Doom: The Dark Ages was inspired by Batman comics, 300, and letting players be ‘a big, heavy Slayer’

Creatives down the upcoming Doom: The Dark Ages precocious sat down to sermon their inspirations for winding the timepiece backmost alternatively of forward, and however it volition power gameplay.

Following today’s Xbox Developer Direct, id Software’s Hugo Martin and Marty Stratton connection further penetration connected the origins of 2025’s astir metallic FPS.

Doom: The Dark Ages is easy 1 of 2025’s astir breathtaking releases, talking a spot connected our astir anticipated games of the year for each the ways it looks to erstwhile again reinvent the franchise. As outlined successful this evening’s Xbox Developer Direct, the caller medieval phantasy mounting and Shield Saw limb is being utilized to marque strafing to purpose viable again – conscionable similar successful the archetypal bid – alongside making ‘stand and fight’ the caller mantra pursuing 2016's Doom and Doom Eternal’s marque of ‘push forward’ combat that encouraged players to play much aggressively. May 15, 2025 present can’t travel soon capable – and we precocious heard from 2 of the game’s cardinal creatives to larn much astir Doom: The Dark Ages’ genesis.

As portion of a Q&A roundtable held anterior to the Xbox Developer Direct, originative manager Hugo Martin went into item astir the prequel’s halfway inspirations; 1 of the biggest relates to however the stagger strategy has been altered successful Dark Ages, letting players concatenation termination done respective enemies astatine erstwhile portion successful a staggered state, arsenic opposed to glory sidesplitting them 1 astatine a time. “You tin stagger aggregate enemies astatine erstwhile with these weapons of wide demolition and past determination done them similar Leonidas successful the Hot Gates,” helium explained, referring to the iconic series successful Zack Snyder’s movie adaptation of 300.

“There’s that broadside changeable of wherever they’re dilating clip and he’s taking retired aggregate dudes, archetypal with his spear, past with his spartan sword and shield,” Martin continued. “That was a large root of inspiration. I showed that to the team. I wanted the crippled to consciousness similar that. There’s really subtle dilations successful the velocity of the crippled erstwhile you execute these, truthful it feels conscionable similar that”. Dark Ages accomplishes this successful a mode Doom and Doom Eternal couldn’t since id Software has elected to not instrumentality distant subordinate power during these moments. “Because the Glory Kills are unsynced, you tin conscionable determination done them utilizing a assortment of melee strikes”.

Harbinger of doom

The Xbox Developer Direct besides explained conscionable however overmuch communicative volition much of a pivotal relation this clip around, with cardinal communicative details nary longer reserved simply to codex entries. Third-person cutscenes are present included, for instance, and it seems similar Doom: The Dark Ages volition spot the Slayer look disconnected against much of a carnal villain – though Martin was hesitant to delve into too galore of these details for fearfulness of spoilers. This being a prequel story, however, Martin and enforcement shaper Marty Stratton did notation that players tin expect to larn much astir the Slayer’s origins careless of whether Dark Ages is their archetypal Doom crippled oregon not.

“I deliberation it’s the champion introduction constituent to the series,” Stratton said successful the roundtable Q&A. “It’s a prequel to 2016, truthful you get to consciousness and spot a batch of the things that you perceive astir aboriginal successful the series. It’s a precise approachable crippled from each facets: [from] the mode the communicative is told, [to] the mode the crippled feels…”.

Doom: The Dark Ages hopes to beryllium newcomer-friendly with a caller attack to trouble too. “We showed immoderate of the gameplay sliders and the mode we’re handling difficulty,” helium continued. “You tin dial things down, dilatory things down if you want, oregon velocity them up and marque things an aggravated challenge. It truly is simply a phenomenal introduction constituent for anyone who wants to person their archetypal Slayer experience”.

That’s not to accidental that players who person been playing adjacent attraction to the communicative up until this constituent won’t beryllium rewarded for doing so. In fact, 1 of the Xbox Developer Direct’s large focusses was not lone what the Slayer himself tin bash with his caller weapons, but however overmuch devastation helium tin wreak erstwhile riding a cybernetic dragon, oregon the powered-up Atlan mech shown successful the caller footage. Fallen Atlans were antecedently glimpsed successful Doom Eternal; id Software present lets you aviator and power 1 yourself, and that’s thing lone a prequel could let for.

“With [Doom] 2016 we built retired the past of the satellite and gave our leader a past, similar you’re expected to, and past you conscionable anticipation fans similar it capable that you get to research it,” Martin revealed, and this determination to upwind backmost the clock. “Medieval Doom, a large dense Slayer… ‘Slayer: Year One’. Frank Miller’s imaginativeness of a Doom Slayer, that conscionable sounds awesome”, helium says referring to the classical 1987 Batman comic, Year One, which reinvented readers’ cognition of the caped crusader by offering a darker, much ambitious communicative astir his aboriginal career. “I’ve been reasoning astir it for truthful long. We each have”.

With Doom: The Dark Ages present fixed a May merchandise date, it’ll surely marque the hold to rip and teardrop done a medieval mentation of hellhole each the much bearable. It’s wide that id Software has gone close backmost to basics erstwhile approaching the franchise from its earliest constituent connected the timeline yet, bringing each the learnings from 2016’s Doom and its sequel into a caller instalment that should fto each types of subordinate fulfil the phantasy of being the eventual demon slayer.

Doom: The Dark Ages is acceptable to merchandise connected Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC on May 15, 2025.