Reviews of the upcoming Doom: The Dark Ages are out, and the critics generally like it, with some calling the anticipated prequel heavy and chaotic (IGN), others noticing the slower pace but pointing out the "spectacular weaponry" (The Guardian).
Metacritic's score aggregator shows The Dark Ages at a solid 84 average, a "Generally Favorable" score.
In other words, the critics like the game, but are definitely calling out the problems with the new Id Software title, including pacing, the simplicity of the melee/dodge combat, and an uneven first few hours of gameplay.
Releasing May 14, Doom: The Dark Ages is the eighth entry in the main Doom franchise, and the third installment of the more modern series after 2020's Doom Eternal. Narratively, this release serves as a prequel to 2016's Doom.
You can get the title on PS5, Steam, and Xbox Series X/S for $70, with a premium edition coming in at a cool $100. It will also hit Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on the same date.
According to reviewers, The Dark Ages focuses less on fast-paced, acrobatic combat as in the previous two games, sticking with heavier, more grounded gameplay. The playable Doom Slayer is now more of a tank, using melee attacks and weapons that can trigger slow-motion glory kills.
PC Gamer gives this new Doom an 80, saying "The Dark Ages is fun in different ways than its predecessors, but Doom has been better."
Morgan Park wrote:
This is Doom at its most indulgent and deliciously violent, but it's also dumbed down and undeniably the easiest of the trilogy. Maps are uncharacteristically barren, secrets abnormally obvious, and puzzles so simple that they hardly fit the description. Viewed through the lens of loud feedback that insisted Doom Eternal was too complicated, The Dark Ages is an overcorrection.
Kotaku's review calls out "a few too many cutscenes" in its review, but Zack Zwiezen wrote, "This is still a kickass and exciting Doom game through and through. It's just that this time around, the Doomguy gets to punch, kick, and bash more of the demons than usual."
Eurogamer gives Doom: The Dark Ages a 4 out of 5 stars, noting that its "certainly a bit more medieval than you might have expected."
Gamespot also calls out the new combat, saying that the new title puts a big "emphasis on standing your ground in a fight, rather than moving around it."
Gamespot's reviewer Alessandro Barbosa says that the first hour or so of the title feels uneven, as it takes some time for all the new ideas to gel together. Ultimately, though, he says, "The eventual payoff is worth the wonky first steps though."
If you love smashing your way through hordes of enemies and want to try out the new, more melee and tactical combat set in a fantasy sci-fi world, Doom The Dark Ages will be out soon.
