Every swing of a flail, every shotgun blast, every tear of the Shield Saw through a demon's face, it all reinforces a single word in my head: Confidence. That's the word that best defines what I saw of DOOM: The Dark Ages in a preview event ahead of the Xbox Developer_Direct showcase on Thursday.
From everything I've seen, the development team has worked to shake up the formula for what makes something a DOOM game, while still providing all the gory action players expect and love.
Diving into a medieval war
The latest iteration of Bethesda Softworks and id Software's demon-slaying first-person shooter series is substantially different from its immediate predecessor, and that's by design. Game director Hugo Martin notes that the team is quite proud of what was accomplished in DOOM Eternal, but that "there were no more acrobatics to pull out" and improve the Slayer's moveset.
Gone is the nimble platforming and speedy jumps seen in DOOM Eternal. In The Dark Ages, which is running on id's in-house id Tech 8 engine, the Slayer feels weighty, an iron behemoth methodically pulvering his way through the vast battlefields. Executive producer Marty Stratton says DOOM: The Dark Ages is the team's "most ambitious game yet," and watching the war-torn arenas and towering spires, it's easy to see what he means.
While the Super Shotgun naturally returns, most of the Slayer's arsenal in the Dark Ages is new weaponry, a conscious decision by the team in order to make the game feel fresh. All of the new equipment is themed around harsh torture devices and brutal medieval weaponry. The Skull Crusher makes a particular statement, shredding skulls to fire fragments at enemies in a way that would even impress the world of Warhammer.
You can choose between three different melee weapons in order to adjust your playstyle, with a flail, mace, and electrified gauntlet all providing different advantages and disadvantages depending on the situation.
While you're told "stand and fight" on the ground, that's not the only way the Slayer can take on towering demonic foes. After being teased in DOOM Eternal, players can finally hop into the massive Atlan mechs, unleashing machine gun fire and pummelling demons under their armored fists. For flying enemies, the Slayer takes to the skies with a cybernetic dragon, exploring what appears to be a vast golden city. Both the mech and the dragon will be used against specific mini-bosses, per the developers.
For any newcomers wary about the challenge, id Software is implementing a number of difficulty sliders, allowing players to speed the game up, slow it down, adjust parry windows, and more.
All of this is set to a heavy metal soundtrack that fits the tone and mood the series has established so far. The soundtrack for DOOM: The Dark Ages is being composed by Finishing Move, a team that's previously worked on a number of projects including Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo Wars 2, and The Callisto Protocol.
It's worth noting that DOOM: The Dark Ages is a strictly single-player venture, a decision Stratton indicates was made "early on" in order to let the developers focus. Martin adds that the team is happy with past multiplayer efforts, but that it essentially came down to having co-op or having the mech and dragon.
A hellishly good time awaits
I was already excited about this game ever since the first trailer dropped at the Xbox Games Showcase 2024 and I was unable to get it out of my head. This preview only cemented how eager I am to play and how cool everything the team has crafted looks.
I do want to learn more specifically about id Tech 8 and what kinds of modes console players can expect, but I'm sure we'll be getting those details before long. At this moment in time, DOOM: The Dark Ages is easily my most anticipated game of the year, and I can't wait to dive in.
Best of all, I won't be waiting until the end of the year to get my hands on it.
As announced during the Developer_Direct, DOOM: The Dark Ages is slated to launch on May 15, 2025, across Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PlayStation 5. Anyone preordering the Deluxe edition will get two-day early access. Naturally, it's also included day one in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
