The movement–for many–is what makes Doom, Doom.

At least, thats what I thought.

Doom: The Dark Ages is a prequel to Doom 2016.

Its a match made in heaven, or rather, hell.

That said, Doom: Eternals greater emphasis on story felt superfluous.

Thankfully, The Dark Ages has plenty of that.

As with previous Doom games, the weapons are the star of the show.

Of course, each weapon comes with a handful of upgrades and modifications that can alter their characteristics.

[Theyre] brutal.

[…] The Rail Spike, the Skull Crusher.

Theyre all supposed to be like little torture devices youre holding, Martin told me.

Doom: The Dark Ages biggest shake-up to the gameplay is the Shield Saw.

Its most useful purpose–at least for my playstyle–was the dash.

While it doesnt offer the same verticality as the Meat Hook, its far more controlled.

Your inertia and momentum arent working against you when you rush down an enemy.

While I didnt use the Shield Saws block all that much, the parry is paramount.

Its a fairly straightforward mechanic that fits in surprisingly well with Dooms gameplay loop.

A lot of Doom: The Dark Ages puzzles and platforming segments are built around the Shield Saw.

The Shield Saw goes hand-in-hand with Doom: The Dark Ages new melee weapons.

The chainsaw from Doom 2016 and Eternal has been replaced by a handful of blunt weapons and new mechanics.

Unlike the chainsaw, the further along in the preview I got, the rarer these pickups were.

As a result, I mostly relied on parries to refill my melee charges.

This approach to level design is nothing unique, but its a first for the modern Doom games.

One of these optional scenarios had me eliminate a VIP demon.

The aerial and mech combat are built around well-timed dodges.

Like on foot, enemy attacks that glow green are your tell.

Dodging a green attack slows down time and lets you strike back with a deadly attack of your own.

The Atlan feels great to pilot.

Each step satisfyingly crushes fodder demons and levels buildings.

Unfortunately, as of now, aerial combat seems to be the weakest link.

Hopefully a little extra polish is all the dragon combat needs.

According to executive producer and game director Marty Stratton, With each game weve done more.

We get better at what were doing.

Doom: The Dark Ages comes to PlayStation 5, Xbox, and PC on May 13, 2025.

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