Doom is one of my favorite franchises. Doom and Doom II were a formative part of my childhood, and a huge part of my introduction into the world of gaming. To say that I was extremely excited for this new entry is an understatement.

I feel incredibly lucky to be a Doom fan. While other franchises rise and fall, Doom has remained a constant throughout my life. It still stands strong and proud, and for one simple reason; ID Software has never been afraid of taking risks. Each new entry brings something new to the table, and dramatically changes up the gameplay and atmosphere while still retaining the DNA of it's origins. This is incredibly rare, especially in this modern gaming landscape.

My expectations were sky high, and as expected, ID Software delivers the goods yet again. This time the gameplay revolves around parrying and countering while avoiding bullet-hell projectiles, and it's an absolute blast! The new combat sandbox is incredibly fun and satisfying to master. The team has truly gone all-out and delivered some of the coolest looking weapon and enemy designs in the entire series. The Super Shotgun is a beast (even though I kinda miss the meathook), the Cycler is everything I've wanted out of a plasma rifle, the Ravager is the coolest concept for a weapon I've seen in the last decade, and the Chainshot is a work of art.

The mecha, turret and dragon sections are fine. I enjoyed them as fun (if somewhat mindless) power fantasy segments, but found myself wishing they had a little more complexity.

And now for the least impressive aspect of the game, which is kind of a big deal for a Doom game, the soundtrack. ID Soft's perplexing and unfair treatment of Mick Gordon has left a stain on the franchise that's proving difficult to wash away. Mick's work for Doom 2016 and Eternal, a fusion of electronic/metal that's practically oozing with creativity and originality, is a core part of modern Doom's identity, and his absence is very noticable. Filling Mick's shoes is a gargantuan task, and I sadly have to conclude that ID picked the wrong band for this task. I stuggle to recall a single memorable piece of music, no particular melodies or moments stand out as having elevated the gameplay experience, but rather just sitting there in the backgroud with it's generic compositions and flat mixing. For a series known and beloved for it's music, this just doesn't cut it.

I'm not even going to mention the story, because despite ID doubling down on these elements, I never have and never will play a Doom game for the story elements, it just doesn't interest me.

Overall, Doom: The Dark ages is another fantastic entry into a legendary series that's bogged down by a few questionable choices like the $80 pricetag, mandatory raytracing and inclusion of Denuvo. If you can get past these issues, the game is easily the best FPS to come out this year, and definitely my personal GOTY. 9/10

I am sorry, but I have to give this a negative review, simply because it is really not living up to what made Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal great.
Don't get me wrong, the gameplay was fun enough for me to complete the Campaign, but it all came with a pretty bitter taste.

The Story shifted from having a few characters to an entire Gears of War Squad serving a Power-Metal looking King.
It was really annoying having voices in your head, constantly giving you orders. Honestly, in some Missions I felt more like I was playing Call of Duty with all the orders I've been giving.

The Dark Ages tries to built upon what made the other Doom Games great, but they do it in a way that kinda destroys the entire vibe. Like overusing certain tropes because people really loved them in the other games.
A slight spoiler but there is a part that earns you the achievement "Too Angry to Die" - while it was most certainly pretty ridiculous, it left me with a "meh" feeling.

A lot of other things didnt really make sense, but I am also aware that I shouldnt expect the most coherent story with a Doom Game.

As I've mentioned it before, the core of the game, the gameplay is good enough.
For some reasons, you weight like 100 tons which you can feel with every step and jump you take.
You are literally a walking Tank in this game.
With shield charges and constant sprinting, the gameplay is still relatively fast, although it doesn't really reach Doom Eternals vibes.
It kinda eludes my why the "Doomslayer" has to hide behind a shield, though.

While all the Weapons mostly feel alright, you dont really need anything else than both your normal shotgun and your super shotgun. You kinda have to force yourself to switch to other weapons to make the game feel less repetitive.
That is because your main focus lies on parrying attacks.

At some point, the only thing you have to focus on in the game is a rythm of parry-shoot-parry-shoot, which hilariously left me in a dazed state after playing for a longer period of time. I guess that's what you call mind-numbingly repetitive.
Pretty weird, I can't really say that I've experienced that before.


To sum my thoughts up:
I do believe people will still be able to enjoy the game, but it is defnitely a downgrade when you compare it to previous titles.
The Story and setting feel a lot like someone whos a Doom Fan got to direct it, instead of someone who understands what made the previous 2 titles great.
Since I dont like the direction this game took, I have to give it a negative review.

Also: The pricetag of 80€ is ridiculously high and is pretty much adding insult to injury.
Pick it up for less and you're good to go

Okay DOOM game, not as good as eternal, can't justify the 80€ pricepoint.

Too much cinematics, dragon and robot maps are boring and combat is WAY too shield focused, they even made weapon switching slower to emphasize the shield play.

Combat is fun but every enemy has crazy tracking to further emphasize the shieldplay so you get hit in the back a LOT, also encounters feel too short and a bit too far between to really get to enjoy the flow.

Upgrading weapons in the begininning is frustrating because you basically get a better weapon for each slot later, also keybinding 2 different weapons in each bind sucks ass, especially with the slower weapon swapping.

TLDR; just go play eternal if this isn't on sale for 30€ or lower

Let me start this review by saying I’m not basing my thoughts on the usual complaints—no glory kills, no dashing, the slower pace, or the absence of Mick Gordon’s music. This review is entirely based on my own experience with the game.

I pre-ordered the premium edition because I’ve always been a massive DOOM fan. When The Dark Ages dropped, I jumped in right away, playing my first (and only) playthrough on Nightmare—because, for me, that’s the only difficulty that truly matters. I added several modifiers to increase the challenge: game speed at 130%, the smallest parry window, fastest projectiles, and so on. I enjoy pushing myself, even if it means dying over and over. It forces me to learn, adapt, and approach every fight differently. And believe me—I died. A lot.

I also went for full completion: found every secret, collected every demon essence, mastered every weapon, and essentially 100%ed the game.

Compared to DOOM (2016) or DOOM Eternal, The Dark Ages really makes you feel like a destructive force. From the heavy, booming footsteps to the shockwaves when you land—capable of killing or stunning enemies—it gives you that sense of raw power. But that said, the core combat loop ended up feeling repetitive and underwhelming. Many encounters lacked tension or reward, and the gameplay started to feel stale. A few did stand out—especially some early battles in Hell and the one before getting the BFC, which forced me to stay on my toes and think fast.

I actually enjoyed the segments involving the Atlan mech and Serrat, the Doom Slayer’s dragon. These sequences were a nice break from ground combat and added variety without overstaying their welcome. Unfortunately, most of the other levels felt mediocre. One standout—negatively—was the level inside The Old One, which was a slog to get through. Some late-game levels also dragged, in a way that reminded me of weaker moments in previous DOOM titles.

As for the weapons, the Shredder, Ravager, Cycler, and combat shotgun were the most enjoyable. Disappointingly, the Super Shotgun—normally a franchise favorite—felt underpowered and unnecessary. The alternative weapons simply offered better utility, like the Shredder’s Pincushion or the Cycler’s shock damage, making the Super Shotgun feel like an afterthought.

Boss fights were one of my biggest letdowns. They lacked intensity and felt mechanically shallow. Prince Ahzrak’s fight was a simple loop: parry, shoot, parry, melee—repeat. The Kreed Maykr battle followed the same predictable formula, without ever feeling climactic or dangerous.

Now, the soundtrack—I know many people were disappointed it wasn’t Mick Gordon, but I’ll be among the few who say the OST was actually solid. Finishing Move did a great job creating something that felt original and fitting for this new chapter of DOOM. Some tracks were good enough to make it onto my gym playlist, and I even learned a few guitar riffs from them. That said, there were moments—especially toward the end of the game—where the music would just vanish, leaving certain segments feeling oddly silent and unfinished.

What made this playthrough especially personal was that I dedicated it to my best friend, who passed away. He was the one who introduced me to DOOM in the first place and helped shape my love for the series. Playing through The Dark Ages without him around was emotional. I couldn’t help but imagine the conversations we’d be having about the game—what we’d critique, what we’d laugh about, and how we’d compare it to the previous titles. I think he would’ve shared many of my thoughts, even as a diehard fan.

After finishing the game, I was left with a mix of disappointment and reflection. While it had moments of fun and creativity, DOOM: The Dark Ages ultimately didn’t live up to what I hoped it would be. But playing it in memory of my friend made it meaningful in its own way.

Another fantastic DOOM game, thanks for keeping the formula fresh and interesting Hugo!

The more I play this game, the more I think it's the best one of the modern Doom trilogy - yes, I enjoy the frenetic gameplay of Eternal (I played it for about 500hrs in every way imaginable) but the experience of TDA is just so buttery smooth that I find myself wanting to play it again as soon as I finish the campaign and move to another game.

So far I have played it normally (for reference, I only play at nightmare difficulty), then using only the shield, then I replayed Doom 2016, then I came back on TDA to beat it at 120% game speed, then I replayed Doom Eternal and its DLCs, then I replayed the TDA again without HUD to make some cool fights and now I'm trying to resist the urge to play it again and idk, maybe speedrun it or something.

Yeah the formula is slow, but you can play it fast if you want, and thanks to the way the arenas and the enemies spawn are structured, when you master the basis you feel 100% in control of the battleground. Sure, there are some unbalanced weapons/runes, but overall the whole game just feels amazing if you initially give into it's slow rhythm and style of gameplay, and then try to slowly crank up the speed - otherwise if you immediately try to play it like Eternal, you will just encounter a barrier and won't like the game that much because it's not Eternal 2

Doom the Dark Ages is a good third entry to the new Doom series. Great graphics, fun innovative gameplay, a good and up front story, plenty of lore, runs well, good boss fights. 8.5/10

It does not hit the highs of Eternal for me, but its a good middle ground between 2016 and Eternal.

Is it worth full price? You will get about 25-33hrs depending on if you do 100% completion. To me it should have been a $40-50 price at launch.

I enjoy the new stand and fight combat with parry blocking. Shield bash flying to enemies and then melee attacking followed by instant kill with super shotty never got old.

The story is great with the new additional lore and cutscenes with actual explanation. Doom slayer is still a badass and looks badass, Ahzrak is a good villain with actually good boss fights unlike dark lord and titan from eternal , and Thira is a cutie.

The graphics are pretty good and you really don't need to go above medium settings to get the best picture. HDR looks beautiful just like Eternals. But it is worth mentioning a (at the time) 3yo 1080ti gpu could run Doom Eternal at max settings, without upscaling, in 4k 60fps. The case is not the same here for even current 40 and 50 series gpu for Dark Ages. And non RTX cards cannot even play the game. Blame RTX or modern gaming's lack of optimization, but Doom now has lost its run on anything status. To me the graphics don't look that much better than Eternals, so besides the RTX and physics I don't really understand the performance hit. It's clear we just aren't ready for RTX only triple A games, we've seen both this and Indiana Jones suffer lower sales and player counts because of it. Also I had to rollback my Nvidia drivers to even play the game without it freezing constantly.

The new lovecraft dimension and additions to explain changing of some demons were unexpected and awesome. But I hate how easily Cthulhu was defeated both times. We better see other bosses from his realm or something with a better fight in DLC.

Exploring the maps is still fun. Though, I feel they're a lil too big with wasted space at times. Don't worry about the game feeling slow, as you are still plenty fast, can shield teleport bash enemies, and there's now a sprint button. (Heresy, I know) Each level can take up to an hour if exploring with lots of secrets and optional loot to find. I do wish the secrets were more varied than just fall off the ledge here or bash this wall here, and the item and secret pickups still being arcade style floating orbs instead of actual props like Doom 2016 still bothers me. Having to backtrack after finding the secret key or skull wasn't fun either, it reminded me of security clearance locked doors in Dead Space Remake.

I miss the glory kills, I know you can still do some like from above or behind to behead, but seeing only the same ones like ripping out the boss's hearts for upgrades got boring quick.

The mech and dragon flight levels are fun if not a lil too repetitive, but they don't last that long and are only a few missions.

I played on Ultra-Violence aka hard and the game felt too easy at times, but also, most weapons felt useless unless fully upgraded. The only reliable weapon for quick and efficient kills to me was the super shotty. Of course it doesn't matter what difficulty you play on, and there's plenty of sliders to customize your experience.

The slayer's armor should've looked a little more like 2016's or its own unique style like in the concept art because having his arms exposed again and the outfit looking more like Eternal's just makes me think he didn't like his 2016 look very much.

Finally, the music and sound design is overall good. The ambient music is top notch, and the combat music is decent. You won't feel it during combat like Mick Gordon's, but its not bad.

Overall, I am glad ID didn't make the same game again and continues to change up the formula with each new entry. I'm sure they'll cook with the next game. (Hopefully a Quake reboot)

Balls to the wall insane. Every millisecond of this game is full throttle. The only way it could be improved is if it were accompanied by a Mick Gordon OST, but Marty ♥♥♥♥♥♥ that part up.

I’ll be honest I do enjoy doom the dark ages and especially playing it on my Xbox on my steam deck is a somewhat different experience but it is playable but it’s more optimized than oblivion remastered on steam deck which is ironic to say but I’m playing this on 45 fps with every thing on low and lowest aspect ratio and resolution which is ok but there is audio cracking which is annoying but just lower the audio but it’s a great game and I was able move around pretty fast and I love it definitely recommend on other platforms steam deck is pretty niche I would wait for a patch and the game to go on sale before you buy on steam deck

Not that bad of a game or anything, but it's just not worth 80 euros!