DOOM: The Dark Ages Announced as a Prequel to Doom (2016)

We just recently got a brutal announcement trailer for DOOM: The Dark Ages gameplay and it is shaping up to be one of the most exciting single-player, action FPS prequels ever! The title has a strong medieval aesthetic and is going to be telling the story of events before the critically praised DOOM (2016) and DOOM Еternal entries in the fan-beloved series, it is going to offer us the story before the events we had in those two previous hit id software and Bethesda Softworks titles.

You are once again stepping in the boots and armor of the DOOM Slayer; the iconic warrior fighting against the forces of Hell and will get a first-hand experience of the epic origin story of how the DOOM Slayer's rage came to be.

Even though there is no specific and official DOOM: The Dark Ages release date announced just yet, it is confirmed that it would reach our realm some time in 2025. The announcement DOOM: The Dark Ages trailer showed us that the game will be released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S next year and we were truly stoked by all that we saw from the first glimpses and footage.

In this article we are going to offer our impressions and what got us so excited about one of the most beloved FPS game series of all time! Even though there is still not a lot of detailed information just yet, there are lots of things to be discussed just by the trailer alone!

So, get a grip on your gear, put your g(l)ory kill trophies in check and prepare to rip and tear through this one with us!

Development cycle, plot and the road that led us to this dark place!

Even though the DOOM franchise had taken a few years off, perhaps to polish further the already established formula, at least when it comes to mainline entries. After all, id Software had rebooted DOOM in 2016 with a truly fast-paced return to drop remarkably violent hit that was then followed by another grueling sequel titled DOOM Еternal.

Following the DOOM Eternal launch date in a September 2020, Microsoft got into a contractual agreement to acquire Bethesda's parent company ZeniMax Media for the massive amount of $7.5 billion, thus taking full ownership over the whole roster of Bethesda's development teams and properties, including of course id Software and the complete Doom rights, now as part of Microsoft Gaming.

id Software actually started working on their next game right after the completion for the post-launch campaign of Doom Eternal the Ancient Gods back in 2021, kicking into full scale production in August 2022. The game did get its first leaks in September 2023 almost a whole year before the official announcement in June of 2024.

All of the rumors did turn out to be true and the upcoming DOOM: The Dark Ages prequel release is going to be happening in a dark and quite demonic fantasy realm as the name itself heavily implies, it would seem that the entry is going to serve as a prequel to the events we already witnessed in the previous titles and there is a lot to expect and unpack in the mechanics and plotline departments. In fact, this will be the studio’s first major game ever since the launch of Quake Champions in 2022, so there would probably be many updates to uncover.

What should we expect in the new DOOM: The Dark Ages steam entry?

The DOOM: The Dark Ages story is going to be the 8th installment in the main DOOM games franchise and the third entry of the more modern era of the series, taking place in a more medieval looking version of reality during what we could figuratively call a Middle Ages period and would closely show the initial story of the Doom Slayer as he rises towards his stature of a legendary hero, all while at the same time fighting to protect the land from the forces of Hell in some of the most gory ways possible.

Our first preview of the DOOM Slayer was in a chamber where we stood ready to dive into battle, what was remarkable was the visual look of his armor, with a more berserk-like appeal and spikes sticking out of his shoulder pads, a fur mane cloak hanging from his back seeming to be hung as a trophy from his endeavors in battle. He stood ready and then we noticed a small circular pod with the Maykr logo (Perhaps hinting at a still ongoing allegiance with them at this point in time) opened and presented us with a mighty double-barrel super shotgun that he grabbed.

What was even more shocking was the fact that on the other side when a similar pod (but this time with the Slayer insignia) opened the item that we got to see was a massive branded shield that magnetically stuck to the Slayer’s left arm. A shield? In the Doom series?

That’s quite new and unexpected to be honest as we usually do not associate the game with anything defensive, would it actually be that hard to manage or is the Slayer just not yet so aggressive? Our worries were put to rest later in the trailer though, as the shield is far from a defense only item, Once you rev it and activate it, it actually turns into a deadly chainsaw projectile weapon that you can use not only to protect yourself from the barrages that you block, but also to throw in order to cut through demons in both forward and backward direction as it does return back to you like a sort of a boomerang, as well as to parry, ground pound and perform a dash charge with on the battlefield, so it would definitely prove to be a worthy tool to the available arsenal that we would get in the DOOM: The Dark Ages FPS weapon types.

Speaking of weapons there are also other interesting and new concepts that we noticed and we would like to speak fondly of, so here goes. Apart from the trusty shotgun that you operate with one arm and reload in a super badass way, there is also going to be an early version of the plasma rifle, a spike gun that pierces through and nails enemies to walls and the skull crusher weapon that actually blasts barrages of bone pieces towards your foes, feeding them with the pieces of their fallen brethren in a very nasty and pleasing manner, with each skull getting crushed as if on a conveyer…makes you think how many skulls does he carry around in his pockets…or maybe he just picks them on the go!

Is there anything new apart from guns though?

Of course there is, don’t be silly! Apart from the awesome chainsaw shield that is both protective and efficient in battle, another very cool addition that is more on the melee side of things is the Morning Star flail (a typical medieval weapon that knights used to have, basically a chained spiked ball that you could fling around to inflict pain) that we see the Slayer briefly use in an act that would seem to be resembling a glory kill, bashing a demon off of his ride with it. Oh, and just as we mention rides, this entry in the DOOM franchise would allow you to go around the more seemingly open-world maps on the back of a mecha-demon dragon creature that you would possibly first have to defeat and tame and then use as a mount to fly around, YES, A DRAGON RIDE IS NOW AN ACCESSIBLE FEATURE! Maybe you are thinking what else could top that? How about a giant robot you can control and bash titan skulls with? We also got a scene in which this is exactly what goes down and it looked great, packed with massive punch power and probably would be so fun to experience in-game!

Although we did not see any glory kills in particular we are pretty certain there would be such, but whether they have any drops upon brutally devastating an enemy for ammo, health or armor is not entirely clear at this point in time, since they were not actually directly shown, and last but not least if everything else fails and does not pose as a viable option, you still got a mighty kick to use as an attack as well, or perhaps to open slammed doors and gates with.

When and where does all the action take place?

While we could only speculate on specifics, there seems to be previews of areas that include Argent D'nur, since a lot of the lore points out to locations related to it, as the Slayer was the primary weapon of choice for the Maykrs based on the quote that started the footage “BEFORE HE BECAME A HERO HE WAS THE SUPER WEAPON OF GODS AND KINGS”, heavily implying that the relationships between these characters are going to be explored much deeper than we had ever before.

He does have a blast dive from a flying station on to his missions and such technology could only be provided by a few. The Sentinels-Prime, the elders and all the Holy knights would probably play some sort of role, as well as Hell itself with lots of other dark forests, mech facilities and other ruined locations getting their time during the trailer. We may even get depictions and see through the story from the codex and Slayer testaments we only read about and key encounters and moments that were just represented merely in text could be played out during the DOOM: The Dark Ages plotline.

Do we get new enemy types as well or just the familiar faces?

While we did see new more retro-looking versions of familiar DOOM enemies and opponents it is not yet so clear how many new types (if any) we would get. So, we are going to stick with the ones we know of for now.

Apart from low-tier imps and basic grunt demons, we saw the versions for the Mancubus (shooting fireball skulls or even perhaps “Lost souls”), Revenants (looking very much like a wraiths coming from Dark Souls), Hell Knights and what we could call Beast riders for now, since they are humanoid creatures riding some sort of demonic beast that could be of the Pinky kind.

We also saw Arachnotrons with minigun mounts that shoot much faster and floating brain creatures that are not so clearly seen. In one scene there was even a mightier type that does look quite a bit like an Agaddon Hunter that wears a similar fur mane to the one we say the Slayer having on his back, perhaps a memento torn from the corpse from one of these? Last but not least, is the biggest type we got to observe, namely the Titans which you fight with seemingly both the mech robot and the dragon since their size and might could be a bit too much and would require some brute force and sheer firepower to vanquish them.

Each enemy type has a more medieval look and has been adapted to be more periodically-correct in their style, so they have gotten a new “fresh coat of paint” with more armor plates, means of combat or even sorcery in some cases and less cybernetics as the events of this DOOM game take place much earlier in the wholesome storyline and they have not yet been thoroughly mutated and combined with futuristic tech. Their projectiles and weapons have been customized to fit much better into the Dark Ages theme and they do look super awesome in our opinion.

Is DOOM: The Dark Ages going to manage and reinvent the franchise?

Throughout the years there have been various ways that the DOOM games innovated and stayed on the cutting edge of the industry, from the initial entries that brought the FPS genre to the spotlight, to the massive numbers of mods and the different adjustments to the wholesome feel and atmosphere of the game from survival horror to action-packed adrenaline rush resembling a gory depiction of a metal music album with a game that accompanies it.

One thing is for sure though, the game looks amazing from what we saw in the 2-minute-long announcement trailer, even though the pacing speed seems to be just a bit slower than the other titles but perhaps that is because of the period and avoiding to rely on technological improvements as much, rather it has a grittier and crueler feel to it. We simply cannot wait to get further information and play the DOOM: The Dark Ages steam key once it becomes available sometime next year!