I still remember the betrayal I felt when Dr. Samuel Hayden stopped the Slayer at the end of Doom 2016. Since that fateful day, I have worked my way up the ladder, combing through Doom Eternal and eviscerating The Icon of Sin. However, something inside me lay unfulfilled. An itch to slaughter more demons. I was, after all, not done ripping and tearing. Just when I was ready to give up, Doom: The Dark Ages showed up.
The third installment in the new-gen Doom saga, The Dark Ages, puts the Slayer in a brand new storyline, but the same core formula. The high-octane FPS is amplified with more weapons, more executions, and much more chaos. Doom The Dark Ages also increases the size of the battlefield by introducing mech suits and mountable dragons, letting you wreak havoc on measly demons with the full force of justice. Thanks to a copy provided by Nvidia, I went through over 20 hours of ripping demons apart. After finishing the full game, here’s my Doom The Dark Ages review.
A Simple Story…But With Cinematic Flair
Doom The Dark Ages’ main story is very simple: demons led by Ahzrak are attacking the sentinels to destroy their very way of life. The Sentinals, on the other hand, are using the Doom Slayer to fight back. Ahzrak is after an ancient power of the Sentinels, like what regular big baddies do, and the Doom Slayer is the only hope against them, all of which takes place before the events in Doom Eternal. The story does have a few twists and turns, but none of them will blow you away or anything.
But that doesn’t stop the entire cinematic experience of the game from being extremely satisfying. The main story is extremely well executed, accompanied by cinematic cutscenes of massive scale. From massive battles to taking down huge monsters, the cinematic cutscenes are an absolute treat to watch, and at no point make you ponder how basic the actual main story is for the game.
It’s like watching John Wick movies. The story may be as basic as it gets but the execution is flawless, leaving viewers, or players in this case, thoroughly enjoyed and wanting for more.
Image Credit: id Software (screenshot by Sanmay Chakrabarti/Beebom)
Image Credit: id Software (screenshot by Sanmay Chakrabarti/Beebom)
Image Credit: id Software (screenshot by Sanmay Chakrabarti/Beebom)- Image Credit: id Software (screenshot by Sanmay Chakrabarti/Beebom)
- Image Credit: id Software (screenshot by Sanmay Chakrabarti/Beebom)
Image Credit: id Software (screenshot by Sanmay Chakrabarti/Beebom)
One thing to note is that, unlike the previous installations of the Doom franchise, the story of Doom: The Dark Ages is much more fleshed out and easy to follow. Although there were times when you will be confused about the Slayers’ actions, the overall plot can be followed easily without reading a hundred different log files.
Kill, Smash, Blast, and Repeat…With Style
With enough said on the main story, let’s discuss the meat of the game — Slaying Demons. Doom has never been about enjoying the story, although the franchise has huge lore supporting it. Even if the fleshed-out storytelling is a welcoming change, we play a Doom game for something more primal in nature — high-action adrenaline-inducing combat, absolutely mowing through hordes of enemies. And Doom the Dark Ages provides that in an ample amount.
A Massive Arsenal of Weapons
Doom: The Dark Ages completely outdoes its predecessors, introducing not only an increased number of devastating guns but also adding more melee weapons and a shield to parry/block and attack enemies. The game features 11 guns, three melee weapons, and four different runes for the shield, each with their own mod upgrades. Just when you think that there can’t be any more, the game throws in a power weapon with more devastating damage.
The Slayer starts with the traditional Doom Combat Shotgun, easily blasting enemies at close range. However, it’s a bummer that the Shotgun lacks the hook from Doom Eternals, but it definitely doesn’t lack in its devastating damage output at close range. As you progress through the story, more guns and weapons unlock, from a Super shotgun to the old and trusted Rocket Launcher.
Each weapon has two variants that can be swapped mid-fight depending on the situation. For example, the combat shotgun can be swapped with the Super Shotgun, which has fewer bullets and takes longer to reload but deals a ton more damage at close range. You can swap between the Grenade Launcher and the Rocket Launcher based on the enemy you are facing.
Every weapon feels distinctly unique and has its own effectiveness when upgraded. Some are better for AoE damage, while others are better for single-target damage.
My personal favorite was the Ravager, which features a Vampire and Ammo mod. These mod upgrades recover ammo and health shards from enemies when shooting at them at full charge. So, all you need to do is hold the fire button and mow through hordes of enemies without worrying about ammo, while regenerating your health at the same time to avoid death.
Shields, Parrying, and More Melee Weapons
Alongside guns, Doom the Dark Ages also brings back the chainsaw and melee attacks. However, this time the chainsaw is converted into a shield saw that can be used to parry and block enemy attacks, while also being thrown at enemies to cut them down. Doom fans would be unfamiliar with the parry mechanic.
Still, it perfectly fits into the intense fights, capable of turning the tide of battle at an instant by stunning enemies or reflecting projectiles. It is also highly satisfying to perform in the game. Who doesn’t like parrying in action games? And it definitely fits the Doom ecosystem.
The shield also unlocks four different Runes, each giving different effects for successfully parrying projectiles. For example, one Rune creates a fissure on the ground, damaging enemies on a straight path, while another calls down lightning strikes on nearby enemies, after performing a successful parry on a projectile attack.
Although not every enemy attack can be parried, only attacks marked in green are parryable; all the other attacks can be blocked with your shield until the slayer hits the blocking threshold.
Other than the shield, the game also adds three different melee weapons: Power Gauntlet, Flail, and the Dreadmace. Like Doom Eternals, melee also returns ammo, which lets you fight constantly without worrying about emptying your gun all the time. Each melee weapon has its own upgrades and different play styles.
The Power Gauntlet awards more melee strikes and can shock enemies, while the Flail deals AoE damage and deals increased damage to armors. The Dreadmace, on the other hand, deals devastating damage and completely refills the ammo of the gun in use to max, but only has one charge.
Mechs and Dragons…I Mean, Why Not?
Doom is the perfect franchise for staging fights against huge enemies, but it was never done so in the past. Doom the Dark Ages takes the initiative to introduce the Atlan, which is basically a massive mech suit. From the get-go, you see these gigantic monsters fighting in the background with Atlan suits, creating perfect hype for when you actually get your own. Specific chapters are completely made around using the Atlan suit to defeat these massive enemies.
I won’t lie, there is a certain satisfaction in crunching big tanks and demons under your foot when they have been giving you trouble the entire game. The Atlan suits make you feel invincible, letting you run through buildings and destroying them without a second thought. The fights in the Atlan suits are also distinctly different, with the mech suit having its own fighting combos, different from the Doom Slayers’ chosen guns and weapons.
Other than the Atlan, Doom: The Dark Ages also introduces a literal mountable dragon. Specific chapters are built around this mechanic where you get to fly around on the Dragon, chase down ships, and destroy enemy objectives. Flying around on the dragon feels extremely good, and the design choice for the dragon is spot on. The dragon also has its unique execution animation, which is my favorite in the game.
The best part about the Dragon chapters is that they do not tie the players to riding the dragon. These maps have multiple landing spots where you can land the dragon and explore the area as the Doom Slayer again, making it feel much more authentic and incredibly cool.
Secrets and Puzzles That Are Worth Exploring
Like Doom Eternals, Doom the Dark Ages is filled with collectibles in every chapter. These collectibles are often marked on the map when walking near them, but reaching them is an entirely different ordeal.
Most of these secrets are tied to puzzles or challenges, some extremely challenging. I often scratched my head, trying to figure out a way to reach many clearly visible collectibles locked behind doors, only to find that you must swim underwater from an entirely different part of the map to reach them.
Some of the puzzles would even send you to other dimensions, holding you hostage until you complete the challenge or die in the process. One particular puzzle forces you into a looped corridor, leaving you running endlessly until you figure it out.
Other than secret, each chapter has activities which are slightly less than side quests but more than menial tasks. You will often get activities telling you to find and destroy siege weapons or cultist circles, while other activities will ask you to parry certain enemies or deal damage with certain weapons.
The maps in each chapter are also massive, giving mostly free rein to the player for exploration. Each chapter feels unique, with entirely new maps and different mechanics. Some are vast open lands, while others are inside battleships or in literal hell. Every map has enough variety to keep you on your toes, looking for more from every chapter.
Graphics and Performance
To test out the game’s performance, we decided to run Doom: The Dark Ages on a variety of GPUs, including the latest MSI GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB (review) and the RTX 4060. We ran the game on maximum graphics across 1080p and 1440p. However, before we get into the numbers, here’s our test setup:
