Last Updated on 19 May, 2025
When you say Doom, I see running through wasteland littered with dead bodies, shoving shotguns into demons’ heads, and finding some nifty toy trinkets among all the bloodshed.
It’s dirty, gory, and entertaining if you go in with that frame of mind and continue to be shocked by how prolific it is.
I went in with expectations for more of the same entering Doom: The Dark Ages understanding that it is a prequel to Doom 2016 and Eternal.
While I am not very familiar with the series and played 2016’s game but briefly before jumping into The Dark Ages straight away, I was nevertheless ready to visit Hell and play as an overpowered war machine once more.
Hell is Where it All Started
Doom: The Dark Ages is a prequel to Doom 2016 and Eternalandtakes us back to medieval times when demonsstarted infesting Argent D’Nur in droves.
Rightinto The Dark Ages‘ opening, you’re already greeted with gore as demons in Hell tearflesh apart, Argent D’Nur burns with fire, and Maykr waitforDoom Slayer’s arrival atanymoment now
No beating around the bush aboutdepictingthe violence and turmoilsurroundingthe world. Ididnottakeanentire minute to be absorbedinwhatIwaswatchingasI sat on the edge of myseatwaitingforour heroto enter into action
The Dark Ages are darkandgrubby and smearedwithentrailswherever you look. Youdon’tevengeta chance to catcha breath as you set foot on the battlefieldwith shotgun and bucklerat hand and see the world goupin flames about you. It‘s already commonknowledgethat you‘re the only one who can stop all of these pillaging demons and you‘ll donothingbutcement that as you holdgunstotheir heads and paint the world red.
We’re punching and sawing through enemies now
If you‘ve played anyof the other Doom titles, you‘ll be more than familiar with howruthlesstheyare as you tear enemies apart, rip their arms off, and blast them into amillionbits with guns. Forall my limited playof Doom 2016, I wasused to doingthat without batting an eyelid. Fearnot—thereis still plenty enough of that to go around in this game
Seeing it in The Dark Ages‘newappearance somehow makes it all even more graphical in aneye-opening yet satisfying type of way.
With mechanics suchas the Shield Saw and epic mech combatthrown into the mix,it’san even more compelling experience that I foundmyself having more fun playing than I thought I would. So don’t you worry if you‘re afraidof guns you‘veplayedwith in thepast, becausesomeof those willbemaking their comeback as well.
The Super Shotgun remainsmy topgun, but goodLord are some of the others just as enjoyable
For a game thatasks you to killenemieswithwhatever and whateverweaponsyouhappento have on hand to you, including the strongestfists and legs ahumanbeing might ever hopeto have access to, combat isactuallyvery simple and easy to learn.
Rather than concernyourselfwith whether or not they’veincluded a systemby which you might grow an extra armin an attempt to get better at switching between each set of weapons, it’sallona few keyssoyou’reable to switch gunsand parry and dashabout without encumbrance.
What’s the fun in seeing a Shield Saw ripapart a dozen demons,after all, if you’re too concernedaboutkeepingtrackof controls from chapters ago?
Where The Dark Ages divergesfromtherestof the series is in its lessfreneticfeel.
Whileyou dogettomove around a lot, you’ll certainly feel as if you were more a hard-hitting, armored tank-typefigurerather than a speedkiller. If you enjoybeing quick and fast, you mightviewit as a drawback, but I was a big fan of this change.
MakingDoom Slayer a hulkingmusclemanwhopunches hiswaythroughwhateverstandsin his path and who possesses some of the gorettiestglory killings in videogame history rather than aguy who zoomsallover the map with his speed is onething that I‘ve falleninlove with about the game. While Iunderstandwhereyou’regoingif a level is linear that you’d want boots of speed, The Dark Ages takesa far more open-world designto its chapterssothat you can explore and learn more about theworld you’re in
The numberof enemies that appear in each level is astoryin itself. Too many and too much for someAndtoomanyand toomuchforme at firstaswell.Withpracticebeingmadeperfect after becomingaccustomed to h*llthat isactually Hell, it soonbecameanadrenaline-packedexperience that pushed my survival and shooting skills to their limits.
These feelings ofbeingoverwhelmedwere soon replaced with satisfaction and awe as I progressedtomasteringeach and everystrength and weakness of my guns and their upgrade trees to take an already overpowered heroand turn him even more overpowered
Doom: The Dark Ages is among the first in years to have my heart pumping with its action-packed gunplay and complexgraphics. Thatintensifiedwith each subsequent chapter as I completedvarious gameplay exercisesranging from soaringthrough space in a massive mech to soaringthroughspace on a dragon. Having metal music blasting as youblastfoesintospacemakes you thatmuchmore invincible, especially if youplay as Doomguy himself.
Muchdemon variety isin each missionbuteven more so in eachsubsequent chapter as common enemies and bosses, making challenge sooftenand so more fun
There’s more to this than shooting guns
I‘ll sayit out loudnow: oneofmy favorite thingsabout any game is secrets. Ilovetakingup a double-barrel shotgun and blasting a demon‘s face into kingdom come, but everynow and then I lovetakingadeparture from the triedandtrue method to seewhat else is out in the world apart from gore and slaughter.
In the first mission alone, you‘ll discover shortlyenoughthatmorethan just monsters areconquering the world out here
The Dark Ages is rifewithmysteries. From tiny hidden rooms filledwith treasure to toyfigurinesappearinginthemidstof missions, there‘s more to do in this hellscape than gunningdowndemons day and night. Sure, gunningdown hordes ofmonstersconstitutes most of your playthrough in classic Doom fashion, but you‘ll have a chance to unwind and gooffona tangent in every level if you want
And if you‘re a run-and-gun player, then at least you have that tofallbackon as well. Otherwise, The Dark Ages will reward you with lore and other treats for your trouble
My second favorite part about games is strategy. I wasn’t planningonusinga lot of strategy for The Dark Ages and wasmorehopingtoshotgunthroughitenoughtogetthrough my playthroughandseehow much strategy ispossibleathigher levels. Eachkindofgun has strengths and weaknessesandiseffective in certain situations and knowingalltheirsubtletiesis howyouachievevictory
While you can certainly get by with apreference towards one kindofgunoveranother if youdon’tdiewellenoughyourself, you‘llneed to master themallif youwant to masterthisgame.
This kind of strategy wasn‘t expectedbymebut isonethat I‘ve been enjoying since I received my first few guns.
Doom: The Dark Ages remindedme completely how great it is to berunning about, shootingthings and trying out gunsthat you never everget to use in anothergame
Creatinghavocoutofbullet hellistruer now as yougettounleashand the demons getanopportunitytodotheirbest and at best survive while you keeponshooting
Havingbeen the worstSlayer to ever set foot on planet earth never mademe feel so wonderful
