DOOM: The Dark Ages
Developed by: id Software
Published by: Microsoft Game Studios
Date of Release: May 15, 2025
Price: $69.99
In these modern times it seems that first person shooters are being released at a rapid-fire pace, with cookie-cutter Call of Duty games, Fortnite clones, shovelware asset-flip boomer shooter wannabes, and extraction shooters right out the arse. While they're not all bad, the utter deluge of sameyness is really starting to stagnate the market, which is why it's such a breath of fresh air whenever a new Doom game comes out. in 2016 we had the excellent semi-reboot of Doom, Doom eternal following on it's heels in 2020, and now here in 2025 we're taken back in time with the prequel Doom: The Dark Ages. Taking place well before the events of Doom 2016, it weaves a heavy-metal power fantasy of ripatorious glory.
Plunking you into the iron-clad boots and fur cape of the Doomslayer, Doom: The Dark Ages tells a tale of an era when the Makyr-backed Night Sentinels still reigned supreme against the forces of hell, though things are never quite as simple as they seem. In this barbaric era the Maykrs saw fit to enslave the mighty Doomslayer out of fear for his nearly limitless godlike potential. Kept in line by an electrifying tether and driven by his mindless hatred of demonkind, he is used as a living weapon against their foes and launched with all the aplomb of a tactical nuke onto the battlefield. And this is where the game starts, as the Kreed Makyr's ship fires the Slayer from orbit like a railgun round onto the planet below.
Starting out with an appetizing cinematic intro to set up the story, the Slayer heads to the kitchen equipped to tenderize hell's legions with his trusty combat shotgun and shield, the flavorful combat garnished with a sprinkling of tutorials to steep the player in the game's mechanics as you go along. Everything is well laid out, and nothing really takes you out of the action unlike the tutorial rooms of 2016. Parrying enemy attacks quickly becomes second nature, and the combat moves at a much nicer pace than that in Doom Eternal, relying less on mobility and glory kills, and more on just bringing the pain in whatever flavor you choose to dish it out. For myself a meaty shield tackle followed up with unloading both barrels of the super shotgun directly in my foe's faces was the preferred soup du jour. Unlike in Eternal you don't feel punished for not using certain weapons to season certain enemies, you can just rip and tear until it is well done. And for a Doom game that is how it should be served. Now I should stop the food puns before I get thrown out of the buffet...
The visuals in Doom: TDA are absolutely breathtaking, with far-off vistas visible in the massive levels that are quite akin to the good old days of doom, with plenty of places to get lost in and secrets to be found in each one. The variety in every area is quite nice as well, with some impressive surprises near the endgame. And with the gameplay, there are some nice variations there as well. There are a few parts where you get to pilot a towering Atlan mech against titans from hell, and ariel dogfights on your trusty cyberdragon steed. Honestly I wished there had been more of those sections, but what was there is still quite satisfying. All in all the graphics as well as the performance were perfect IMO. I played through the game with a 4080 at 4k144 and never had so much as a hitch in the framerate.
Then we get to the music. Hoo boy, does The Dark Ages have a banger of a soundtrack. Don't get me wrong though, it's not QUITE on the level of Mick Gordon, but it's almost there. Finishing Move Inc. handled the soundtrack, and did an incredible job of living up to the other games. Especially near the end, and in the final battles, this is a score to frigging RIP AND TEAR to. The cinematic score is also very fitting, with a dark forboding soundscape. My two favorite tracks have got to be Infernal Chasm and Between Hex and Flame. The Dark Ages' soundtrack feels much like the way the Slayer handles this time, beefy and tankier.
At the end of the day, Doom: The Dark Ages manages to live up to the majesty of Doom 2016 and Eternal, combining the best of what made both great all while managing to do it's own thing. I had a frigging blast with it, and I can only hope the future DLC campaign will be more of the same awesomeness. I'm so glad they put out a fully single player experience this time rather than wasting effort on lackluster multiplayer. As it stands right now, Doom: The Dark Ages is my GOTY, and I doubt that will change unless a Quake reboot suddenly materializes from the aether.
RIP AND TEAR, UNTIL IT IS DONE.
