Visuals
The game looks fantastic overall. The environments feature grand setpieces like massive demons tearing through everything and ship battles in the sky. These scenes provide a strong sense of scale and spectacle. The Slayer’s animations are full of power, whether he is walking, climbing, or striking enemies, reinforcing the sense of brute force. The dragon levels are visually impressive but quickly become repetitive.
Gameplay
Combat remains satisfying but feels noticeably slower compared to Doom 2016 and Eternal. The signature fast-paced, flowing action has been toned down. Perfect parries and dodges are very easy to execute, even on higher difficulties, which takes away from their impact. The melee system feels good, but a small delay between melee attacks and shooting interrupts the flow.
The shield is a strong addition, both visually and mechanically. However, shield runes and other upgrades rarely offer meaningful changes to gameplay. Most equipment upgrades feel underwhelming overall and lack impact.
The game offers a wide range of weapons, but due to generous ammo supplies, players are not encouraged to switch between them often. This makes it easy to rely heavily on one weapon. Without glory kills, the game feels like it is missing a signature element of the modern Doom identity. While the removal makes sense given the high enemy count, it still feels like a loss.
Sections involving dragon riding, mech suits, or turrets look impressive but suffer from a lack of depth. These parts become repetitive and slow the game’s pace even further. Dragon missions in particular are the weakest part of the game, featuring bland objectives and no variety.
Bosses
Boss fights do not appear early in the game, but when they finally arrive, they showcase the best parts of the combat system. Some late-game bosses take full advantage of the parry mechanics, forcing players to react to extended combos. These fights feel fantastic and are among the highlights of the experience. It is unfortunate that they come so late and are relatively few in number.
Exploration
Each level includes secrets such as collectibles, upgrade material for equipment, extra lives, and a new resource called gold. Gold is the main resource to upgrade gear, which gives exploration more purpose. However, since most upgrades have minimal impact, the rewards do not feel very exciting.
Story
The story mainly exists to reinforce how powerful the Slayer is. While some cutscenes are well-made and visually impressive, the sheer number of them becomes a problem. The narrative itself is not very engaging and interrupts the action too often. Doom 2016’s minimalistic approach to storytelling felt more appropriate for this series.
Sound and Music
The audio design is excellent. Every movement and impact carries weight, and the Slayer’s presence is emphasized by heavy footsteps and powerful attack sounds. The soundtrack is as phenomenal as ever, with intense metal compositions that perfectly match the game’s tone and pacing.
Performance
The game ran flawlessly during the playthrough, with no crashes, frame drops, or stuttering. It is worth mentioning that some players have reported crashes related to new graphics drivers, which were avoided by not updating.
Verdict
8.5 out of 10
Doom: The Dark Ages delivers another strong dose of brutal action and intense metal-fueled carnage. While the core gameplay remains enjoyable, it lacks the speed, variety, and polish of Doom Eternal. Repetitive side content, too many cutscenes, and a slower combat flow hold the experience back. Despite this, it still offers excellent moments, particularly in its late-game boss fights and large-scale setpieces. It may be the weakest of the modern Doom titles, but it is still a great action game that fans of the series will enjoy.
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