Doom: The Dark Ages is the third game of the new “Doom” era since the franchise was rebooted in 2016 and was followed up with a second game, Doom Eternal, in 2020. While this newest title makes some big changes to the game, and I do mean “big,” it does feel like it’s lost a bit of that Doom charm that made me giddy whenever I saw the phrase “rip and tear.” 

For this latest go-around, developer id Software tweaked the Doom formula to go beyond just shooting enemies and is far away from the platforming that was found in Doom Eternal. The result is a blend of action that really sings when everything is timed right but also falls flat outside of the action. There’s just a lack of areas where my adrenaline starts pumping compared to the previous Doom games.  

To lay the groundwork for Doom: The Dark Ages, the game takes place before the events of the 2016 reboot. Doomguy, referred to as the Slayer throughout, was transported to Hell following the events of Doom 64 in order to fight the hordes of monsters. Some point after battling demons for billions of years, he’s transported to Argent D’Nur, a different realm inhabited by humans who fight against the hordes of Hell in this epic war with futuristic weapons with a medieval motif. As the Slayer, he’s there to help the humans win and what follows is a very dramatic, almost Game of Thrones-type story but it feels shallow. 

And I get it. Doom wasn’t ever really about the story but it has been since the reboot. What I love about the reboot is that I’m playing as the same character as I was 20 years earlier in my high school computer lab. A character who had returned from the depths of Hell and was being used as a living weapon to defeat the army from Hell once again. Then, in Doom Eternal, we learn how Doomguy was a mythical hero in that other realm and traveling to that realm was this satisfying experience that felt like the equivalent of a heavy metal album cover. 

In Doom: The Dark Ages, I didn’t feel that same excitement to learn more about Doomguy’s past. The attempt at intrigue just didn’t work, so making my way through the chapters was a slog at times. Don’t get me wrong: The action was exciting, most of the time, but it takes a while to get to that pinnacle of where all the new elements of the game fit into place.

Doomguy’s New Toys (and Tricks)

Of those new elements, the most significant is the addition of a shield. It’s weird playing a Doom game with a shield but it’s part of id’s attempt to redefine the gameplay by adding some depth. The shield provides four kinds of actions that are important while playing, including the most obvious one, defense.

Some of the enemies have particularly big guns that can tear you apart if you don’t use your shield. As you might expect, there’s a shield throw, a la Captain America, so you can use it as a weapon. This throw can be an instakill for weaker enemies or a stun for tougher ones as it tears into their bodies. 

Doomguy also has a shield bash that does some damage but acts as a way to quickly dash at enemies as well as break open barriers throughout the levels. Lastly, there’s the shield parry. Some enemies shoot out green projectiles that can be parried back at them, which is required to defeat some enemies. I appreciated that there’s an option to make the parry window more generous or tighter, depending on what works for you. 

Another change is the arsenal available to Doomguy. Doom Eternal introduced a few new weapons along with the franchise mainstays like the Chaingun and BFG 9000. But in Doom: The Dark Ages, it’s all new weapons with the exception of the shotgun that you start with. The new guns are pretty intense but they do have a similar feel to other weapons like the Accelerator in comparison to the Plasma Rifle. 

Each gun has an alternate fire that makes it act like a new weapon. For example, the Shredders feel like a standard machine gun that shoots bolts into enemies. Later in the game, you can unlock the alternate version, called the Impaler, that fires big spikes and acts almost like a non-scoping sniper rifle because it deals huge damage with headshots. Another weapon, the Pulverizer, is most notable for its design, which crushes skulls and shoots out bone pieces in a spread to take out multiple enemies at once. Guns weren’t the only new weapons for Doomguy, as there are also new melee weapons, the most notable being the Flail.

The shield and every weapon can be upgraded via gold, rubies and wraithstones found throughout the levels. This is where the action can get fun because upgrading weapons in a certain way can have different effects on enemies, from dealing damage to nearby enemies to having a longer stun or making enemies drop more ammo or armor. There’s a combination of upgrades that creates this fantastic harmony between the shield and the weapons. There’s a lot of experimentation available for players to make their favorite weapon even more fun to use. 

Big Maps, Bigger Fights

Arguably, the most noteworthy change in Doom: The Dark Ages is the open levels. Previous games were more constrained, with players having to clear out rooms. In this game, there are big maps with multiple areas that need to be cleared to complete the chapter. This allows for a lot of exploration as there are plenty of secrets to find. Enemies are scattered throughout, but there are areas where a barrier will pop up and you’ll have to deal with hordes of demons in a closed-off space similar to the previous Doom games. Like the rest of Doom: The Dark Ages, these levels have a medieval look with some futuristic accents here and there. This style, which is also shown in Doom Eternal, creates a remarkable presentation on the Xbox Series X when combined with the heavy metal music. 

Speaking of presentation, the two “big” additions to the Doom franchise are the dragon and the Atlan mech, which are available on certain levels. The action changes similarly when riding either one. Whether you’re on the dragon or the mech, you progress through the levels and do a combination of attacking and dodging enemies’ attacks. Traveling on both is fun but where the dragon flies throughout the levels and can chase down certain enemies, the Atlan smashes buildings as it fights giant demons. While enjoyable, I have to admit, I didn’t mind them being limited to certain levels; there wasn’t a lot to do with them. 

All the new additions id Software introduced in Doom: The Dark Ages are welcome changes to keep a franchise that’s been around for more than three decades feeling fresh. I still can’t shake the feeling that something’s missing, though. It just doesn’t have the same pull as the last two Doom games. Because of that, it never gave me the same rush while playing. There were stretches where it honestly felt boring, which is wild to say about a Doom game. It definitely picks up in places and delivers some great moments, but I kept wishing there was more meat on the bones — just something that made me care more about this adventure.

Doom: The Dark Ages comes out on May 15 for Xbox, PlayStation and PC, and it’ll be available on Game Pass at launch. Players who purchase the Premium Edition of Doom: The Dark Ages will gain access to the game on May 13.