Prepare to unleash chaos as the Doom Slayer returns in the exhilarating new title, Doom: The Dark Ages. This iteration, infused with a feudal twist, promises a turbocharged combat experience and eye-popping graphics optimized for the latest consoles and PCs. With the spotlight on platforms like the PS5, PS5 Pro, Xbox Series X, and the slightly underpowered Xbox Series S, the big question arises: just how does it stack up? While players across the board report solid gameplay, the premium Xbox Series X truly shines, often delivering the smoothest performance, even surpassing the PS5 Pro. However, those using the Series S will notice a drop in visual fidelity, with lower rendering resolutions and compromises on several graphical features.
All in all, Doom: The Dark Ages emerges as an exceptional triumph. Blasting through hordes of demons offers an immensely satisfying visual spectacle. Expect to see chunks of flesh flying as an evolution of the destructible demon mechanics from Doom Eternal takes center stage. As foes are blasted apart, particles illuminate the chaos, and environmental elements shatter in dramatic fashion, particularly with weapons like the Pulveriser. Impressively, the game manages a consistent 60fps on all platforms, enhanced by a refined per-pixel motion blur that keeps the action fluid and visually enticing.
Even during quieter moments, Doom: The Dark Ages dazzles with its top-tier artistry. The game boasts intricate materials, complex environmental designs, and stunning ray tracing global illumination (RTGI) that ensures a uniform visual experience regardless of lighting conditions. The visual fidelity is a significant step up from previous titles in the franchise, showcasing expansive mech segments, breathtaking aerial dragon skirmishes, and vast combat arenas teeming with adversaries. Stay tuned for a deeper dive into the technology underpinning this release, as our initial impressions suggest remarkable advancements in both gameplay dynamics and graphical capabilities.
When focusing on platform-specific performance, the Xbox Series X offers a visually stunning rendition of the game, operating primarily at a dynamic resolution of 1440p—occasionally dipping to around 1080p during hectic moments. The clever inclusion of variable rate shading (VRS) aligns with other idTech games on current-gen systems, enhancing the overall image quality, even if it sometimes appears slightly soft. One disappointing note is the absence of ray-traced reflections seen in the PC version, mandating reliance on screen-space reflections, along with sporadic shadow pop-in, particularly in larger levels.
Performance on the Series X is outstanding. During intense action sequences, the frame rate remains smooth at a steady 60fps, though minor frame drops can occur during subsequent cutscenes. While occasional duplicate frames can be spotted, motion blur enhances the perception of a seamless visual experience, with customizable intensity settings to suit various player preferences.
Turn your eyes to the Xbox Series S, where expectations shift considerably. While it offers similar gameplay, the visual impact is notably diminished, peaking at around 864p and occasionally dropping to 648p in crowded scenes. This results in a blurrier image, particularly on a 4K display, along with reduced UI resolution and a slight downgrade in textures and materials. Although the game still leverages ray tracing features, the overall experience feels “haze-filtered.”
Performance remains relatively stable, managing to hold 60fps for the most part, but expect dips into the 50s during crowded encounters. Many of these performance issues mirror what players experience on Series X, albeit less frequently.
Moving on to the PlayStation consoles, players can expect a visual experience quite akin to that of the Series X, with each platform showcasing comparably rich settings. The biggest differentiator lies in the motion of foliage and shadows, with some animations present on PS5 that are absent on Series X. The FOV slider on both PlayStation consoles works efficiently, contrasting with the inconsistent performance on Series X.
Visual fidelity on the PlayStation consoles appears close but is generally a brisker experience on Series X in terms of detail. While PS5 also implements some form of VRS, it suffers from occasional blocky artifacts, a curious inconsistency given its hardware limitations. Frame rate stability, however, is a different matter, with frequent dips into the 50s during action-heavy sequences, which could dampen the exhilarating experience—especially compared to Series X.
The PS5 Pro offers a refined upgrade, maintaining almost identical visual settings while delivering brighter and sharper images, targeting 1800p—a step up from its base counterpart. Although demanding scenes may cause resolution dips, the overall gameplay remains rich with a stable 60fps for most encounters. However, like the base PS5, it occasionally stumbles during intense convolution.
Initially, Doom: The Dark Ages didn’t knock my socks off. The removal of mechanics like double jumps and double dashes can make gameplay feel less dynamic compared to its predecessor. At first, the slower pace of acquiring new technologies and weapons can leave players feeling out of sync. However, once the combat system settles in, and you get accustomed to blocking and parrying, the experience becomes incredibly rewarding. Many familiar combat elements return from Eternal, but this time the shield bash capability replaces the iconic Super Shotgun hook, making battles more grounded yet satisfying.
The real-time action proves to be some of the best seen in recent standalone shooters, with level designs that promote exploration over the previous arena-based formats. I can easily envision countless hours of immersive gameplay, unraveling the intricate settings the game has to offer.
Stay tuned for our upcoming PC analysis, but the current outlook on console versions is highly promising. Visual elements shine across all platforms except for the Series S, yet the overall performance remains a tad inconsistent, particularly on PS5. On the whole, Doom: The Dark Ages establishes itself as a must-play shooter for console gamers, solidifying its status as a premier action title of recent years.
