Doom: The Dark Ages Review: Magnificently Metal
Doom: The Dark Ages is as much a playable heavy metal album cover as it is a game — and the franchise is all the better for it
It’s hard to believe that Doom: The Dark Ages is the latest entry in a 32-year-old franchise because it manages to reinvent itself in the best possible way. The core concepts require no introduction — aim and shoot demons — but it’s in how it adds to this basic premise that makes it a journey worth experiencing.
Much like 2016’s Doom and 2020’s Doom Eternal, Doom: The Dark Ages has you in the role of the Doom Slayer. You’ll rip, tear, blast, decapitate, and disembowel the seemingly endless hordes of hell who have made their way to earth. While this is par for the course, the emphasis on style hasn’t been greater than it is here.
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Doom: The Dark Ages’ world seems right out of a heavy metal album cover. You’ll punch 30-foot demons while piloting a giant robot, ride a dragon as you decimate entire ships full of hellspawn, and blast through monsters big, small, and gigantic across wide, sweeping plains, sprawling citadels, and narrow dungeon corridors. There’s a lot to love.
This extends to the gameplay as well. From familiar weapons such as the grenade launcher and the super shotgun to newer fare like the flail and the Pulveriser (which shoots skull shards) they’re a varied bunch. Nonetheless, they all feel great to use and pack a punch in combat. Their over the top stylings and bombastic effects made demon-killing more pleasing than its ever been in the series.
However I had the most amount of fun with the Shield. It let me close the gap on my foes by letting me ram into them. Soon enough I could fire off saws that slice enemies in half. Throw in the ability to parry attacks that allow tremendous damage to be dealt and pretty soon Doom: The Dark Ages felt like a game that required more skill and finesse to get through with a deeply satisfying loop of parrying and shooting to go with it.
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Although there is a plot, it’s essentially an excuse to decimate demons in exceedingly ultraviolet ways. In the 20 hours taken to roll credits, it never got old.
Thankfully, you won’t need a brand new PC to run Doom: The Dark Ages. Despite having a PC that’s ancient by today’s standards, Doom: The Dark Ages runs buttery smooth on its highest preset (Ultra Nightmare). And while it is on consoles as well, the PC version is accessible enough to warrant a purchase.
It’s playable on the Steam Deck too, though I’d wait for more updates before bothering with it if I had to play it on Valve’s handheld exclusively — or any handheld PC for that matter. It’s not as optimised as it could be for handheld PCs.
While it might sound like Doom: The Dark Ages is near perfect, it’s not without its flaws. For one, the visceral melee kills that made the last two games such a joy lack impact in this entry, putting a damper on what is by and large a fantastic experience.
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In addition to this, while the music is suitably heavy it doesn’t meet, let alone surpass the highs of past games. Given how important music is to the Doom series, this is where it falls short.
This has to do with a very public fallout between developer iD and composer Mick Gordon following the release of Doom Eternal. Gordon’s absence has made way for long-time Microsoft collaborator Finishing Move. And while the outfit has done an admirable job with tracks like Infernal Chasm and When The Shadows First Lengthened, overall it’s just about serviceable.
Also, availability and price are concerning (it’s becoming a trend with most things from Microsoft). While you can buy Doom: The Dark Ages digitally via Steam for PC and on the Xbox Store for Xbox Series X|S and PC (as well as being on Xbox Game Pass), the price of ₹5,999 on Steam and on Xbox Store is far from palpable. More so when physical copies of the game didn’t make it to India officially which would have been priced lower.
That said, if you can look past these concerns or grab it via Xbox Game Pass you’ll be treated to the best single-player shooter experiences since 2016’s Doom.