In 2016, id Software successfully revived the iconic Doom franchise with a bold and energetic reboot. This was followed by Doom Eternal, which ramped up the speed and intensity to deliver an even more adrenaline-pumping experience. Now, Doom: The Dark Ages enters as the third chapter in the rebooted series—serving as a prequel to the 2016 game—and introduces some fresh elements to the familiar formula. The game blends classic Doom chaos with new features, offering another thrilling installment filled with relentless demon-slaying action.
While many have noted that The Dark Ages adopts a slightly slower pace than Doom Eternal, it’s still an action-packed ride. The combat remains intense, with waves of enemies constantly pressuring the player, demanding quick reflexes and non-stop movement. However, the Doom Slayer now feels more grounded and wields a new weapon—the Shield Saw—which adds a layer of strategy, allowing players to parry incoming attacks and deliver powerful counterstrikes.
The Shield Saw
The Shield Saw stands out as the signature weapon in Doom: The Dark Ages, allowing players to launch themselves toward distant enemies for a crushing melee blow. It can also be hurled like a deadly, brutal version of Captain America’s shield. On the defensive side, it blocks most attacks, but its real strength lies in parrying.
Enemy attacks are color-coded to guide players—green ones can be parried, opening enemies up for brutal follow-ups with melee hits or enhanced firearms. As the game progresses, players unlock runes that amplify parrying effects, further encouraging its use.
Although some may find the color-coded system overly “gamey,” it doesn’t detract from the combat’s intensity. Chaining together combos—like blasting with a shotgun, parrying an attack, smashing with a flail, and executing a glory kill—feels incredibly satisfying. The game’s aggressive playstyle rewards players with health, armor, and ammo for staying on the offensive.
Most of the time, gameplay is on-foot as the Doom Slayer, but there are a few standout sequences where players ride a cyber-dragon or pilot a massive Atlan mech. These moments follow the same combat principles—dodging replaces parrying—and successful dodges fuel special attacks or missile barrages. While exciting at first, these segments begin to feel repetitive with limited variation.
Overall, Doom: The Dark Ages delivers thrilling combat, but its heavy reliance on non-stop fighting can wear thin by the latter half. Once the game stops introducing new enemies or weapons, the action starts to feel repetitive. Unlike Doom Eternal, which broke things up with platforming, this game lacks much variety beyond combat, despite some light puzzle elements.
Boss battles are another weak point. There are few of them, and they don’t stand out—they mostly feel like extended fights against standard enemies without added complexity.
Longtime Doom fans may want to start on a higher difficulty. The default “Hurt Me Plenty” setting is too easy for experienced players. Fortunately, difficulty is highly customizable, including a parry window slider for players who don’t want to master precise timings. This and other quality-of-life features—like alerts before the point of no return—help players better manage collectibles and progression without worry.
Full of Secrets
Doom: The Dark Ages levels are packed with resources to collect—health, armor, ammo, and gold used for upgrading the Slayer’s arsenal. While each mission follows a relatively linear path, numerous hidden areas reward curious players with valuable items. To fully upgrade weapons, exploring every corner of each level is essential.
For those less inclined to search for secrets, the game still offers generous gold rewards through mission-specific challenges. Each chapter includes objectives that grant gold, and every weapon features its own mastery challenge once fully upgraded. These objectives add replay value and make progression feel more rewarding.
Spanning 22 chapters, Doom: The Dark Ages delivers plenty of high-octane action and cinematic cutscenes, though its narrative is largely forgettable. The story exists mostly as a vehicle for thrilling sequences and epic visuals—none of the characters are particularly memorable, and emotional investment is minimal. That said, the story’s primary purpose is to frame jaw-dropping set pieces and intense battles, which it does exceptionally well.
Visually, the game impresses at every turn. Cutscenes are visually stunning, and the in-game environments are rich with detail. Enemy designs are grotesque and imaginative, with an incredible number of demons swarming the screen at once—without any performance issues. The carnage is visceral, with monsters visibly torn apart based on where they’re hit, all backed by a thunderous heavy metal soundtrack that matches the game’s relentless energy.