BlogsPreviews

FIRST LOOK: DOOM: The Dark Ages

It’s been over 30 years since the original DOOM released, and nearly half a decade since we last stepped into the boots of the Doom Slayer (not counting Fortnite, of course) in DOOM Eternal. And folks… Based on the first look we were fortunate enough to sit in on earlier this week, it’s safe to say that Bethesda has not wasted a SECOND of that time in cooking up something truly special and astoundingly violent for us with DOOM: The Dark Ages.

Of course, if you’ve been online at all this week, you may have already seen or heard about a few of the details below. Sadly there’s some people that have no problem breaking NDAs and embargos and spoiling the fun and excitement for everyone (couldn’t be me!), and I hope those people shit themselves in their sleep tonight. Anyway, back to the preview.

Complete with chainmail and fur accents to his iconic green armor, The Doom Slayer will be churning out medieval-inspired murder all over hell and creation later this year, as we become “the superweapon of gods and kings”. It’s id Software’s most “ambitious game yet” according to Executive Producer, Marty Stratton.

In case you’re feeling lost already, don’t be. Dark Ages narratively serves as a prequel to Doom (2016), and we’ve been told is the perfect entry point for both new and returning fans alike. id Software is taking the franchise’s lore “out of the codex and into the cutscenes”, and it seems like we’re going to be getting some serious summer blockbuster vibes from Dark Ages’ main story. I, personally, cannot wait to see what violent madness is getting cooked up.

“Become the ultimate superweapon of Gods and Kings.”

The gameplay looks quite different in Dark Ages from what we saw just a few years ago with Eternal, and that’s entirely by design. To hear the devs tell it – in DOOM Eternal you were supposed to feel like a fighter jet, in The Dark Ages… You’re an iron tank.

The slower (but still not slow), more heavy face-to-face combat would be nothing without an insane arsenal of weapons, which all tie into id Software’s “Only in DOOM” motto. The Doom Slayer will be complimenting his badass new armor with an arsenal of mean, ancient, brutal guns built to butcher, impale, and shred the fuck out of demons with. This includes the new Shieldsaw, with which you can throw, block, parry, and deflect with a single button. There’s also maces, flails, and more to stand and fight toe-to-toe with as you take on the armies of hell.

Through Hell and Back

There’s also more than a few brand new systems (and beefed up old ones) coming to The Dark Ages, most notably with the 30-story-tall Atlan mech suit and cybernetic dragon mounts that you can use to finally take down those massive, skyscraper sized demons that you’ve watched take down whole cities in the backdrop of Doom 2016 and Eternal. Those aren’t just one-off setpieces either, there will be whole levels and scenarios where you can use those new massive mounts to your heart’s content. The Glory Kill system has also been overhauled, in that the animations happen in real-time, keeping you moving in combat. No longer will the game pause, zoom in, and stop the action. Now you’re going to execute those enemies and keep the blood flowing.

Exploration is also a huge emphasis in Doom: The Dark Ages, and while it’s not an “open world” experience, you’ll be able to explore massive sandbox levels to find new abilities and godlike powers across many diverse medieval sci fi fantasy environments. I think one of my biggest complaints with the other two Doom titles is that the levels looked a little too same-y and that I found myself getting a little fatigued easily. The Dark Ages’ worlds look like a Best-Of compilation of 80s heavy metal album covers and pulls from a number of fantasy genres for inspiration for it’s dark, twisted landscapes.

As for the soundtrack, the team at Finishing Move will be picking up where Mick Gordon left off, composing an all new soundtrack that – while it’s reminiscent of the past two iconic games – has an identity all it’s own and already sounds awesome. id Software says this is the biggest and most ambitious game they’ve ever made, and it feels more like classic Doom than anything that’s come before it. 

Give ’em hell.

While there’s a focus on streamlining controls and systems so that you’re fighting demons – not the game’s controls – this is far from an “easy” experience and series veterans are going to have their hands full with the game once the difficulty is cranked all the way up. There’s even fine-tunable sliders for a dozen different combat aspects in Doom The Dark Ages, meaning you can define your own difficulties in many different ways. This also most likely has huge implications for accessibility, which is super exciting for those who have different needs than most and have been the complexity of combat in previous Doom titles.

All in all, DOOM: The Dark Ages is shaping up to be a dark, bloody, brutal good time and I cannot wait to get my hands on it once it launches later this year. id Software is cooking up something crazy, and fans are really in for one seriously explosive treat.

DOOM: The Dark Ages arrives on PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S May 15th, 2025.

Papa Dom

Co-founder, lead blogger, graphic designer, and manager of WGG's writing team - Dom has been writing about video games for over ten years. Dom's work has been featured on some of the world's biggest gaming news outlets - including Dexerto, GameInformer, and IGN.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *