DOOM: The Dark Ages Review — The Slayer's Medieval Origins Are Brutal and Beautiful

DOOM: The Dark Ages is the prequel nobody expected and everyone needed. Set in a brutal medieval dark fantasy world long before the events of DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal, id Software takes the Doom Slayer back to his earliest days of carnage. This is the origin story of how one man became Hell's greatest nightmare — and it is told through thundering combat, towering boss fights, and a gothic landscape drenched in blood and fire. The result is one of the finest first-person shooters ever made.

A Medieval DOOM Like No Other

Gone are the sleek UAC facilities and Martian corridors. In their place stand crumbling castles, blood-soaked battlefields, and infernal cathedrals that stretch impossibly toward blackened skies. The Dark Ages reimagines the DOOM universe through a gothic medieval lens, and the result is visually staggering. Every environment feels handcrafted — from the fog-choked swamps teeming with lesser demons to the obsidian fortresses where Archviles command legions of the damned.

The medieval setting is not just aesthetic window dressing. It fundamentally reshapes how combat feels. The Slayer is no longer a futuristic warrior in power armor — he is a relentless crusader wielding brutal instruments of war. The pacing is heavier and more deliberate than Eternal's frenetic resource loop, favoring a combat rhythm that rewards aggression while demanding you hold your ground. It is DOOM distilled to its purest, most primal form.

The Shield Saw Changes Everything

The Shield Saw is the defining weapon of The Dark Ages, and it might be the most satisfying new tool id Software has ever introduced. This jagged, motorized buckler serves double duty: raise it to block incoming projectiles and deflect them back at enemies, or hurl it like a razor-edged boomerang that carves through demon flesh before snapping back to your hand.

In practice, the Shield Saw transforms every encounter into a deadly rhythm game. Block a Mancubus fireball, launch the shield into a pack of Imps, swap to the Super Shotgun for a point-blank blast, catch the returning shield, and parry an incoming Hell Knight charge — all in under four seconds. It adds a defensive layer that DOOM has never had without ever slowing down the carnage. Paired with the Skull Crusher flail, a devastating close-range weapon that can be charged for sweeping area attacks, the melee combat alone would carry a lesser game.

The Super Shotgun returns as well, and it has never felt better. Its medieval variant sports an ornate dragon-mouth barrel and retains the iconic meat-hook grapple, now reimagined as a chain that pulls you toward enemies with a satisfying clank of iron links.

Dragon Riding and the Atlan Mech

The Dark Ages introduces two massive-scale combat systems that break up the on-foot slaughter with moments of jaw-dropping spectacle. The first is dragon riding: the Slayer mounts an armored dragon and takes to the skies for aerial combat sequences that pit you against swarms of flying demons, Gargoyle squadrons, and airborne boss creatures.

Dragon combat controls are tight and responsive. You can strafe, barrel roll, and unleash streams of fire while the dragon tears smaller enemies apart with its claws. These sections feel like an entirely separate game bolted onto the DOOM chassis — and they are excellent. The sense of scale as you soar over battlefields where armies of Sentinels clash with Hell's forces below is breathtaking.

Then there is the Atlan mech. Standing 30 stories tall, the Atlan is a colossal war machine that the Slayer pilots in select levels. These segments are deliberately slower but no less thrilling. You stomp through demon armies, punch Titans in the face, and fire building-sized weapons at kaiju-scale abominations. It is absurd in the best possible way, and id Software wisely uses these moments sparingly enough that they never overstay their welcome.

Boss Fights That Redefine Scale

If DOOM Eternal's Icon of Sin was a spectacle, The Dark Ages makes it look like a warm-up act. The boss encounters here are the largest and most cinematic in franchise history. Without spoiling specifics, expect multi-phase battles that shift between on-foot combat, dragon riding, and Atlan mech sequences — sometimes within a single fight.

Each boss demands mastery of a different combat system. One encounter begins as a traditional arena fight, escalates into a dragon chase through a collapsing canyon, and culminates with the Slayer ripping the creature apart from inside the Atlan. The final boss is a genuine showstopper that ties the prequel narrative directly into the events of DOOM (2016) in a way that will have longtime fans cheering.

The difficulty curve is expertly tuned. Nightmare difficulty is as punishing as ever, but even on the standard Ultra-Violence setting, the boss fights will test your reflexes, weapon-switching speed, and mastery of the Shield Saw's parry timing.

Performance and Visuals

id Tech engine continues to be a technical marvel. On PS5 and Xbox Series X, The Dark Ages runs at a locked 60fps in performance mode with dynamic resolution that rarely dips below native 4K. The quality mode targets 30fps at full native 4K with ray-traced reflections and enhanced particle effects, though the 60fps mode is the clear recommendation for a game this fast.

On PC, the game scales beautifully. Mid-range hardware can comfortably hit 60fps at 1440p with high settings, while high-end rigs with DLSS or FSR support can push well beyond 120fps at 4K. Load times are virtually nonexistent on all platforms thanks to SSD streaming. The gothic art direction is complemented by some of the best lighting id Software has ever produced — torch-lit dungeons, volcanic hellscapes, and rain-soaked battlements all look phenomenal.

The soundtrack deserves special mention. While Mick Gordon did not return, the new composers have delivered a score that blends heavy metal with medieval instrumentation — war drums, Gregorian chants, and distorted lutes layered over crushing guitar riffs. It is the perfect auditory companion to the on-screen mayhem.

The Verdict

DOOM: The Dark Ages is a masterclass in first-person shooter design. By stripping the Slayer of his futuristic arsenal and dropping him into a medieval hellscape, id Software has crafted a game that feels both fresh and unmistakably DOOM. The Shield Saw is an instant classic weapon, the dragon and mech segments add welcome variety without diluting the core experience, and the boss fights set a new standard for the genre.

With a Metacritic score hovering around 90, the critical consensus matches what players are feeling: this is one of the best shooters in years. Whether you are a DOOM veteran or a newcomer drawn in by the medieval setting, The Dark Ages delivers 15-20 hours of relentless, beautifully crafted carnage that earns every drop of its 9.5/10 score. Rip and tear — in the name of the king.