your own. The Atlan feels great to pilot. Each step satisfyingly crushes fodder demons and levels buildings. Meanwhile, its weighty punches and hooks can shatter demon bones and pop their skulls into a mess of blood and gore. Unfortunately, as of now, aerial combat seems to be the weakest link. Speeding through tunnels and over cities feels great, but the second you lock onto an enemy, all that speed comes to an abrupt halt as you awkwardly maneuver around the space directly in front of the locked-on enemy holding down the attack button. Martin made it clear that the team was still fine-tuning the aerial combat and will continue to up until launch. Hopefully a little extra polish is all the dragon combat needs.

According to executive producer and game director Marty Stratton, “With each game we’ve done more. We get better at what we’re doing. The stories we’re telling have gotten bigger, and [Doom: The Dark Ages] feels like the realization of the last 10 years and the last two games.” After wrapping up my demo, it feels like The Dark Ages might be the most comprehensive Doom game to date. Id Software is bringing a lot of new mechanics and ideas to the series, while maintaining its hypnotic flow state. It’s hard to say if they’ll be able to keep that momentum as new ideas and mechanics are introduced, but it’s made an excellent first impression. Doom: The Dark Ages comes to PlayStation 5, Xbox, and PC on May 13, 2025.