Doom The Dark Ages Review: Brutality, Reforged in Blood and Steel

After rebooting Doom into a visceral ballet of bullets and blood with Doom (2016) and Eternal, id Software has taken a swing so wild it loops back around to genius. Doom: The Dark Ages is not just a prequel to the modern Doom saga. It’s a full thematic reimagining, ripping away the neon-soaked space hellscapes in favor of something ancient, gothic, and impossibly metal. The result is a game that honors the series’ ultraviolent roots while forging bold new ground, even if its deliberate pacing and medieval tilt won’t please everyone.

From the moment you step into its decaying stone cathedrals and corpse-strewn moors, The Dark Ages makes it clear this isn’t just another reskin. Gone is the rocket-jumping mayhem of Eternal; in its place is a heavier, grounded kind of carnage. Combat feels like smashing your enemies with a cathedral bell rather than slicing through them with a chainsaw. It’s slow. It’s weighty. And it works.

The Slayer, still a wordless avatar of righteous rage, now feels more like a crusader than a super soldier. You’ll trade out plasma rifles and double jumps for bone-shattering melee weapons like the Shield Saw, a brutal fusion of shield and chainsaw, and the Skull Crusher, which lives up to its name in every glorious animation. There’s a real sense of impact to every hit, with enemies crumpling in glorious showers of gore and bone. It’s different, but no less satisfying.

That shift in combat pace may divide long-time fans. Where Doom Eternal demanded constant mobility and rapid-fire decisions, The Dark Ages encourages strategic positioning and timed strikes. You’re not bunny-hopping around demons so much as tanking through them with measured brutality. It’s not quite Dark Souls, but it inches closer than you’d expect from a Doom game. The difference isn’t just cosmetic; it changes how you approach every encounter and forces you to rewire your instincts if you’re coming off Eternal.

What elevates this new setting beyond just a skin swap is how fully id commits to it. The Cosmic Realm, a twisted dimension of impossible architecture and Lovecraftian horror, adds a surreal, occult flair to the worldbuilding, expanding the franchise’s mythology while preserving its sense of scale and spectacle. The design team deserves credit for creating a world that feels both ancient and alien, with ruined cathedrals lit by eldritch fire, and haunted battlefields echoing with whispers of long-dead gods.

Then there’s the matter of your ride. Two of them, in fact. The game lets you pilot a cybernetic dragon in certain sequences and a hulking Atlan mech during some of its larger set pieces. While these sections are sparing, they add just enough bombast to keep the pacing fresh and they’re undeniably fun. You’ll wish there were more of them, but that’s probably better than them overstaying their welcome.

While Doom: The Dark Ages focuses solely on its single-player campaign, the added depth and polish is evident. Without the distraction of multiplayer or live service hooks, id has created a narrative that, while still told largely through environmental storytelling, feels more cohesive than past entries. It explores the Slayer’s ancient past, the origins of the demonic war, and the twisted politics of the kingdoms caught in its wake. It’s not Shakespeare, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s big, loud, and mythic… just like the soundtrack, which leans harder into sludge metal and Gregorian chants this time around. It’s bizarrely perfect.

If there’s a knock against The Dark Ages, it’s that the slower pacing may not always serve the game’s strengths. Some arenas drag on longer than they should, and without the double-jump/mobility meta of previous games, traversal can feel a little stiff in places. Enemy variety, while grotesquely creative, can fall into familiar patterns, and a few boss fights rely too heavily on trial-and-error instead of reflex mastery. But these are minor blemishes on what is otherwise a bold, bloody reinvention.

Doom: The Dark Ages trades speed for savagery and rockets for ruin… but make no mistake, the heart of Doom still beats beneath the chainmail. This isn’t just a medieval reskin; it’s a reimagining that challenges your expectations while delivering the same kind of cathartic ultraviolence fans crave. It may not hit quite as hard or fast as Eternal, but its atmosphere, creativity, and pure conviction in its vision make it one hell of a ride.

RATING: 4.0 out of 5.

Doom The Dark Ages is available for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X on May 15th, 2025.

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