Doom: The Dark Ages Unveiled: First Look

After id Software's remarkable revival of Doom in 2016 and the even more refined 2020 sequel, Doom Eternal, the franchise reaches new heights with Doom: The Dark Ages. This medieval-themed prequel keeps its feet firmly planted on the ground, bringing the high-speed, high-skill-ceiling first-person shooter experience closer to the hordes of Hell's minions.

The new Doom shifts away from Eternal's platforming, focusing instead on grounded, strafe-heavy combat that emphasizes power. While the iconic firearms remain a staple—this is Doom, after all—a standout addition is the Skull Crusher, showcased in the reveal trailer. This weapon uses the skulls of fallen enemies as ammunition, firing them back at living foes in smaller, high-velocity chunks. The Dark Ages also prioritizes melee combat with three key weapons: the default electrified gauntlet, which can be charged; the flail; and the star of the reveal trailer, the Shield Saw, which can be thrown, used to block, parry, or deflect. As game director Hugo Martin stated after my demo, "You're gonna stand and fight."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Martin cites three seminal pieces of pop culture as primary inspirations for The Dark Ages: the legendary original Doom, Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns graphic novel, and Zack Snyder’s 2006 film 300, which itself is based on a Miller graphic novel.

The modern Doom series's trademark Glory Kill system has been revamped to allow fatalities from any angle on the battlefield, adapting to the environment and the hordes of enemies surrounding you. Similar to 300 and the original Doom, you'll find yourself in combat bowls, now significantly widened in The Dark Ages. You can tackle objectives in any order and explore levels freely, which Martin notes have been slightly shortened to maintain an optimal length of about an hour per level.

Addressing a common critique from Doom Eternal, The Dark Ages will no longer rely on the Codex for storytelling. Instead, the narrative will unfold through cutscenes, promising to take players to the far reaches of the Doom universe in what id describes as "a summer blockbuster event with everything on the line," as your power as the Slayer becomes a coveted prize among enemies.

Martin emphasized the development team's focus on simplifying the control scheme, acknowledging that Doom Eternal's controls were overly complex. The new game aims for an intuitive feel, ensuring players aren't fumbling for unfamiliar buttons under pressure. Melee options, for instance, will be equipped one at a time like equipment. Additionally, the game introduces a more straightforward economy using only one currency, gold, and secrets will now focus on enhancing your skill progression, offering tangible, gameplay-altering rewards rather than deep lore dives.

For those who crave a challenge, The Dark Ages introduces custom difficulty sliders, allowing players to adjust game speed, enemy aggression, and more directly from the UI.

Two standout sequences from the reveal trailer—the giant 30-story demon mech, the Atlan, and cybernetic dragonback riding—will not be one-off events. Each comes with a full suite of abilities and minibosses to battle, though they won't be summonable at will. Notably, The Dark Ages will not include a multiplayer mode, as the team focused all resources on crafting the best single-player campaign possible.

For someone like me, for whom the original Doom was transformative in 1993, Martin's pivot from the direction of Eternal back to the design principles of the 30-year-old classic is thrilling. As Martin put it, "It's just gotta be different [from Eternal]. Especially if I loved the game. [If] I wanna play a Doom game, I wanna feel strong, but I'm OK with changing what that power fantasy is, especially if that change brings it closer to classic Doom."

With such exciting changes, anticipation for Doom: The Dark Ages is at an all-time high. The release date of May 15 can't come soon enough.