DOOM: The Dark Ages Reviews
Doom: The Dark Ages may strip away the mobility focus of Doom Eternal, but replaces it with a very weighty and powerful style of play that is different from anything the series has done before, and still immensely satisfying in its own way.
Doom: The Dark Ages is an eye-popping first-person shooter with nonstop action and some very welcome additions to the Slayer's arsenal.
Doom: The Dark Ages is indulgent and deliciously violent, but surprisingly safe.
Here's a more grounded Doom, but one that's as brisk and playful as ever.
Doom: The Dark Ages is the weakest entry in a fantastic trilogy of games, and despite how I feel about its additions to combat and exploration, I’d rather an experience that took risks and sought to reinvent what it means to play a Doom game rather than build upon the familiar.
"Glory Kills have been tossed out, which doesn't help with Doomguy's apparent loss of moxie – now he can't even be bothered to beat a demon to death with its own leg anymore!"
Doom: The Dark Ages reinvents and reigns in with equal measure, taking the series in a bold new direction without straying from its captivating roots.
Id Software's prequel is a big, heavy metal adventure with a few too many cutscenes
Doom The Dark Ages will get your blood pressure up. It will test your reflexes, your problem-solving skills, your aim, and your ability to solve problems on the fly. It’ll probably test your patience a little, too, when the chugging, uninspired, padded-out sections in the middle start to wear a bit thin.
Doom: The Dark Ages is AAA gaming at its best, with huge set pieces and memorable moments around every corner of the beautiful environments that only add to the highly-polished and heavily-addicting gameplay.
Doom: The Dark Ages is another stellar entry in the classic franchise, thanks to its engaging, grounded combat, expansive and varied locales, phenomenal graphics and hours of gameplay. Though it's not revolutionary, it delivers a fast-paced and visceral experience few games can match.
The level designs are overly drab, and the vehicle sections wear out their welcome, but the actual battles against hordes of demons are as fun as ever, and you’re given tons of awesome tools and toys to unleash on them.
DOOM: The Dark Ages reimagines the series' approach by offering unique and highly personalized gameplay supported by simple yet engaging additional systems. The Slayer's carnage is as immersive as ever, but the shadow of past installments partially overshadows the final result, which falls short of memorable status.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
In an attempt to one up the already hellacious shooter series, one that reached new adrenaline highs in 2020’s Doom: Eternal, developer Id Software turns every dial up to 11 from right Chapter 1. The battles are faster and more ferocious. Hidden lore becomes glitzy cutscenes. Our hero rides a mechadragon, for God’s sake. Every single piece of it is an exercise in maximalist escalation, trying to find a ceiling to a timeless shooter hyper violent glory. It reaches that height, but comes up against a hard truth: There’s nothing left to climb once you’ve reached the top.
DOOM: The Dark Ages is a fun and flashy shooter stuffed with engaging content - it's a thrill-ride from beginning to end. In the shadow of DOOM Eternal, though, the more varied set-pieces and methodical combat cause its flame to burn just a bit less bright than I was hoping for.
After Doom Eternal proved somewhat divisive among fans, Doom: The Dark Ages should be a Doom game everyone can appreciate. It’s fast and hard hitting, featuring robust combat systems that make learning their ins and outs fun and empowering. I daresay it’s even better than Doom 2016, and is a must-play title for everyone interested in Doom, first-person shooters, and action games as a whole.
Getting used to Doom: The Dark Age's combat loop takes some time, but once it clicks, it becomes a real joy.
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Review in Italian | Read full review
I’ve mentioned some minor problems and disappointments, but I mean what I said at the top. This is the most impressive Doom game iD has developed. The ingenuity and evolution of its gameplay, while remaining true to itself, is outstanding, along with an epic campaign to complement it. The Doom Dance in The Dark Ages is addictive, and I’m stoked to continue playing.
In just under 10 years, id Software has created three very different Doom games, with 2016’s being the most pure, Eternal being the most expanded, and The Dark Ages easily being the most bone-crunchingly heavy metal.