DOOM: The Dark Ages

 PlayStation 5
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 69 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 61 out of 69
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 69
  3. Negative: 0 out of 69
  1. PlayStation Country
    May 21, 2025
    70
    DOOM: The Dark Ages doesn't hit the same heights as its predecessors. It lacks a vibrant colour palette and verticality but it does deliver on compelling combat. The shield is a versatile tool that can really pin enemies down and defend you against an onslaught. That core is exciting and tricky to master but it can also feel familiar. It's a shame the Atlan and Dragon interludes don't provide much substance. They offer the occasional spectacle and scale but most of your battles are on the ground level. I've enjoyed it and it does provide something markedly different but I recognise this as the weakest of the modern trilogy.
  2. Digital Trends
    May 9, 2025
    70
    Doom: The Dark Ages delivers another dose of reliable thrills by building on the foundation established by its excellent predecessors. The power fantasy of it all is more potent than ever, but Id Software’s experiment in excess proves that there is such a thing as “too much” when it comes to video game spectacle.
  3. GamesRadar+
    May 9, 2025
    70
    While Doom: The Dark Ages is a solid game, the ways it differs from previous titles are largely to its detriment. Most of what's praiseworthy about the Slayer's 2025 adventures are what's translated from older entries, while new features like the melee focus and mech sequences feel like fumbled missteps the series would be well-advised to forget going forward. Still, the joy of blasting cacodemons with a shotgun is never truly lost, and the over-the-top aesthetic will always elevate the experience.
  5. Metro GameCentral
    May 9, 2025
    70
    Another mini-reboot for the father of FPS, but while it’s less complex and challenging than Doom Eternal it’s still a fine homage to the seminal original.
  6. TheGamer
    May 9, 2025
    70
    Doom: The Dark Ages is the weakest entry in a fantastic trilogy of games, and despite how I feel about its additions to combat and exploration, I’d rather an experience that took risks and sought to reinvent what it means to play a Doom game rather than build upon the familiar.
  7. Edge Magazine
    Jun 12, 2025
    60
    Unfortunately, the solution it has landed on is missing some essential thing that has always made Doom work, another concept you wouldn't necessarily associate with this series: elegance. [Issue#412, p.104]
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  8. The Times
    Jun 3, 2025
    60
    Exceptionally well designed combat set in a beautifully realised medieval world but the gameplay and plot make it a bit too baggy.
  9. Dexerto
    May 9, 2025
    60
    Above all else, Doom: The Dark Ages has utterly fantastic combat. Moment-to-moment action is among the best in series history. But ultimately, in a desire to expand on a winning formula, id Software has fallen short of the high bar it set with Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal.
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  1. The A.V. Club
    May 9, 2025
    In my time with Doom: The Dark Ages, I was sometimes engaged with its other systems—deciding which upgrades to buy for my guns, poking at a secret to try to figure out how to crack my way into it, even, in moments of idle curiosity, reading some of those copious lore notes. But it was all prelude to the main event. And that main event is as good as it’s ever been: A brightly colored, sanguine distillation of everything that’s good about twitch shooter gaming. The Dark Ages nails it; everything else flows from that ferocious bleeding heart.