Doom: The Dark Ages Review - PlayStation 5 (2025)

There are very few franchises in gaming more synonymous with first-person shooters than Doom. Since id Software dropped the original genre-defining title back in 1993, multiple generations of playershave trodden those hulking steps first planted on the various planets and even into the gates of Hell itself. Doom truly is the quintessential when those across the generations conjure images in their head about shooter games. Slick 3D movement, a raft of weapons, gritty, violent and gory – it spawned a whole heap of clones over the years since. While Doom: The Dark Ages – released last month for consoles and PC – might not be ushering in a new era of how the genre will evolve like its ’90s father, the folks at id Software certainly haven’t missed the mark in creating yet another punchy entry in the 2016-era reboot of the series.

While Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal made acrobatic ballets of movement and gunfire their forte, Doom: The Dark Ages sets the tone on a much more grounded and deliberate footing. This is the Doom Slayer – the protagonist character of the revamped franchise – stomping around like the indestructible tank he is and unleashing some of his heaviest and deadliest toys on the forces of Hell. There are certainly plenty of those Hell spawn to kill across 22 chapters of campaign that bring in a whole world of lore fans of the series will be crying out for. For first-time fans, the raft of cutscenes, which explore the war between Hell and the Night Sentinels, including the Doom Slayer’s place in that as a pawn of the Maykrs, is invaluable. This is particularly because, despite being the third in the trilogy of reboot titles, The Dark Ages as a prequel ironically marks possibly the best jumping-on point for newcomers.

There is a lot of lore floating around here and it might not be the most spinetingling narrative in gaming, but compared to 1993, it is truly night and day. In this case it does a creditable job of turning what may have felt to some as a faceless killing machine into something relatable, giving the Doom Slayer a narrative path that sees him going from oppressed and used into the hero he is meant to be.What any hero needs, of course, is tools to do his job, and in The Dark Ages, the Doom Slayer certainly comes equipped to do that. With 18 of them on offer and everything from his signature shotgun to flails, plasma guns, grenade launchers and even a mace, there is plenty of killing to be done and plenty of ways to do it.

Combined with a killer soundtrack that sees the many moments of deep action set to the backdrop of shredding metal tracks, the tempo of battles genuinely feels exhilarating. It is pleasing that this remains the case given the arenas to fight in are so huge compared to some of the previous titles.The Dark Ages employs a semi-open feeling in most of the chapters on offer. There are linear sections and moments, of course, but there are so many ways to leave the beaten path and find secrets, unlock new skins, and discover other collectables.

That said, there definitely is an argument that exploration does feel at times like a bit of busywork. The most useful secrets to discover tend to involve finding gold, allowing for the purchase of weapon upgrades. These feel like they have a place.However, some of the other exploration opportunities simply involve finding collectables, which while nice, does tend to put a grinding halt to that pulsating tempo The Dark Ages otherwise crafts so well.Despite often being in the thick of the action, this isn’t just mindless shooting either.

One of the most pleasing aspects to The Dark Ages is the meld of different aspects of gaming and considerations when killing the many Hell spawn. Every enemy has a weakness and experimenting to find it really is half the fun.Sometimes they are grunts that can be killed with the Doom Slayer’s shield charge. Others require good timing and parrying. Some shielded enemies are vulnerable to the plasma gun. The bigger flamethrower types require use of the Slayer’s awesome shield saw to stun them.

Those are just some of the many examples, but the conclusion is that the sense of strategy makes the combat all the more satisfying. There are even bosses that launch into bullet-hell type gameplay. It is great how much it keeps the player on their toes and it is better still that it controls exceptionally. There are a lot of mechanics to remember but it never feels overbearing or too much to handle, despite the chaos going on around the stages.

A particular mention must be given to the introduction of vehicle segments in the story – The Dark Ages being the first to feature their use. The Atlan mech section of the game is definitely a highlight.It is impossible not to smile while suddenly towering over the map and smashing everything in sight, especially seeing what were huge enemies in a previous level suddenly turn into ants to be smushed under the Doom Slayer’s feet.

Despite all the action on the screen and sections of the game with vast maps and draw distance to cover, Doom: The Dark Ages is a beautiful world and it runs incredibly smoothly on the PS5 hardware. The medieval aesthetic mixed with nods to sci-fi that ties into the lore and story brings a different dimension for those who might have been expecting the pure futuristic art style.

The animation quality also deserves a special mention, especially when enemies react so vividly to weapons. Throw the shield saw into a flamethrower-wielding Mancubus and it starts cutting away at his flesh. Shoot him some more and suddenly he is in pieces. It is gritty and not for the faint of heart, but for immersion and that feeling of impact it is hard to beat.

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