After spending countless hours dismembering demons across the blood-soaked landscapes of Doom: The Dark Ages, one thing becomes crystal clear: id Software has crafted something genuinely surprising. This isn’t just another iteration in the beloved franchise, it’s a bold reimagining that strips away the acrobatic parkour of Doom Eternal in favor of something more primal, more grounded, and paradoxically more intense.
A Tale of Origins and Ancient Fury
The Dark Ages serves as a prequel to the modern Doom trilogy, diving deep into the mythological origins of the Doom Slayer during a medieval hellscape where humanity’s last bastion fights against the demonic invasion. The narrative centers around the Slayer’s early days, before he became the unstoppable force we know from the 2016 reboot and Doom Eternal.
The story follows the Slayer as he becomes embroiled in an ancient conflict involving the Night Sentinels, powerful artifacts, and a web of betrayal that spans both Earth and Hell. Key characters include Thira, who becomes central to an ancient ritual that empowers the Slayer’s shield, and Kreed, whose betrayal sets devastating events in motion. The plot revolves around Ahzrak’s fortress in Hell and the revelation that Thira serves as the power source for a mystical Heart, a discovery that fundamentally alters the stakes of the conflict.
What sets this narrative apart from its predecessors is its more cinematic approach. While previous Doom games treated story as window dressing for the action, The Dark Ages weaves its lore more intricately into the gameplay experience. The medieval setting provides rich atmospheric context that feels both familiar and refreshingly different from the Mars research facilities and Earth invasions we’ve grown accustomed to.
Combat Revolution: The Shield Changes Everything
The most significant departure from previous entries lies in the combat philosophy. Where Doom Eternal emphasized “rip and tear” mobility with dashing, double-jumping, and wall-climbing, The Dark Ages adopts a “stand and fight” mentality that fundamentally alters how encounters unfold.
The game’s centerpiece is the Shield Saw, a versatile weapon that functions as both offensive tool and defensive barrier. This isn’t merely a defensive addition; it’s a complete paradigm shift. The shield can be used to parry incoming attacks, reflecting projectiles back at enemies with devastating effect. More impressively, it can be launched as a projectile weapon, used for mobility by grappling to distant points, and even serves as a finishing move that can chain explosive damage across multiple enemies.
The parry system adds a strategic layer that previous games lacked. Timing perfect parries not only negates damage but creates openings for brutal counterattacks. When enemies glow red after sustained damage, a well-timed shield throw can shatter their defenses and create area-of-effect damage that cascades through nearby demons. This creates a rhythm to combat that feels distinctly different from the constant movement-based survival of Doom Eternal.
Shield bashing provides another tactical dimension, allowing players to charge across distances to close gaps with distant enemies, essentially replacing the meat hook from Doom Eternal but with more strategic weight. The charging attack can instantly kill weaker demons while stunning larger threats, creating opportunities for follow-up attacks.
What makes this system particularly engaging is how it doesn’t slow down the action despite being more grounded. Instead of relying on vertical mobility and constant movement, encounters become exercises in positioning, timing, and tactical aggression. The combat feels heavier and more impactful, with each swing and parry carrying satisfying weight.
Arsenal and Enemy Design
Beyond the revolutionary shield mechanics, The Dark Ages introduces a robust arsenal that blends familiar favorites with medieval-inspired variants. Classic weapons return with new functionality, while entirely new additions complement the shield-focused combat system. The weapon variety encourages experimentation, with each tool feeling purposeful rather than redundant.
Enemy design reflects the medieval setting while maintaining the demonic essence that defines Doom creatures. New demon types are specifically designed to interact with the shield mechanics, creating encounters that feel fresh while maintaining the series’ characteristic intensity. Some enemies carry shields of their own, leading to shield-versus-shield confrontations that add tactical depth to engagements.
The AI seems more aggressive in certain ways, with demons actively trying to overwhelm the player’s defensive capabilities. This creates a constant tension between offense and defense that keeps encounters dynamic and unpredictable.
Level Design and Exploration
The Dark Ages embraces more spacious, open-ended level design compared to its predecessors. Chapters feature wide zones that encourage exploration, with secrets and upgrade materials, including gold, rubies, and wraithstones, hidden throughout each environment. This represents a notable shift from the more linear, arena-based approach of Doom Eternal.
The levels feel substantial and offer multiple approaches to objectives. Players can explore around objective markers rather than being funneled through predetermined paths. This design philosophy creates a sense of discovery that was somewhat lacking in previous entries, where the focus was primarily on surviving individual combat arenas.
However, some critics have noted that certain areas can feel somewhat barren compared to the densely packed encounters of Doom Eternal. The trade-off between exploration and constant action intensity is noticeable, though many players will appreciate the breathing room to appreciate the atmospheric detail and search for secrets.
The visual design adopts a more subdued color palette compared to the vibrant intensity of Doom Eternal, but the medieval aesthetic provides strong atmospheric cohesion that supports the level design effectively. The environments feel lived-in and historically grounded while maintaining the supernatural elements that define the Doom universe.
Technical Performance and Visual Presentation
Running on the latest iteration of id Tech, The Dark Ages showcases impressive technical prowess. The PC version offers extensive graphics options, including ray-tracing support that enhances the already impressive lighting and environmental detail. Performance is generally smooth across various hardware configurations, though the most demanding settings require substantial computing power.
The art direction successfully merges medieval aesthetics with the series’ signature brutality. While the color palette is more muted than previous entries, this restraint serves the medieval setting well, creating atmosphere that feels both grounded and otherworldly. Character models, particularly the demons, showcase impressive detail and animation quality that brings the medieval hellscape to life.
Environmental destruction and physics feel impactful, with the shield mechanics creating particularly satisfying visual feedback when shattering enemy defenses or demolishing environmental obstacles.
Pros: What Works Exceptionally Well
Combat Innovation: The shield system represents genuine innovation rather than mere iteration. It creates a fundamentally different combat experience that feels fresh while maintaining the series’ core identity.
Atmospheric Design: The medieval setting provides rich atmospheric context that enhances both narrative and gameplay elements. The world feels cohesive and purposeful.
Strategic Depth: The parry and defensive mechanics add tactical layers that reward skilled play without overwhelming newcomers to the series.
Exploration Balance: The more open level design creates opportunities for discovery and player agency that were limited in previous entries.
Technical Excellence: The game showcases impressive technical achievement with smooth performance and stunning visual presentation.
Weapon Variety: The arsenal feels diverse and purposeful, with each weapon serving distinct tactical roles within the shield-focused combat system.
Cons: Areas for Improvement
Difficulty Balance: Some players may find the game easier than Doom Eternal, potentially reducing the intense challenge that defines the series for hardcore fans.
Pacing Variations: The shift from constant high-intensity action to more exploratory gameplay may disappoint players who preferred Doom Eternal’s relentless pacing.
Environmental Density: Certain areas feel less densely packed with content compared to previous entries, potentially creating moments where the action feels sparse.
Learning Curve: Players accustomed to the mobility-focused combat of recent entries may need time to adjust to the more grounded, defensive-oriented approach.
Single-Player Focus: The lack of multiplayer modes may disappoint players who enjoyed the competitive aspects of previous entries.
Comparison to Previous Entries
The Dark Ages occupies a unique position within the Doom trilogy. Where the 2016 reboot reestablished the series’ brutal identity and Doom Eternal pushed mobility and complexity to extremes, The Dark Ages finds middle ground that paradoxically feels both familiar and revolutionary.
Compared to Doom (2016), The Dark Ages offers more strategic depth while maintaining similar accessibility. The shield mechanics provide tactical options without the overwhelming complexity that some players found in Doom Eternal’s numerous movement and combat systems.
Against Doom Eternal, The Dark Ages feels more measured and deliberate. While it may lack some of the pure adrenaline rush of constant movement, it replaces that intensity with strategic satisfaction and atmospheric immersion. Players who felt overwhelmed by Doom Eternal’s complexity may find The Dark Ages more approachable, while those who thrived on Eternal’s challenges might initially miss the acrobatic elements.
The progression systems feel more streamlined than Doom Eternal’s extensive upgrade trees, focusing upgrades on enhancing the core shield and weapon mechanics rather than introducing entirely new movement abilities.
Final Verdict
Doom: The Dark Ages succeeds as both a prequel and a bold evolutionary step for the franchise. It proves that the Doom formula can support radical mechanical changes without losing its essential identity. The shield-based combat system isn’t just a gimmick, it’s a fundamental reimagining that creates genuinely different gameplay experiences.
While purists might debate whether the more grounded approach captures the same intensity as Doom Eternal’s acrobatic violence, The Dark Ages offers something equally valuable: strategic depth and atmospheric immersion that creates its own form of engaging brutality.
The game rewards both aggressive play and tactical thinking, creating encounters that feel both familiar and surprising. The medieval setting provides narrative context that enhances rather than distracts from the action, while the technical presentation showcases id Software’s continued mastery of their craft.
For newcomers to the series, The Dark Ages offers an excellent entry point that’s more approachable than Doom Eternal while maintaining the core appeal of demon-slaying action. For series veterans, it provides a fresh perspective on familiar mechanics that justifies revisiting the Doom universe.
The Dark Ages doesn’t replace the previous entries so much as complement them, offering a different but equally valid approach to the Doom experience. It’s a confident, well-executed game that successfully balances innovation with tradition, creating something that feels both nostalgic and forward-looking.
Recommendation: Highly recommended for both series fans and newcomers. While it may not achieve the pure adrenaline rush of Doom Eternal, it offers strategic depth and atmospheric immersion that create their own compelling reasons to experience this medieval interpretation of humanity’s fight against Hell.