Doom: The Dark Ages Reviews
Doom: The Dark Ages offers a fresh and brutal take on the iconic franchise, blending mediaeval themes with the series' signature fast-paced combat. The game’s new mechanics elevate the experience, providing a satisfying sense of power and control befitting the Doom Slayer. However, the lack of a strong, motivating soundtrack detracts from the intensity of the action. Despite this, it remains an exciting entry that will appeal to both long-time fans and newcomers alike.
Doom: The Dark Ages is a declaration of intent. A proof that the Slayer formula is still alive, and that it still has a lot to offer in new scenarios. If Doom Eternal was a climax of infernal madness, this installment is its original echo, rawer, heavier, but just as addictive.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
DOOM: The Dark Ages takes the franchise to a medieval era, introducing new gameplay mechanics and adding more depth to the Slayer's journey. Unfortunately, some of these mechanics end up making the gameplay repetitive, accompanied by a disappointing soundtrack. Despite the issues, DOOM: The Dark Ages has a solid gameplay foundation, maintaining the brutality and frenetic pace that only the DOOM franchise can deliver with mastery.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
DOOM: The Dark Ages arrived with new backdrops that feel like a mix of different universes but still feel believable and original when paired with the Doom Slayer. The gameplay is still hectic and brutal, and it is spiced up with a few interesting elements. The only major disadvantage is the lack of multiplayer.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Doom: The Dark Ages is often a perfect successor to the rest of the trilogy, with some fantastic weapons, a great addition with the shield, and an absolutely breathtaking aesthetic. Still, the bland soundtrack and wide-open areas zap the energy out of most encounters, resulting in a game that, while extremely well made, feels less like Doom and more like Serious Sam mixed with Painkiller, which isn’t ultimately a bad thing if you like those games. Still, The Dark Ages is wildly enjoyable and does provide some satisfying combat with the best version of the Slayer yet.
DOOM: The Dark Ages is a thrilling new addition to this blockbuster franchise, that wonderfully dovetails the classic original with the new-age formula, all while adding in a fresh, exciting new approach to combat and exploration. Some content gets a bit bloated midway and this won’t necessarily convince those who didn’t enjoy the previous games, but the inclusion of a shield for blocking and parrying, the dragon and mech missions freshening up the action, as well as a more sandbox, open-ended nature to the missions, gives players old and new plenty to sink their teeth into. All while bopping their head to banging beats and getting their eyes melted by some of the most impressive visuals this generation!
DOOM: The Dark Ages is a solid and striking entry in the series, with its own identity and unique elements that earn it a special place within the saga. The absence of some key components – like a powerful soundtrack that has always defined the experience – doesn’t stop it from standing out thanks to its design, brutal combat and artistic ambition. It may not have the same impact as the previous titles, especially now that the series has lost the surprise factor of its 2016 reboot, but there’s no denying it adds a new flavour to the legacy of DOOM, and will surely be remembered for it. What remains to be seen is exactly what kind of flavour that is, and how popular it will become in the future – though it’s bound to stick in our memory longer than a viral meme on social media.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
DOOM: The Dark Ages doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel – and it doesn’t need to. The game delivers the classic, brutal DOOM that fans know and love, now with modern, creative, and well-executed mechanics, giving you the perfect tools to decimate hellish hordes with style.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
DOOM: The Dark Ages is a confident evolution of the modern DOOM formula that’s an absolute blast to play. By giving the Slayer new tools, new space to think, a fresh style of combat, and an absorbing narrative that’ll completely hook players in, id Software has delivered a game that feels both familiar and completely different at the same time. It slows things down enough to add a deeper element of strategy and planning to the experience, all without losing the intensity, chaos, and sense of ultra-violence that made the series so damn unforgettable to begin. And sure, the pacing might not be for everyone and the difficulty can be a bit too forgiving at times, but when you’re in the thick of battle with demons – strategizing, dodging, slashing, and smashing – it really is as electrifyingly brutal as DOOM has ever been.
While it’s got rousing gunplay that prioritizes parries and weaponized defense, it’s also got enough fluff — a less tactical Glory Kill system, merely passable vehicle sections, a campaign that meanders near the end — that’s unbecoming for a game that came after two tightly tuned installments.
Doom: The Dark Ages is an experience entirely worthy of the saga's legacy, while introducing elements that boldly renew and reconfigure it. Although it is not a flawless game, especially with somewhat disappointing visuals on consoles, it is a solid offering. The pleasure of playing is constant, and the sense of reward that each battle brings is very intense. In the end, that's exactly what I look for in a video game: challenge, intensity, and pure satisfaction.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Doom remains second-to-none when it comes to satisfying gunplay, each shotgun blast feels devastating thanks to great visual and sound design. While the new weapons are unique and welcome additions to The Slayer’s arsenal and the parries are plentiful and impactful.
DOOM: The Dark Ages is a major success for one of the industry's most iconic franchises. Revitalizing yourself is no easy feat, especially while maintaining the essence that helped the IP get to where it is today.
Doom The Dark Ages proves to be a decidedly good FPS and able to satisfy fans of the series, to once again allow the player to step back into the shoes of the (mighty more than ever) Doom Slayer, making his way through the streets of hell. The changes made to the gameplay, aimed at making it less frenetic than Eternal, might perhaps throw you off initially, but the steady and almost always on-the-pace pace of the game will eventually win you over in the long run. Some changes to the parry system would certainly be welcome.
Review in Italian | Read full review
DOOM returns with its signature brutality. In The Dark Ages, the game introduces fresh ideas through a compelling exploration system and bloody gameplay that gives every weapon in the arsenal a distinct weight and feel—thanks to the effective use of the DualSense features. All of this is blended with intense music and striking audio-visual effects that make everything scream with rage and excitement. Despite a few missteps that kept the experience from reaching full perfection, it undeniably stands as one of the most thrilling action shooters of this generation.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
DOOM: The Dark Ages is a small step back from Eternal, but it still packs a blood-soaked punch with its aggressive, weighty combat and outstanding visuals, reclaiming its steel throne in the FPS genre.
If it wasn’t for the excessive emphasis on a story I simply couldn’t care about, Doom: The Dark Ages would have easily, without a shadow of a Cacodemon-shredding doubt, been my favorite title in the modern Doom games. It perfected combat and exploration in ways I never thought would ever be able. By ditching platforming puzzles in favor of just letting you rip like a madman onto dozens of demons at a time, iD Software managed to create something truly spectacular.
It’s an absolute blast to play through, with impressive visuals, an appropriately metal soundtrack, and some really wild set-pieces that deserve to be seen. Absolutely pick this one up when you get a chance, you won’t be disappointed.
Id Software has outdone itself with Doom: The Dark Ages. They reinvented the game to make it feel distinct, while familiar at the same time. The Shield Saw oozes satisfaction, despite the guns taking a somewhat backseat. Introducing cinematics is a breath of fresh air, even though the story is serviceable at best. The Atlan Mech and Dragon are nice ways to change the pace. But the run-and-gun gunplay remains as frenetic and brutal as ever. Truly, the legend of the Doom Slayer emerged from the Dark Ages.
DOOM: The Dark Ages is another fantastic entry in possibly the greatest FPS franchise of all time. Brutal, hardcore, and metal as hell.