Demon Slaying: Bethesda has just confirmed a much-rumored new Doom game. Developer id Software is upping the ante with FPS ultraviolence, dark fantasy scenarios, and a blockbuster-style entertainment product full of giant robots and flying dragons.
Fans anticipated this year’s Xbox Games Showcase would introduce some exciting games. Microsoft publisher Bethesda Softworks did not disappoint when announcing a new Doom title. Recurring rumors indicated that id Software was working on something Doom-related. During its presentation, Xbox confirmed work on Doom: The Dark Ages. It appears to be everything the speculation said it was and then some.
Thanks to the most recent leaks, we already knew that the game previously known as Doom Year Zero was going to be called Doom: The Dark Ages. Leaks described The Dark Ages as a medieval-inspired first-person shooter. Bethesda’s first official trailer confirms the developer’s dark fantasy theme.
Doom: The Dark Ages is a prequel to the first two games in the modern Doom series (Doom 2016, Doom Eternal). Developed on the latest iteration of id’s powerful idTech game engine, The Dark Ages is described as a single-player action FPS that tells the origin story of the “Doom Slayer’s rage.”
Doomguy is going medieval as a weapon of gods and kings in yet another war against the forces of Hell. In the March 2021 DLC campaign The Ancient Gods Part Two, Doom Eternal’s story wrapped with the Doom Slayer becoming unconscious and quickly entombed after defeating the Dark Lord himself.
Creative Director Hugo Martin confirmed that The Dark Ages focuses on the Slayer’s “first battle” as told through lore in an “official UAC report” seen in the Doom 2016 reboot. Doomguy scours the Umbral Plains in Hell, seeking vengeance against the dark lords “who had wronged him,” while he was still recognized as a Night Sentinel of the Argent D’Nur kingdom, the in-game report reads.
As a Doom game, the medieval fantasy world depicted in The Dark Ages includes its fair share of sci-fi weaponry and advanced technology designed to serve the Slayer’s needs for death and destruction – shotgun and shield, anyone? The trailer also suggests that players can directly control the giant mech (masthead) the Slayer assembled in his orbiting fortress during Doom Eternal.
Players will notice a new gameplay mechanic based on Doomguy’s shield. With the rip of a lawnmower cord, the serrated buckler becomes a deadly flying weapon. Of course, the Slayer can also use it to send enemies flying, but I know what technique I like best. There’s also a juicy new wide-range weapon that turns skulls into projectiles.
Bethesda did not provide a specific release Window for The Dark Ages, just noting that it slated the game for a 2025 release on all major platforms. Doom Eternal set a tech benchmark for all FPS developers with idTech 7. Here’s hoping id Software can follow up with another optimized masterpiece.
