DOOM: The Dark Ages throws players into a medieval battlefield filled with demons, combining the signature furious action with a new, heavier and more fundamental approach to combat. Id Software has redesigned the Slayer, portraying him not as a lightning-fast fighter, but as an unstoppable war machine, heavy, relentless and utterly destructive.
Every DOOM title pushes the boundaries, but The Dark Ages is a radical departure, slowing down the pace and placing more emphasis on brutal gunplay. It's a decision that has proven to be hugely successful, offering a campaign packed with a variety of weapons, strategies, and thousands of demons ready to be torn apart.
In a year packed with fantastic games, DOOM: The Dark Ages manages to stand out as a bloody, explosive attraction.
Gameplay
The Dark Ages stays true to the DOOM DNA, but refines the mechanics with a more deliberate pace. The Slayer's movements are more difficult and his actions more calculated. The double jump has been removed, replaced by the "Shield Saw", a multi-purpose weapon that can slice through weaker demons, weaken stronger opponents, and block attacks, with the option to parry certain blows.
Combat now relies more on raw strength and endurance than pure speed. Weaponry complements this change, with devastating options like plasma rifles, heavy spike launchers, and the incredible “Skullcrusher,” which crushes crowned skulls and scatters their sharp fragments among the hordes of Hell.
Players can customize the experience using game speed modifiers (up to 120%), allowing for a faster pace without losing the difficulty of the combat.
Demon leaders bring a strategic dimension, rewarding players who defeat them with increased health, armor, and ammo capacity, which encourages a tactical approach to conflicts.
Research and upgrades
The levels in The Dark Ages are reminiscent of DOOM (2016), filled with combat arenas with larger maps packed with secrets. Careful exploration yields collectible figurines, pages of lore (the history of the world in which the action takes place), and puzzles, adding additional layers beyond the pure combat.
Players can earn Gold, Rubies, and “Wraithstones” to upgrade their Slayer weapons. The standard shotgun, for example, can be upgraded to set enemies on fire, forcing them to drop armor fragments. It’s a small but significant tactical element in combat.
Flexibility is key. Unlike DOOM Eternal, which enforces a rigid combat flow, The Dark Ages allows players to experiment with different tools while maintaining strategic depth.
Kaiju battles and aerial missions
Id Software further expands the gameplay with Serrat, the Slayer's dragon used for aerial combat, and Atlan, a massive mech designed for "Kaiju"-style conflicts.
Dragon segments focus on dodging attacks, charging up weapons, and destroying enemy fighter jets with machine guns. Players can also engage in Titan battles, where giant creatures are torn apart in the midst of aerial attacks.
On the other hand, the Atlan sequences rely on sheer brutality, allowing players to punch, kick, and destroy colossal opponents with a variety of heavy weaponry. While fairly simple, both mechanics do a great job of emphasizing the epic scale of the Slayer's war.
Brutal story
The Dark Ages takes place before DOOM (2016), exploring the long-running war between the Slayers, the Night Sentinels, and the legions of Hell, led by Prince Ahzrak.
The Slayer begins as a weapon of Makyrs, used as the ultimate soldier. The story unfolds through impressive cinematics, which, while visually spectacular, maintain the style of a bloody Saturday morning cartoon series, dramatic but relatively simple.
For veterans, the DOOM mythology provides a sense of inevitable tragedy. For newcomers, this prequel is the perfect entry point into the series.
Visual and audio atmosphere
Powered by the idTech 8 engine, DOOM: The Dark Ages impresses with its visual beauty. From medieval fortresses, to hellish rivers of lava, to cosmic horrors. Ray tracing technology improves lighting, while HDR support reaches 10,000 nits, ensuring incredible contrast and clarity.
The world feels dynamic, with physical interactions that allow chairs to be destroyed, giant grenades to be scattered, and wooden pallets to be moved, adding further realism.
The sound design is equally impressive. From the blunt thud of a Slayer landing to the crackle of a plasma weapon, every effect is crisp and clear in tone.
While the background music, by Finishing Move, is still energetic, it doesn't quite reach the legendary status of Mick Gordon from DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal. However, it does contain a few exceptionally strong compositions.
Accessibility
Beyond gameplay, DOOM: The Dark Ages is From Software's most accessible title to date. It includes adjustable font sizes, game speed modifications, and customizable parry windows, allowing players to shape the experience to their own needs.
Of particular note is the “Magnify” feature, which enlarges menu text to full screen size, improving readability for all players. It’s a small but powerful change that other publishers should adopt.
All of these features mean that I can easily recommend DOOM: The Dark Ages to new players. As a prequel, it doesn't require any prior knowledge of the series, while offering the most accessible design id Software has ever created.
The game offers around 15 hours of gameplay to complete, and costs €80 on the Steam gaming platform.
Performance
To have the chance to play this masterpiece from id Software, you need the following components:
- Procesor: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X ili Intel Core i7 10700K
- RAM memory: 16GB
- Graphics card: NVIDIA RTX 2060 SUPER or AMD RX 6600
- Video RAM: 8192MB
- Operating System: Windows 10 64 bit
- Hard Disk: 100GB of free space.
Conclusion
DOOM: The Dark Ages delivers a fresh yet authentic evolution of the series. It retains its wild energy while advancing combat, exploration, and accessibility.
For veterans, this is a refreshing change. For new players, this is the easiest point of entry. And for anyone looking for pure, unfiltered action, DOOM: The Dark Ages is just a hell of a game.
9+
Rating for Doom: The Dark Ages
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