Summary
- Doom: The Dark Ages features redesigned demons with a gothic medieval art style, deviating from the ultraviolent look of Doom: Eternal.
- Imp Stalkers pay homage to classic Doom designs, Pinky monsters become mounts, and the Cacodemon gets a Lovecraftian makeover.
- Players can now fight Titans in Doom: The Dark Ages, facing off against variants like the Cyborg Titan, while being challenged by new demons like the Agaddon Hunter.
The Doom series has long been regarded as the quintessential first-person shooter video game franchise, staying true to its roots as a boomer shooter. Doom: The Dark Ages is the latest installment in the series, and is enjoying a successful release. One of the standout features of Doom games is the wide variety of demons that players get to fight, which changes with every game.
Doom: The Dark Ages is no different in this regard. While the game's core identity remains consistent with the rebooted games, Doom (2016) and Doom: Eternal, the latest game has undergone a change in art style, from the colorful ultraviolent boomer shooter horror of Doom: Eternal to a more gothic medieval one. There are a few demons whose designs have remained similar to previous installations, but some have undergone a complete transformation to suit the more Lovecraftian style of The Dark Ages. The best demon designs in Doom: The Dark Ages go a long way into solidifying the game's identity as a darker, more Gothic horror shooter.
The Main Doom Timeline, Explained
The primary timeline of Doom games shows the evolution of the Doom Slayer, transforming from a marine on Mars into an interdimensional warrior.
8 Imp Stalker
A Noteworthy Homage to the Classic Imp Design from Doom (1993)
The newer generation of Doom games have done a great job with their tributes to the original games in the form of well-designed demons that translate well into modern graphics. The Imp Stalker from Doom: The Dark Ages is a great example. These tall humanoid demons pack a punch in the early stages of the game and are reminiscent of the imps from the first Doom game, released in 1993.
While the imps in Doom (2016) and Doom: Eternal are slender, agile creatures that launch projectiles from range and can scale walls, the Imp Stalkers are slower, but a lot more durable. Despite this, they can be difficult to trace, especially those that take on a semi-invisible form that can't be locked onto with shield surge. While they serve as a nice homage to the original Imps, they also seem to be the predecessor to the Archvile from Doom: Eternal.
7 Pinky Rider
The Pink Beasts Are Now Quadrupedal and Ridden by a Humanoid Demon
The Pinky makes a return in Doom: The Dark Ages, but with a whole new design compared to the one in Doom: Eternal. While the Pinkies in Eternal were bipedal creatures that charged at the slayer like a bull, the ones in The Dark Ages serve as a mount for a humanoid demon with a bow. While these Pinkies do visually look like a bull or a hyena, their movements are more like big cats in a fight.
Their behavior is also different from the Pinkies in the previous game. Players now have to defeat their rider before defeating the Pinky itself. The Pinky also doesn't charge at the Slayer like it did in Doom: Eternal, instead resorting to bites, which can cause quite a lot of damage.
6 Cacodemon
The Hilarious Meatballs Have Turned into Lovecraftian Horrors
The Cacodemon is one of the most iconic demons in Doom lore. It has historically had the appearance of a floating red meatball with a single eye and a dangerous bite. But Doom: The Dark Ages gave it an interesting makeover. Instead of a cartoonish meatball that can easily be killed with an exploding grenade in its mouth, it now looks like a tentacled nightmare straight out of Lovecraftian novels.
It had a similar appearance in Doom 3, but that game was a lot more of an atmospheric horror than the fast-paced action shooters that are the newer Doom games. Every demon in the game looked different from its traditional counterpart.
5 Cyclops Titan
The Doomslayer Can Finally Fight Titans in Doom: The Dark Ages
The titans appear in Doom (2016) and Doom: Eternal as background props. The player can see them alive in Eternal fighting humans in gigantic mechs. Seeing these made players wish they could fight one in the game, and Doom: The Dark Ages finally grants them that wish. Players can control Atlan mechs in the game, and during these sequences, the opponents they face are the Titans.
The design for the standard Titan remains unchanged from Doom: Eternal, but to add variety to the enemy types while players control mechs, they added a few variants. The Cyborg Titan is one of these variants. In addition to the Titan's standard melee attack, Cyborg Titans also have a ranged one. They're also more durable and can put up more of a fight than the regular Titans.
4 Vagary
The Terrifying Arachno-Humanoid from Doom 3 Makes a Return
Doom 3 is one of the least popular games in the franchise, but it still had some unique demons that hadn't been seen before, and the Vagary was one of them. Continuing the series trend of introducing unique enemies as boss fights, the Vagary makes its first appearance in Doom: The Dark Ages as the Vagary Champion, a meaner, tankier variant of the demon clad in golden armor that is resilient to the Doomslayer's guns.
The Vagary in The Dark Ages features a design that offers a noticeable departure from the one in Doom 3, which was a woman's torso with spider legs from the waist down. This one looks less humanoid, having large arms that are reminiscent of those of a scorpion, like the Scorpion King from The Mummy franchise. The Vagary is one of the more challenging demons to defeat in Doom: The Dark Ages.
3 Agaddon Hunter
The Predecessor to the Doom Hunter is More Menacing
The Doom Hunter from Doom: Eternal was one of the most durable demons in the game, but had a singular weakness to Plasma. Doom: The Dark Ages, being a prequel, introduces players to the Doom Hunter's predecessor in the form of the Agaddon Hunter. These demons seem a lot more menacing than slow humanoids mated to a caterpillar track.
10 Most Horrific Demons In Doom Eternal
With the forces of Hell terrorizing the denizens of Earth, Doom Eternal provides players with some of the most horrific-looking demons ever.
Agaddon Hunters make a strong case for being the coolest-looking demon in The Dark Ages, much like the Marauder was in Eternal. They're large and agile and have a challenging parry window with their glowing green blade. They also get a powerful shield that renders them invulnerable until they can perform their next melee attack. Whether intentional or not, these are a lot more challenging to fight than their successors in Doom: Eternal.
2 Revenant
The Crafty Skeletal Demon Gets a Terrifying Makeover
The Revenant is another mainstay of the Doom franchise, making its first appearance in Doom 2: Hell on Earth (1994). The demon's design has remained consistent since its first appearance: a tall, lanky humanoid skeleton with a jetpack and two rocket launchers. That was the case until Doom: The Dark Ages, where it underwent an interesting transformation. The lore-based explanation for these changes in demon design is that The Dark Ages takes place in the "cosmic" realm.
The Revenant is called an "Acolyte" in The Dark Ages, and looks a lot more like its namesake, with a body that is reminiscent of the grim reaper or a shade straight out of an Eldritch fantasy. It can also go into an ethereal form that makes it temporarily invulnerable to anything other than its own projectiles parried back at it. These projectiles take the form of glowing skulls, unlike the ones in previous Doom games, which looked more like rockets.
1 Tyrant
The Giant Demon Gets Wings in Doom: The Dark Ages
Also known as the Cyberdemon, the Tyrant has been a mainstay in the series since the original Doom. It was a boss fight as the Cyberdemon in Doom (2016), and returned as a super-heavy in Doom: Eternal, where it's referred to as a Tyrant again. It takes on by far its most menacing form in Doom: The Dark Ages, though, gaining agility and ranged attacks with heavy melee blows compared to its slow, large, vulnerable hitbox in Eternal.
The Tyrant in Doom: The Dark Ages is not as large as the ones in previous entries, and has wings that are reminiscent of those on vampires in popular media. Not only does it look a lot more menacing, it's also more of a challenge to fight, and requires a different approach rather than just shooting at it until it dies.
DOOM The Dark Ages: 8 Hardest Enemies, Ranked
DOOM: The Dark Ages is home to an array of powerful entities; here are the hardest enemies players can encounter in the game.
DOOM: The Dark Ages
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 86 /100 Critics Rec: 95%
- Released
- May 15, 2025
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence
- Developer(s)
- id Software
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda Softworks
WHERE TO PLAY
BECOME THE SLAYER IN A MEDIEVAL WAR AGAINST HELL
DOOM: The Dark Ages is the prequel to the critically acclaimed DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal that tells an epic cinematic story worthy of the DOOM Slayer’s legend. In this third installment of the modern DOOM series, players will step into the blood-stained boots of the DOOM Slayer, in this never-before-seen dark and sinister medieval war against Hell.
DOOM: The Dark Ages is a dark fantasy/sci-fi single-player experience that delivers the searing combat and over-the-top visuals of the incomparable DOOM franchise, powered by the latest idTech engine.
REIGN IN HELL
As the super weapon of gods and kings, shred enemies with devastating favorites like the Super Shotgun while also wielding a variety of new bone-chewing weapons, including the versatile Shield Saw. Players will stand and fight on the demon-infested battlefields in the vicious, grounded combat the original DOOM is famous for.
STAND AND FIGHT
Experience an epic story of the DOOM Slayer’s rage in this cinematic and action-packed story. Bound to serve as the super weapon of gods and kings, the DOOM Slayer fends off demon hordes as their leader seeks to destroy the Slayer and become the only one that is feared. Witness the creation of a legend as the Slayer takes on all of Hell and turns the tide of the war.
DISCOVER UNKNOWN REALMS
In his quest to crush the legions of Hell, the Slayer must take the fight to never-before-seen realms. Mystery, challenges, and rewards lurk in every shadow of ruined castles, epic battlefields, dark forests, ancient hellscapes, and worlds beyond. Armed with the viciously powerful Shield Saw, cut through a dark world of menace and secrets in id's largest and most expansive levels to date.
- Genre(s)
- FPS, Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
