Doom: The Dark Ages

wielding his Super Shotgun and Shield Saw while facing off against demons While previous entries in the Doom series, such as Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal (2020), focused on fast-paced, acrobatic combat, Doom: The Dark Ages shifts towards a heavier, more grounded combat experience, emphasizing strategic engagements. The Doom Slayer is portrayed as an "iron tank", equipped with enhanced melee options and a slow-motion glory kill feature for improved control during combat. The introduction of the Shield Saw allows for blocking, parrying, and attacking within a single input. New weapons include the Skull Crusher, which fires bone fragments. Melee weapons such as a gauntlet, an iron mace, and a flail, are available. The Dark Ages is the first Doom game to allow players to pilot vehicles, like a cybernetic dragon and a 30-story Atlan mech, to combat enemies during certain sections. The narrative places a greater emphasis on storytelling, with more cutscenes and character development, providing a deeper insight into the Doom Slayer's origins. == Plot ==

Long before Hell's invasions of both Mars and Earth, the Night Sentinels of Argent D'Nur and their allies the Maykrs are locked in a ferocious war with the forces of Hell, who seek the Heart of Argent. The Doom Slayer, who has been empowered by the Maykrs, is deployed to help turn the tide in favor of humanity. However, the Slayer does not fight completely of his own free will, as his master Kreed Maykr suppresses his mind with a device called the Tether. Meanwhile, the leader of Hell's forces, Prince Ahzrak, realizes that it is not worth attempting to fight the Slayer directly and focuses his efforts on finding the Heart. Ahzrak finally finds the hiding place of the Heart and assaults it, but working together, the Slayer and King Novik are able to thwart Ahzrak and keep the Heart out of his hands. However, Novik decides to keep the Heart with himself, not fully trusting the Slayer or the Maykrs. Ahzrak then leads a counterattack to surround and destroy the Sentinel forces before they can escape. Kreed refuses to deploy the Slayer to help them, intending to keep himself protected. Unwilling to see innocents slaughtered by demons, the Slayer is able to break free of the Tether's control over him, forcing Kreed to send him back into battle, where he successfully holds off the demons long enough for the Sentinels to escape. Ahzrak is able to steal the Heart from Novik but is enraged to find it empty and useless. Having been thwarted again, Ahzrak offers to make an alliance to Kreed, who himself has come to fear the Slayer turning on him. Meanwhile, the Slayer attempts to remove the Tether from his armor with little success, and Commander Thira tasks him with finding the Heart's power source before Ahzrak does. Thira invokes an ancient ritual to empower the Slayer's shield, and he moves to assault Ahzrak's fortress in Hell. Meanwhile, Kreed betrays the Sentinels by sending a recording of Thira's ritual to Ahzrak, who realizes that Thira is actually the Heart's power source, and he orders her to be captured alive. Failing to find Ahzrak, the Slayer returns to Argent D'Nur only to see Thira and Kreed be captured by demons. In order to follow them, the Slayer reawakens an ancient Old One and follows it back to its homeworld. However, Kreed betrays the Slayer and Ahzrak is able to overpower and subdue him. Ahzrak reveals Thira houses the soul of a Wraith, and extracts it to power the Heart. Instead of following Kreed's advice to kill the Slayer since the latter cannot permanently die, Ahzrak instead leaves him imprisoned while he leads the final assault against the Sentinels. Imprisoned by a trio of Old Ones, the Slayer self-destructs the Tether in his armor, killing the Old Ones along with himself. His soul is then sent to Hell, where he proceeds to fight his way back to the mortal plane as Commander Valen resurrects him with a demonic ritual. The Slayer kills Kreed for his treachery, and then confronts Ahzrak once again, defeating him and freeing Thira's soul. Ahzrak flees back to Hell, with the Slayer and Thira leading a counteroffensive to eliminate him once and for all. The Slayer corners and kills Ahzrak, causing his forces to retreat and saving Argent D'Nur. Afterwards, the Maykrs disavow Kreed's actions while Novik and Valen plan to purge any remaining traitors in their midst. Thira rallies the Sentinels, bidding them not to put their faith in the Maykrs, but in themselves instead. The Slayer meanwhile commandeers Kreed's ship and uses it to continue his crusade against Hell. == Development ==

After the release of Doom Eternals second downloadable content (DLC) campaign The Ancient Gods - Part 2 in March 2021, creative director Hugo Martin mentioned that he was open to exploring more stories with the series protagonist Doom Slayer in future games, despite intending for The Ancient Gods to act as a culmination for the character's arc that began with Doom (2016). One possibility he expressed was telling a narrative around the Slayer's first encounter with the Night Sentinels on Argent D'Nur, in a setting that was more rooted in fantasy aesthetics compared to previous games. By November 2021, id Software had begun pre-production on a new action first-person shooter game. During QuakeCon 2022, executive producer Marty Stratton confirmed that the developer had begun production on their next project. In September 2023, numerous documents submitted by ZeniMax Media parent company Microsoft during the FTC v. Microsoft court case concerning their impending acquisition of Activision Blizzard were leaked online. Included was an internal roadmap concerning multiple Bethesda Softworks games in development. A new Doom entry, Doom: Year Zero, was listed for release during Bethesda's 2023 fiscal year ending March 2024 at that time, with two sets of downloadable content (DLC) tentatively dated for the 2023 fiscal year and the 2024 fiscal year ending March 2025, respectively. Doom: The Dark Ages uses the id Tech 8 engine and features advanced game physics, which includes destructible environments. == Release ==

In September 2020, following Doom Eternals launch, Microsoft entered an agreement to acquire Bethesda's parent company, ZeniMax Media, for $7.5 billion, gaining ownership over all of Bethesda's associated development teams and franchises, including id Software and the Doom license, now as part of Microsoft Gaming. Doom: The Dark Ages was announced at Microsoft's Xbox Games Showcase event on June 9, 2024, where it was confirmed for release on Windows and Xbox Series X/S in 2025. Following the presentation, a PlayStation 5 version was announced as launching day and date with the other platforms. On the decision to not pursue exclusivity, Phil Spencer explained that the Doom series' history on other platforms made it a series he felt "everyone deserves to play." Doom: The Dark Ages was launched on May 15, 2025, though it provided an advanced access period to pre-order purchasers. Buyers of a GeForce 50 series graphics card of the RTX 5070 and above models were able to receive a free copy of Doom: The Dark Ages until May 21, 2025. In addition, Asus partnered with Bethesda Softworks and id Software to offer a limited edition RTX 5080 ROG Astral graphics card in a Doom: The Dark Ages design. == Reception ==

Doom: The Dark Ages received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. Alessandro Barbosa of GameSpot said it "reinvents and reins in with equal measure, taking the series in a bold new direction without straying from its captivating roots". Morgan Park of PC Gamer called it "indulgent and deliciously violent, but surprisingly safe". Jade King from TheGamer criticized The Dark Ages as "the weakest entry in a fantastic trilogy", stating that despite its additions to combat and exploration, she would prefer an experience that took more risks and sought to reinvent what it means to play a Doom game. Vulture wrote that The Dark Ages just "feels recursive", suggesting that despite its attempts at innovation, it remains too tethered to its predecessors without expanding the vocabulary of its violence. The Washington Post found that while it introduces a refined first-person action gameplay with a shield-based combat system, it suffers from the absence of signature "glory kills" and a less impactful score. Player count Doom: The Dark Ages reached 3 million players in its first week, seven times faster than Doom Eternal, making it the biggest launch in id Software's history; however, it was also the first Doom game to be released on Xbox Game Pass at launch. Awards == Notes ==