One thing I really like is the sound effect when using the shield — it feels much more impactful. The monsters in Doom: The Dark Ages no longer feel like bullet sponges that just collapse after soaking up damage like in the previous title, Eternal. Now, every strike looks like a finishing blow — visually intense and sonically powerful.

In short, your demon-slaying routine will go something like this: first, toss the shield to clear out the swarm of smaller enemies. Then, isolate the bigger, tankier, more dangerous demons — counter their attacks and unload your weapons. Sure, the haunting guitar-synth fusion of Mick Gordon’s music is gone, but the metal vibe of the new game’s soundtrack still hits hard and fits the battles perfectly. It may not be as fresh, but it’s definitely not lacking in quality.

But nonstop shooting can get tiring, dizzying, and even a bit repetitive. That’s why the fresh element from Eternal — a world full of hidden corners and vertical-horizontal exploration — returns in this new installment. From golden chests to upgrade gear, to hidden areas requiring secret keys, and even intense combat challenges, every level encourages players to explore and solve puzzles to fully complete everything it has to offer.

Saying all that might make some people wonder — if that’s the case, how is Doom: The Dark Ages really different from Doom Eternal, aside from changes to the core combat mechanics that make the action more dynamic and satisfying? That’s where the details teased in earlier trailers come into play and truly make a difference.

Sometimes, you’ll literally get to ride a mecha dragon. At other times, you’ll be in control of a giant robot. Personally, while the giant robot sections look cool, I find them a bit monotonous — mostly just dodging and punching.

But riding the dragon is a whole different story. Every dragon-riding level is a showcase of id Software’s level design brilliance. Vast cities open up for you to explore freely before letting you choose a landing zone — sometimes near a gate to hell, sometimes aboard a human world–invading ship. You leap off the dragon, fight through hordes of enemies, then jump back on and soar off again.

These levels — combined with a combat system that blends melee and ranged attacks, dodging and countering — create an experience that’s undeniably crazy, in true Doom fashion, yet far from repetitive. It feels nothing like the last two installments.

Bringing everything to life — from the story and gameplay to the vast, intricately crafted levels — is id Software’s next-generation engine: id Tech 8. While Doom Eternal initially launched without ray tracing and only received support for it in a later update to id Tech 7, The Dark Ages places real-time ray tracing at the core of its world-rendering capabilities from the start.

From how light reflects off surfaces, to realistic shadows and water reflections, combined with the high level of detail in object models, id Tech 8 remains one of the most advanced game engines in the world — even if, in reality, no one outside of id Software is actually licensing it.

To sum it up, Doom: The Dark Ages is still an outstanding title — one that’s easily engaging enough to keep players glued to their seats throughout the entire single-player campaign. In terms of entertainment value and what it delivers, The Dark Ages is more than worthy of being listed among the top 10 games of the year in upcoming awards.

That said, just like Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal (2020), it will likely face tough competition for Game of the Year. However, when it comes to the category of Best Shooter of 2025, The Dark Ages stands as one of the strongest contenders.