Doom: The Dark Ages review: demon slaying to metal riffs
9.5.2025
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
Pictures: Philipp Rüegg
The Doom Slayer’s back, roughing up hordes of demons with the help of a dragon, a mech and a shield – not that he’s hiding behind it.
Doom reinvented itself back in 2016. Its classic gameplay was enhanced with resource management, more freedom of movement and wonderfully gory Glory Kills. It was also a colossal comeback for id Software, which, since the Bethesda takeover, had failed to restore the status it had enjoyed in the 90s.
Doom: The Dark Ages is the third part of the new series and marks another new beginning. The game’s a prequel and tells the story of how the Doom Slayer came into existence. It also bids farewell to the acrobatic skills of its predecessor and focuses on a more down-to-earth gameplay – literally. Thanks to a new shield, things still feel dynamic.
A demonic conspiracy
Before I get to the bloody heart of the game, I’d like to talk about the story. You read right: story! And there’s more. Doom: The Dark Ages even features talking characters and everything that goes with it. Crazy, I know. In the last two games, the story was only told in scattered codex entries.
The prequel already featured Doom Slayer – the feared demon hunter we all know and love. However, in this dark fantasy sci-fi world, he’s controlled by a mysterious alien race. Alongside the humans, they’re battling demons from hell, although the aliens seem to have other plans. But it soon becomes clear that the Slayer won’t accept being put on a tight leash for long. His main adversary is Prince Ahzrak. The prince is bothered by the fact that the Slayer’s turning masses of his subordinates to pulp and that the whole world fears him.
Admittedly, the story’s complexity is roughly at the level of a picture book, but it still adds a little spice to the game and makes the raid through the 22 levels a little more exciting. It’s a shame Prince Ahzrak is a bit pale – both in character and design, which reminds me of a generic Marvel antagonist towards the end of the game.
Dance of the devils
As in every Doom instalment, the focus is, of course, on the action. In addition to his firearms, the Slayer uses a shield for the first time. A saw shield, to be precise. You use it to block your opponent’s attacks or even to strike back, if possible. Attacks you can avert glow a clearly visible green. If you raise your shield at the right moment, you not only fend off the attack, but also briefly make your opponent stagger. Thanks to various runes and upgrades, countering quickly becomes one of the most important tools in battle. The first rune not only causes enemies to stumble, but also injures them.
It also acts as a buzz saw you can throw at opponents to temporarily incapacitate them. Or you can just charge at them with it. Weaker groups can even be pulverised this way. Incredibly satisfying.
There are also new melee weapons to go with the shield. Starting with a gauntlet, there’s a mace that comes into play later on. The latter proves particularly effective against armour. However, you can only use it for a limited time before it needs topping up. You do this by successfully warding off blows, for example. It’s especially worth going into close combat with larger opponents, as they launch attacks that can be countered more frequently.
Fights become real rhythm games. As you constantly have to collect health and ammunition, you never stop. Especially on larger battlefields, when the game throws hordes of enemies at you, you just have to keep moving.
Even without the acrobatic moves, Doom: The Dark Ages loses none of its dynamics. Fortunately, the excessive resource management featured in Doom Eternal has been simplified. You get health through Glory Kills, among other things. That’s what the bloody finishers are called when an opponent’s on the brink of death. Ammunition’s acquired when you go into close combat.
And so you end up frantically jumping around the battlefield accompanied by a fantastic heavy metal soundtrack. Dodging, countering, charging, mace in the face, keeping your distance again. Many opponents require different tactics. Large ones can only be defeated efficiently by fending off all green attacks – preferably at close range. But there are also weaker opponents with shields that block your shots. However, their shield begins to glow during prolonged firing attacks. That’s when I chuck my shield at them and they explode into a thousand pieces. This also earns me shield energy.
Then there’s the type of demon that’ll keep sending out new droves of enemies as long as it’s alive. Or the kind that remains bulletproof until you’ve taken out enough weaker demons to make their energy shield disappear. Of course, your reflexes, aiming accuracy and the force of your weapons are still more important than tactics.
The instruments of death
In order to decimate the hordes of hell, you have a handful of firearms at your disposal. Admittedly, that sounds like far less than what the previous instalments had to offer. However, each weapon is available in two versions. There’s the Combat Shotgun for easy targets and the Super Shotgun for more destruction, which is slower and requires more ammunition. The Shredder’s a kind of machine gun that’s suitable to take out several smaller groups. In the second mode, it’s called Impaler and shoots thick bolts that are ideal for destroying stronger demons. My absolute favourite is the Ravager. It shatters skulls and then spits them out as shrapnel.
The rest of the weapons are nothing to write home about in terms of design. Due to the dark fantasy setting of the game, they all have the same grey-metallic look. I also had higher hopes for the uber-weapon, which is now called BFC and not BFG. The abbreviation stands for Ballistic Force Crossbow, which destroys everything in its path. Not only did the BFG, the Big Fucking Gun, have the better name, it also looked more stylish. Some weapons, such as the two plasma guns Cycler and Accelerator, also feel redundant and are too similar to each other.
I like the design of two other «weapons» better. What I’m talking about is climbing onto the back of the mecha dragon, which you get to do every once in a while. Although these dragon moments are no more than mere fairground shooting gallery interludes with small evasive manoeuvres, they’re definitely a welcome change to the first-person shooter sprees.
And then there’s the Atlan mech. A gigantic monster you can use to fight skyscraper-sized demons. Here too, the gameplay is very shallow. Hitting, dodging and trampling to the ground with miniature tanks.
More than shooting things up
The countless hidden treasures and upgrades scattered throughout the levels add to the fun. Doom and Doom Eternal were already full of them. Although, «hidden» is probably the wrong word. It’s often enough to simply turn around after a jump to find a few gold bars. All the secrets are visible on the map anyway. The difficulty lies in finding the way or opening locked doors. Sometimes you need to use your shield saw to activate a switch from a distance or force a boulder onto a platform to open a gate.
As the game progresses, the mini puzzles, which often only take a few moments to solve, become a little trickier. That’s when your spatial sense is required. But the search is worthwhile, as you often get gold for the secrets you uncover at the end of a mission. I spent more time on this than I’d have thought – especially with the pressure of writing a review.
What’s a shame is that all the searching slows down the otherwise perfect flow. Especially in larger areas, which offer a lot of hidden opportunities, I found all the searching a bit tiring. But it’s the only way you can collect enough resources to fully upgrade your weapons and shield.
A feast for the eyes and ears
Even though the soundtrack isn’t by Mick Gordon this time, as was the case in the last two games, it’s as brute as ever. It sounds just as explosive as Slayer’s murderous weapons. I mean the Doom Slayer, not the band. Fighting the hellspawn to the sound of brutal guitar riffs and pounding drums makes me feel like I’m on a heavy metal album cover. Add to this the stomping steps of the Slayer or the blows of the Atlan mech, which sound like colliding mountains. Glorious stuff, I tell you.
The dark world is brought to life by the latest id-Tech 8 engine. The grotesque monsters I dissect with my murder weapons are beautifully designed. I was even more impressed by the varied areas. From extensive spaces in the shadow of mountain ruins, to ancient, dusty hellscapes, to H.R. Giger-like alien worlds. There’s a lot on offer. The ray tracing lighting effects create a wonderfully menacing backdrop.
I tested the game on PC. I didn’t notice a single bug during the entire time I was playing. Loading times are extremely short. Unsurprisingly, the game runs very smoothly with an RTX 5090, including all the details and 120 fps. On the ROG Ally X, on the other hand, I can’t get above 30 fps, even with low details. It’s possible that the CPU is the limiting factor here.
_Doom: The Dark Ages was provided to me by Bethesda. The game’s available for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S starting 15 May.
In a nutshell
Verdict: back to business
Doom: The Dark Ages is a brute action fest with a perfect metal soundtrack. This time, the Slayer’s more down-to-earth again and more of a battle tank than an acrobat. With a focus on the shield, close combat and warding off attacks, this instalment in the series feels more hands-on and energetic. Honestly, what could be more satisfying than countering a powerful demon attack with a swing of your mace and watching it shatter the enemy’s armour into a thousand pieces?
Combat is still a dance involving dodging, collecting resources and shooting everything up. While resource management has been slimmed down compared to the game’s predecessor, the arsenal of weapons has beefed up. The new firearms are fun tools for the Slayer, even if their design is on the conservative side.
Doom: The Dark Ages hasn’t reinvented the wheel. Instead, you get exactly what’d expect from the series: a fighting frenzy against snarling demons. If I could ask for anything in the next part, it’d be a return to more horror. Why? Because this Doom Slayer knows no fear.
Pro
- Shield and melee weapons liven up the gameplay
- Dynamic, powerful fights
- Great level design
- Fantastic metal soundtrack
Contra
- The story’s a bit feeble
- The villain’s boring
Philipp Rüegg
Senior Editor
Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.chBeing the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur.
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