Doom: The Dark Ages review - Rip and tear and parry

Video games have grown more complex since the 1990s, but the power fantasy—of ripping and tearing through hordes of enemies and saving the world—remains a core part of their appeal. Arguably no greater power fantasy exists than id Software’s Doom franchise, and Doom: The Dark Ages puts you in control of the Slayer at his most powerful.

A prequel to 2016’s Doom and 2020’s Doom Eternal, The Dark Ages casts you in the lead role in a war against the forces of Hell. Naturally, you’re up for the task. The more demons on the battlefield, the happier the Slayer. Everything you do as the Slayer has impact. Jumping into a horde of enemies from a great height causes them to explode from the sheer force of your landing. Melee combat feels visceral and satisfying, especially the combos you can use to stock up on supplies that spill out from monsters as you pummel them into chunky bits.

Doomed

The shield, my favorite mechanic, is both an offensive and defensive tool. id Software has said that Doom: The Dark Ages takes inspiration from weaving your way through projectiles to get at enemies, a tactic that should feel familiar to anyone who played the original Doom games. You can do that here, but the blocking with the shield is your best bet. Besides blocking, however, you can parry attacks Dark Souls style, staggering enemies and leaving them open for you to blast away or ram them with your shield to stun them again. Every action you can take with the shield feels intuitive and powerful, especially parrying, a technique you’ll need to master if you want to survive.

Besides your trusty shield, Doom: The Dark Ages boasts the most versatile set of weapons at the Slayer’s disposal yet. Every weapon has two forms (shotgun and super shotgun, plasma gun and a wider plasma cannon that covers more range). Critically, you’re encouraged to switch weapons depending on the monsters you fight, but unlike in Doom Eternal, you’re not forced to. Experiment, but feel free to stick with the weapons of mass destruction you like best.

All of this amounts to a fantastic combat loop that kept me playing late into the night. Parrying, shield-bashing, swapping weapons, squaring off with giant foes like the Cyberdemon while juggling fodder enemies such as Imps and soldiers—it never gets old, and the game teaches you mechanics level by level until you’re combining them effortlessly and feeling powerful all the while.

Level design feeds into the combat loop. Arenas tend to be large to accommodate enemy projectiles and spacing. Explosive barrels are placed strategically, but I forewent using them in favor of getting in close and bashing demons to bits. There are lots of paths to take and secrets to find, and the background action such as giant demons fighting dragons and mechs speaks to the scope: There’s a war going on, and you’re humanity’s best shot at survival.

The only thing hampering your progress, occurring mostly in the late game, is puzzle design that sometimes feels intentionally obtuse. Doom has always had puzzles, but they should be relatively short and simple. That helmet the Slayer wears isn’t a thinking cap, after all.

You’ll get to control those mechs and your pet dragon, too. The mech feels like a natural extension of the core gameplay loop: punch, dodge, blast, and stomp through buildings and demons until you’ve reached your goal. You don’t pilot mechs often—id doesn’t want to take you away from your arsenal, which you can upgrade along the way, for long—but the sections where the mech comes into play are action-packed and a nice breather from ground-based combat.

To Hell and Back

The dragon is a different story. Flying the dragon turns Doom: The Dark Ages into a shoot-em-up that isn’t fun to play. The dragon can be hard to control, shooting targets doesn’t have much feedback compared to combat with the mech or the Slayer, and generally comes across as filler content. There are 22 levels to play through, each roughly 20 to 40 minutes long your first time through, longer if you enjoy tracking down secrets. The last thing I wanted to be doing was flying around on a dragon when the mech and Slayer combat loops are so much more visceral.

Doom: The Dark Ages boasts the longest, most involved story of this trilogy. It’s pretty standard fare (there’s a big war going on, and the demons want to destroy everything) but you can skip all the cutscenes if you’re interested in fully embracing your role as the Slayer and concentrating on all the ripping and tearing you need to do to win. I wouldn't be surprised if most players took this route. While the cutscenes are gorgeous to behold, they also slow down the game. Doom has always benefitted from a "less is more" approach when it comes to storytelling. Also, "show, don't tell." Doom 2016's story did this very well, making The Dark Ages feel bloated in comparison. But, again, the cutscenes are skippable.

After Doom Eternal proved somewhat divisive among fans, Doom: The Dark Ages should be a Doom game everyone can appreciate. It’s fast and hard hitting, featuring robust combat systems that make learning their ins and outs fun and empowering. I daresay it’s even better than Doom 2016, and is a must-play title for everyone interested in Doom, first-person shooters, and action games as a whole.

This review is based on a key provided by the publisher. Doom: The Dark Ages releases on May 15, 2025.

David Craddock

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.