XBOX Developer Direct is focusing on just a few major upcoming games, and one is the highly anticipated Doom: The Dark Ages.
Doom as a series isn’t particularly big on story, but The Dark Ages is a prequel of sorts, taking place long before other games in the series.
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The time period isn’t the only change for the series, and game director Hugo Martin explained that Doom fans will have to unlearn their old gaming habits.
Rather than the ultra fast-paced combat of Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal, Martin wants us to “stand and fight” rather than run and gun.
It also calls back to the earliest games in the series with strafe-to-aim movement.
The Doom Slayer from The Dark Ages feels more like an “iron tank” compared to his more recent iterations.
You can move quickly, and dash through enemies with the shield saw, but this Slayer feels anchored to the ground.
The Slayer can take down enemies with three different melee options, or eliminate them with a new slow-motion glory kill feature.
In previous games glory kills locked you into the animation, but The Dark Ages speeds things up by keeping you in control during the attack.
Martin says: “For ten years now, we’ve been trying to solve the problem of what happens when there are multiple demons staggered at the same time.
“By the time you play one synced glory kill, you turn to the other one, and he’s already out of his stagger state.
“It never worked to just leave them in the stagger state longer. That just feels weird.
“Plus, when you move from multiple enemies doing synced animations, it just feels jarring. You could feel the pause in the gameplay.”
Players will have more options than ever to eliminate demons, alongside more choices for how to control your Slayer.
The control scheme will also differ depending on whether NPCs, objects or enemies are nearby.
Slayer’s shield is one of the most interesting new features. It not only blocks and deflects projectiles but you can throw it across the field as a grapple.
You can then attack with an iron flail, electrifying gauntlet or spiked mace when up close and personal.
The Dark Ages might be bigger and more brutal but it’s also more accessible, and players can play with various difficulty sliders, that don’t lose the essence of Doom’s difficulty.
It’s not just giving enemies more health, or making you hit harder, but making parry windows longer, giving more resources, and slowing down projectiles.
Unlike Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal, The Dark Ages will only launch with a campaign, but this has allowed the team to focus on implementing fun features like the Atlan mech and dragon mount.
Producer Marty Stratton says: “It’s our largest, most expansive, most epic campaign ever.
“We’re really happy with the decision and I think it’s been awesome to have the team focused just on polishing and finishing the campaign.”
Martin adds: “We have moments where it opens up to a sandbox.
“The levels are mazy, folding back on themselves. It’s more of an expanded linear experience, with more emphasis on exploration.”
There’s also a dragon that players can summon and ride across the hellscape in order to explore new areas, while the mech thrives in linear missions.
Like all modern Doom games, it has a bombastic heavy-metal soundtrack, and while it’s by a new composer, the preview gave us hope.
Doom: The Dark Ages will launch on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S on May 15, 2025.
The game will be available to download on day one on Xbox Game Pass for PC and Game Pass Ultimate.
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