You Were Never Meant to Be Free

Doom: The Dark Ages is a prequel to Doom Eternal, a sequel to Doom (2016), and a spiritual detour from the hellishly fast-paced formula that modern Doom fans have come to know and love. It’s slower, heavier, and stranger — a medieval fever dream of demon-slaying where your body is a weapon, but your will is not your own.

Once again, you are the Slayer — but this time, you’re not tearing through the battlefield of your own volition. You’re a tethered beast, leashed by the Maykrs, conscripted into a war against Hell. Your mind is not entirely your own, your power borrowed, and your mission less about vengeance and more about obedience. And while the game hints at a larger story involving Prince Ahzrak, the Heart of Argent, and the ancient war between Sentinels and demons… that’s not really why you’re here.

You’re here to rip and tear. And maybe, just maybe, to fly a goddamn electric dragon while doing it.

The Slayer Reforged

Let’s talk gameplay — because that’s where the most striking changes kick in.

Gone are the double jumps and meat hook glory swings from Doom Eternal. The new Slayer is a more grounded creature, less a hyperactive blur of fury and more a blunt-force juggernaut. You trade speed for strength. You now wield a shield that can slice, bash, parry, and — in one glorious Captain-America-meets-Kung-Lao moment — be thrown straight through a demon’s face.

The shield is central to the experience. You’ll block incoming fire, charge through hordes, and even parry projectiles to trigger splash-damage counterattacks. It feels tactile and brutal. But it also slows things down. This isn’t the Slayer that dances across arenas — this is the one that stomps, grinds, and drags demons down into the mud.

It’s a bold shift. And like any bold shift, it’s going to divide fans.

The Glory Days Are… Gone?

There’s no easy way to say this: the glory kills are missing.

Okay, they’re not gone gone — but they’re no longer front and center. There was one moment where my shield performed a glorious bifurcation, slicing a demon clean in half. But the cinematic ballet of Doom Eternal’s glory kills — those glorious, gory finishers that defined the rhythm of combat — have largely taken a back seat.

And that hurts.

The removal of the grappling hook stings too. Once you’ve tasted the joy of swinging across a lava pit, shotgunning a Cacodemon midair, and then glory-killing a Hell Knight on the landing… it’s hard to go back. Doom Eternal felt like a rhythm game with blood. Dark Ages feels more like a methodical, grounded brawler. Still fun. Still fierce. But not as euphoric.

Enter the Mechs and Dragons

There are two moments in Dark Ages that scream “WE’RE DOING SOMETHING NEW” — and whether they hit or miss depends entirely on how willing you are to let Doom get weird.

First: the mech suit. It’s giant, punchy, and kind of awesome. You fight other towering demons like you’re in a kaiju wrestling match. Unfortunately, the novelty wears off fast — the combat is limited, the enemy variety is slim, and the whole segment feels more like a setpiece than a full gameplay evolution. Cool? Yes. Deep? Not so much.

Second: the dragon. Yes, you get to ride a dragon. Yes, it has electric wings and back-mounted cannons. And yes, it’s awesome — for a bit. The flying sections are sleek and cinematic, especially during chase sequences. But the turret segments? Yikes. They grind the pace to a halt, forcing you to dodge awkwardly and robbing the dragon-riding fantasy of its flow. If I’m flying an electric deathbeast, let me fly an electric deathbeast. Don’t strap me down midair for turret babysitting.

Cracks in the Armor

Let’s be clear: Doom: The Dark Ages is still a good game. But it’s not a flawless one. Some quality-of-life issues — like the Slayer getting stuck on environment geometry while sprinting — really chip away at the polish. And while the combat is solid, it’s not quite as tight or finely tuned as its predecessors.

That’s the paradox of Dark Ages: it takes some real risks, but not all of them pay off. In stepping away from the speed and rhythm of Eternal, it loses some of what made that game sing. And while it tries to replace that with fresh ideas — heavier combat, mounted segments, a more grounded Slayer — the trade-offs don’t always feel worth it.

Final Thoughts — Slower, Stranger, Still Doom

Doom: The Dark Ages isn’t trying to be Doom Eternal. It’s trying to be something else — and I respect the hell out of that. It’s darker, slower, and more experimental. It trades velocity for weight, agility for brutality. And while it doesn’t hit the same highs as its predecessor, it still delivers plenty of demon-slaying catharsis.

Will I replay it five times and collect every hidden codex and toy like I did with Eternal? Probably not.

Will I remember the first time I rode an electric dragon into battle? Absolutely.

If you’re a fan of Doom, you’ll still have a hell of a time. Just don’t expect to rip and tear at the speed you used to.