With Doom: The Dark Ages, id Software is still searching for what made the original great, and I hope it never finds it

GamesFPSDoom: The Dark AgesWith Doom: The Dark Ages, id Software is still searching for what made the original great, and I hope it never finds itWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: id Software)

Doom: The Dark Ages screnshot

DOOM: The Dark Ages | Official Trailer 1 (4K) | Coming 2025 - YouTubeWatch On

DOOM: The Dark Ages | Official Trailer 1 (4K) | Coming 2025 - YouTube

Does this mean id Software has spent multiple games and more than 10 years of development trying to replicate the feel of the original Doom in a modern shooter, and getting it wrong?

Like Eternal, Doom: The Dark Ages is intended as a different take on the series' demon-slaying action. What’s really interesting, though, is that Martin says these changes are intended to make the Dark Ages feel more like the original 1993 Doom. “At the start of every development cycle, I play the original Doom again, and have the team play it too. I realized that we still didn’t hit the mark,” Martin says. Regarding the Abrams tank comment, he adds. “For long-time fans of the series, people who played the original Doom, you’ll see it’s really a return to form.”

Yet Martin’s statement implies the team did this with Eternal and Doom 2016 as well: played the original to see how it ticks, and tried to build a game that evokes that sensation. Does this mean id Software has spent multiple games and more than 10 years of development trying to replicate the feel of the original Doom in a modern shooter, and getting it wrong?

I don’t know. But if it is true, then I hope Doom: The Dark Ages fails all over again.

(Image credit: id Software)

Doom: The Dark Ages screnshot

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

In this specific circumstance, however, I can see why Martin might feel he hasn’t found the secret sauce that has kept 1993’s Doom relevant for over thirty years. And it isn’t because Doom or Doom Eternal were bad (they absolutely weren’t). It’s because Doom is a deeply weird and elusive design. It’s a tooth and nail action game, but also a tense and spooky horror game. It’s dingy and atmospheric, but also brightly coloured and often outright gaudy. Even something as simple as its movement speed is the subject of intense debate. Some players think it’s incredibly fast, while others believe it’s quite slow and inertial.

In other words, Doom doesn’t break down into easily analysed component parts. It’s a holistic, organic flower of a game—admittedly one of those giant rainforest flowers that smells of rotting meat, but a flower nonetheless. That’s why its shotgun feels so damn good after thirty years, why its levels are so fun to unpick after countless playthroughs. Like all the best art, there’s a point at which its quality defies logical explanation, and its brilliance is understood not through any articulated thought, but through the lurch in your stomach, the flutter of your heart.

(Image credit: id Software)

Doom: The Dark Ages screnshot

That’s the game Hugo Martin & co keep coming back to, and in doing so, id Software takes something different from it every time. With Doom 2016, it homed in on its violence and propulsive action, connecting the two together through its glory kill mechanic. In Doom Eternal, the studio doubled down on the idea of being one man pitched against the entire forces of hell, elevating the ducking and weaving of the original Doom into a Sekiro-like ballet of precision.

Each of id’s reboots is an interpretation of a different element of Doom.

When Martin ran through the original Doom again for the Dark Ages, it wasn’t the demons, but their projectiles that caught Martin’s attention. “I noticed right away how slow those projectiles move—it just dawned on me that that is the maze. The movement is more horizontal as you weave your way between the projectiles, and every projectile mattered in the original Doom.” This is why the Slayer appears more grounded in The Dark Ages. id wants players to have to think more about how to navigate that maze, giving you tools to block and even counter them.

In this manner, each of id’s reboots is an interpretation of a different element of Doom, fixating upon a specific aspect of the original and then building a game around it. And this is why I don’t want Martin to, as he puts it “get it right”, to discover some fundamental seed that makes Doom what it is. Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal may not be as timelessly brilliant as the original, but they’re both comfortably among the best single-player shooters of the last decade, if not the best. Moreover, they’re each interesting games in their own right, in conversation with the original, but assembling something new out of its ideas.

(Image credit: id Software)

Doom: The Dark Ages screnshot

Is this selfish? Absolutely. Could Martin’s talents be put to better use elsewhere? Possibly. All I know is that, as long as id Software is in creative conversation with Doom like this, the results will always be fascinating.

More about fpsThe 11 big FPS games of 2025Team Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40KLatestCivilization 7 has been Steam Deck Verified ahead of its launch next monthSee more latest►

More about fpsThe 11 big FPS games of 2025Team Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40K

More about fps

The 11 big FPS games of 2025Team Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40K

Doom: The Dark Ages screnshot

The 11 big FPS games of 2025

Money money money.

Team Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40K

LatestCivilization 7 has been Steam Deck Verified ahead of its launch next monthSee more latest►

Latest

Civilization 7 has been Steam Deck Verified ahead of its launch next month

Digital Ben Franklin looking very perturbed on dark background

Civilization 7 has been Steam Deck Verified ahead of its launch next month

See more latest►

Most Popular

This bizarre roguelike has a new take on the Vampire Survivors formula: letting you build your own custom weapons out of brains, eyeballs, and chimpanzee spines

18 games the PC Gamer team can’t wait to play in 2025

The Witcher 3’s now 2-year-old bonus quest is our first taste of the ‘vibe’ CD Projekt is going for in The Witcher 4

2024 was the year updates for old games beat out all the new ones for me

Train like you game with this adventure-inspired workout

‘It’s simply impossible to make a difficulty level that’s just right for all players’: How Final Fantasy 14’s lead battle designer has been playing a precarious balancing game for Dawntrail’s dungeons and raids

Please join me in getting super excited for all the cool looking survival games coming in 2025 (and beyond)

Competitive shooters are at a crucial crossroads in 2025: ‘sweaty’ teamplay vs. casual fun

Call of Duty’s $28 Squid Game skins are the perfect crossover for our capitalist dystopia, and Activision knows exactly what it’s doing

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals