Doom: The Dark Ages Review – The Good Kind of Heresy

It’s been four years since the last DLC release for Doom Eternal, leaving fans of the seminal first-person shooter hungry for more of the franchise’s hellish ripping and tearing. The wait is over with the release of Doom: The Dark Ages, a new chapter in the franchise’s 2016 revival and the latest title to lean more into dark fantasy than science fiction horror. Developed by id Software, the game features the usual fiery action against the forces of Hell but also noticeable changes to some of the core gameplay mechanics, which may make discerning purists raise their eyebrows.

To be clear, this isn’t to say that Doom: The Dark Ages is a bad game—it’s an entertaining first-person shooter full of frenetic and gory wall-to-wall action with many of the series’ familiar hallmarks. The developers take full advantage of the game’s change in scenery, providing it with one of the most distinct atmospheric experiences for the franchise. The question that I still wrestle with after putting numerous hours into the game, however, is whether The Dark Ages is a good Doom game? Additionally, is it one that can win over the staunchest traditionalists?

Through the Fire and Flames

The Dark Ages is the first Doom of the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 generation, and it takes advantage of that boost in its technical presentation. Doom has always featured immersive and atmospheric level design, but The Dark Ages doubles down on this for its techno-fantasy setting with set pieces and environments that look straight out of a heavy metal album cover. The musical composer team Finishing Move firmly underscores that connection with a high-octane original score that veers into full-on, down-pick heavy thrash metal whenever a fight unfolds, especially whenever a boss character is involved.

Many of the classic Doom enemies are brought back for The Dark Ages, with varying levels of redesign to match the dark fantasy sensibilities of this installment. The number and variety of enemies simultaneously onscreen in a given skirmish is impressive, with no noticeable slowdown on consoles—full disclosure, I played my review copy on a base PS5—and the action is as seamless as ever. While the combat remains fast-paced and gory as all hell, there is a greater emphasis on strategy when battling certain enemies, knowing each type of attack that specific demons are vulnerable to. And therein lies where The Dark Ages will likely be at its most divisive.

In the Shadow of Eternal

One of the most appealing things about the 2016 Doom revival was how refreshingly straightforward it was in terms of presentation and gameplay. Tutorials and story-based cinematics were largely ditched in favor of just getting players right into the thick of it while the combat strategy was simple: shoot, cut, and bludgeon demons until they went down. To paraphrase Predator, if it bleeds, you could kill it. And boy, oh boy, did things in that game bleed.

Doom Eternal kept the overarching sensibilities and aesthetics from its 2016 predecessor intact, but started to reintegrate things like narrative cinematics, tutorials, and more deliberately strategic combat. By the game’s DLC epilogue, The Ancient Gods, there were platforming sequences as key parts of level navigation and progression. Eternal was definitely well received overall, but not without purists grumbling about every change since the revival.

The Dark Ages doubles down on many of these elements, particularly the emphasis on storytelling and strategic combat. This isn’t just boots-on-the-ground, blasting-anything-that-moves action, but an incorporation of the new gameplay mechanics to survive and overcome enemy defenses. The Dark Ages is also the first entry in the franchise to include vehicle sections in the form of a giant mech and a flying dragon. While these sequences fit the tone and aesthetics of Doom, traditionalists may balk at the idea of the Doom Slayer resorting to vehicle-based combat.

Having said that, rest assured, those sequences are absolutely metal as hell and more casual or open-minded fans are going to have a thrill trying out these new toys.

Shield of the Slayer

The most prominent of these new toys is the Shield Saw, a bladed round shield that can protect the Slayer from incoming attacks as well as boasting its own variety of attacks and features. This includes, most notably, a parry mechanic that’s key to the combat gameplay, reflecting projectile attacks back at enemies and staggering physical attacks, leaving opponents vulnerable. The parry is probably the biggest sign of the times making their way into the Doom, echoing any number of Soulslike titles, recent fighting games, or even the 2023 Resident Evil 4 remake.

The rest of the weaponry is largely fantasy variations on familiar weapons from the franchise’s history, whether it’s the brass knuckles getting replaced by a spiked gauntlet or a machine gun that grinds skulls to provide itself with ammunition. Even if the usual environmental trappings are altered from past, more sci-fi oriented Doom games, The Dark Ages is still very much a Doom game.

The Future of Doom

To get back to my original question: is The Dark Ages a good Doom game? The answer is a solid, but qualified, yes. The series has seen major departures from its core before, specifically with Doom 3, and Doom: The Dark Ages is more identifiably within the realm of the franchise, even with the change of scenery, than that 2004 entry. That said, The Dark Ages definitely is a departure from what gamers may normally associate with Doom, evolving in its own bloody way.

Doom: The Dark Ages is a game that gets better as it progresses, both in terms of tone and pacing, as the tutorial sections gradually move to the sidelines and let the players just get to the action. The Dark Ages makes some interesting changes to what Doom can be, although it could be streamlined a bit in its earlier levels. Still, The Dark Ages is an overall fun-filled return for the franchise, more often when it drops trying to reinvent the wheel and just leans into the expected demon-killing mayhem.

Doom: The Dark Ages will be released for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC on May 15. Learn more about Den of Geek’s review process and why you can trust our recommendations here.

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