I was late to Doom. I’ve watched countless friends and family members play. I’ve watched plenty of Let’s Play streams, and I’ve even caught a glimpse here and there at assorted conventions. It’s only been in the last year or so that I began properly dipping my toes into the Doom arena, but here’s the thing: I have the type of personality that when I love something, I go all in. And my goodness, I will absolutely be going all in on Doom: The Dark Ages.
At a recent preview event, GamesHub was invited to settle into the Slayer’s armour once more, in a brand new context. Doom: The Dark Ages takes us well and truly back in time, functioning as a grime-heavy prequel with medieval style environments, and even more grotesque demons.
As a big fantasy fan, it immediately appealed – the environments are rich with nods to the Middle Ages, with just the right amount of futuristic touches to ensure it doesn’t stray too far from the original conceit. The balance it strikes is both aesthetically pleasing and mechanically enjoyable, and if you ask me, this is exactly the dynamic shift the franchise deserved.
Up close and personal
Over the course of the preview, I played through four zones, ranging from the tutorial area, through to a challenging siege level that has you facing down waves and waves of pesky enemies. It was quickly evident the melee focus the developers had discussed earlier this year really does have a lot of punch, with the bulk of your interactions encouraging you to stand your ground, and get up close.
Where previous Doom games favoured a more ranged approach, Doom: The Dark Ages feels surprisingly tactile. There are still plenty of guns on offer for those who want to stay traditional, but I truly cannot stress enough how thrilling it was to fully explore the scope of all the melee options. Most players will likely gravitate towards one preferred load-out – whether it be the gauntlet, mace, skull shield, or flail as their primary melee option – but I highly encourage players to delve into each when the time comes.
Not sure if melee is really your style? That’s fine! I think you’ll enjoy the skull shield. Depending on the section of the game, you could use it as a slightly more advanced bludgeoning weapon or blocker, pulling you towards your enemies with a hefty thunk… or you could send it zipping madly towards your enemies à la Thor’s Mjolnir. It’s adaptable.
Personally, I can very easily see myself becoming a flail fanatic. The swing of the chain feels momentous despite its rapid speed, with a powerful hit that delivers a deeply satisfying crack. In an earlier hands-off preview I noted I wanted one for my living room, and I stand by that.
The flail was the last of the main melee options I got to try, but I can assure you this is not a case of recency bias – in fact, it’s probably for the best that it came in last, because otherwise I wonder if I would’ve had the drive to try the others.
Read: DOOM: The Dark Ages hands-off preview – Let’s get heavy
Seeding through the story
One reasonably significant change I appreciated in this particular game was the shift from codex entries to cutscenes, to establish the narrative. The cutscenes fit seamlessly into the dynamic of the game (and introduced a bunch of freaks – shout out to the giant Maykr with the inexplicably teeny tiny hands) and personally, it made it a lot easier to piece together.
Critically, they don’t feel intrusive. If you’re the type of player who likes being able to simply dive in and get bloody without having to ever open the codex, I can understand an element of reluctance. But at least in this preview, each scene was short, snappy, and revealed just enough to establish context without lingering.
I won’t delve too much into the specifics of the story, because while it’s not really the main focus, there are some really fun moments worth uncovering for yourself. What I will say is that there’s some clear Chekhov’s Gun elements at play here. Games like Doom: The Dark Ages thrive on these kinds of tropes, and I’m genuinely very keen to see the narrative pay-off in later parts of the game.
Introducing the big fellas
One of the other highlights of our hands-on with Doom: The Dark Ages was being able to get right into the centre of the action by piloting a colossal Atlan in one zone, and a spry yet manoeuvrable Mecha-dragon in the next. Beyond just the mere fact that this introduced a new, engaging dynamic to the game, it also helped really give it a sense of perspective.
The Atlan is gigantic – you can stomp your way through countless battlefields, parrying perfectly against its equally giant foes in order to gain ground against your enemies. While admittedly slower (it’s a big ol’ thing, you know), the power it wields is impressive, and I liked being able to get more of a bird’s eye view of the environment – though that may just be because, as a short person, I do love to feel tall.
Parrying really is paramount, though, both for the Atlan levels and in regular gameplay. Facing down enemies that are so much bigger than you in close quarters makes for a very confronting (and thrilling) experience. Those of you who thrive on timing things exactly right are going to really get a kick out of it. Those of you like me, who perhaps get too caught up in the heat of battle, may have a slightly steeper learning curve in the earlier levels.
As for the dragon, I was impressed at how straightforward it was to control. Flying mechanics can go either way, especially when they’re very clearly secondary (or exclusively tied to specific levels, rather than a game-wide mechanic), but it’s very obvious the handling was something id Software wanted to get right for Doom: The Dark Ages.
The dragon zone also featured a hybrid approach – narrowing in on enemies from the sky, eliminating their defences, and then dropping down as the Slayer to clear out the internal areas of each battleship or tower. While I’ve only played a short snippet of the section, I do think that balance was the right move. Once the initial excitement of being airborne wears off, there’s really just a lot of standard flying happening. Is it cool as hell to ride an enormous mecha-dragon? Yes. Is it engaging over the period of an extended battle without getting more up close and personal? Not as much.
As we learned in the original hands-off preview of Doom: The Dark Ages, both the Atlan and the Mecha-dragon are unfortunately restricted to those particular levels, but from what we got to see in the hands-on, the levels are still pretty expansive, and will allow you the time to really get a grip on your brand new rig.
Doom: The Dark Ages hurt my pinkies
I rarely use the word ‘gripping’ to describe media of any kind – mostly because I feel like it’s not usually something that should be applauded, but rather, the bare minimum. That being said, I see no other alternative, given I was so enthralled by Doom: The Dark Ages that I actually hurt my hands from gripping the controller with too much enthusiasm.
Did this make me stop chaotically hurling my flail at enemies in all directions? Absolutely not! But it did mean I had to stop playing about five minutes early, because my pinky fingers were so cramped I was starting to get concerned for longer term damage.
Ultimately, it was fun. War wounds aside, I thoroughly enjoyed getting aggressively hands-on with Doom: The Dark Ages. If the rest of the game can live up to the powerful and punchy standard the preview has set, I’m going to be a very happy player (though I may need to invest in some ice packs and pinky support).
Doom: The Dark Ages will release 15 May 2025, for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and PC.
