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Doom: The Dark Ages – All You Need to Know

This iconic franchise, considered the “father” of the FPS genre, is synonymous with fast-paced action, violence, and unbridled intensity, all set to a metal-filled soundtrack since its reinvention in the past decade. Now, with the arrival of Doom: The Dark Ages, players are about to embark on a journey to the Middle Ages, where they can battle against countless armies of demons in a brutal and dark setting. Doom: The Dark Ages promises to uphold the original spirit of the saga, or perhaps what might have resulted if it had crossed paths with other genre icons from that early era, such as Heretic or Hexen (those were the days! 🥲): a blend of elements that make the latest installments of the franchise unique, set in a medieval environment—could you have imagined it before?

Up next, everything we know about Doom: The Dark Ages.

Source: Bethesda Softworks Official YouTube Channel

Release Date and Platforms

As revealed at the Xbox Games Showcase 2024, Doom: The Dark Ages will be released in 2025. Although there’s still some time before we can enjoy this new installment, expectations are already sky-high. Fans of the genre are eager to once again face infernal armies, but this time in an entirely new setting, and if you’ve seen the trailer, you’ll already know it’s going to be highly addictive, right?

As for its platforms, despite the fact that the Doom franchise is now owned by Microsoft, the company will continue to release new titles on multiple platforms. Therefore, Doom: The Dark Ages will be available for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5. As expected, it will also launch on Game Pass, allowing subscribers to enjoy the game from day one. Although it hasn’t been confirmed whether the game will be optimized for the PS5 Pro, given id Software‘s history, the visual quality is expected to be top-notch across all platforms.

A Bit of the Plot

The story of Doom: The Dark Ages takes place during a key moment in the Doom universe. Serving as a kind of prequel, this title connects the events of the classic 90s games with the more recent ones, like Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal. The story follows the iconic Doom Slayer during his time in the world of Argent D’Nur, home of the Night Sentinels.

After being enslaved and forced to fight in the arenas, Doom Slayer earns a place among the Night Sentinels, just as Hell invades their world. The betrayal of the Maykrs, who ally with the infernal forces to extract Argent Energy, leads Doom Slayer and the Night Sentinels on a suicide mission to stop them. We know that, in the end, only Doom Slayer survives, cementing his legend as he spends an eternity in Hell.

What About Gameplay?

Like the previous Doom titles, the gameplay of The Dark Ages is based on the frantic run-and-gun action. The game’s directors, Hugo Martin and Marty Stratton, have mentioned that the title follows the essence of the classic Doom and Doom 2, but with an evolution in mechanics. One interesting detail is that projectiles in this game will be slower, reminiscent of the original titles or other veterans like the first Quake or Unreal (yes Gandalf, I was there… I was there three thousand years ago… I mean… Unreal isn’t just a game engine name XD, I swear, you can Google it). This will force players to constantly move, dodging attacks and seeking combat patterns.

Additionally, although it’s yet to be confirmed how the health and ammo systems will work in The Dark Ages, it’s likely they’ll follow a similar approach to Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal, where players were rewarded with resources extracted from enemies through tools like the chainsaw, flamethrower, and swords.

Doom‘s arsenal has always been a crucial part of the gameplay experience, and The Dark Ages will be no exception. So far, we’ve seen iconic weapons like the super shotgun and a plasma rifle. A new weapon, called Skullcrusher, has also been revealed. It crushes skulls and turns the remains into deadly fragments of shrapnel. This brutality is part of Doom‘s DNA, and it looks like the game will continue to uphold its essence of exaggerated destruction.

One of the most interesting new additions in The Dark Ages is the inclusion of a shield in Doom Slayer‘s arsenal. But this isn’t just any shield—it’s equipped with metallic blades and can be thrown like a demonic frisbee, bouncing off walls and shredding enemies. In addition to serving as defense, the shield will allow players to perform perfect parries if they time it right, adding an extra layer of strategy to combat.

A DRAGON?? Seriously?

Yes, dear gamer, indeed: in Doom: The Dark Ages, the Doom Slayer will ride a cybernetic dragon with jet thrusters. Although not many details have been shared about this mechanic, the simple idea of flying on a dragon and unleashing destruction upon enemies sounds epic. Moreover, it has been confirmed that you can pilot a giant mecha, Pacific Rim style, to face Godzilla-sized demons. This game definitely promises to take the action to a titanic level.

This has been a large-scale look at everything we can expect when Doom: The Dark Ages is finally released, but as we know, as the release window approaches, new information will also become public, which will obviously be more than welcome, right? …And now, how about you drop by the comments and leave us your opinion on this article? You know, Gamer, we’ll be reading! 🙂

Images Source: Bethesda Softworks Official YouTube Channel, Areajugones

Ange77us

🔹 Full time father 🔹 Sometimes writer 🔹 Always GAMER 🔹

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