Following the success of the DOOM reboot, its sequel, DOOM Eternal, managed to take the series to greater heights with even faster action-packed gameplay, although its story ultimately left more questions than answers. Given that DOOM: The Dark Ages will expand the Doom Slayer's origins leading up to DOOM 2016, The Dark Ages has a great chance to go into even greater detail about the game world. While players will have to wait and see if The Dark Ages will answer every lingering question from its predecessor, it will likely provide a better perspective on one relatively mysterious faction.

[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Doom Eternal and The Ancient Gods DLC]

While not everyone was a fan of DOOM Eternal's less grounded approach to its sci-fi fantasy storytelling compared to its predecessor, The Dark Ages leans fully into the more spectacular elements of the series' worldbuilding in breathtaking detail. With DOOM Eternal receiving several updates post-launch, plenty of worthwhile additions, like its horde mode or official modding , would also make great additions to The Dark Ages. Regardless of the direction The Dark Ages takes when tackling the expanded story of the Doom Slayer, Maykr, and Sentinels, one side is getting some well-deserved characterization.

Demons Have The Potential To Be More Than Mindless Canon Fodder

Providing More Characterization For DOOM's Demons

Despite many Demons across the series being hinted at having greater intelligence, most enemies across the franchise come across as mindless obstacles ripe for ripping and tearing. While this is perfectly fine for the DOOM franchise and its focus on adrenaline-pumping combat, the absence of Demons capable of speech and taunting remarks is somewhat of a surprise for the massive story expansion seen in DOOM Eternal.

The Marauders are a perfect example of how increased characterization can help the Slayer's enemies feel even more impactful than ever, offering an incredibly intimidating and rewarding presence on the battlefield, allowing players to teach the traitorous Demons the error of their ways in mortal combat.

While the Hell Priests were also capable of speech and taunting remarks before their encounter, the former High Priests' pathetic nature felt more comedic than anything else.

Thankfully, recent trailer footage and official screenshots seem to hint that The Dark Ages will include a new demonic antagonist for the Doom Slayer to face off against, who is supposedly named Ahzrak based on his file name. While it remains to be seen if more enemies similar to Marauders will appear, the presence of a new leader for the demons could showcase their power structure more clearly in-game.

On top of being powerful enough to take down multiple Sentinels on his own, the new demon antagonist was also shown taking to a Hell Priest before their betrayal, likely being the catalyst for the great civil war. Given that the developers have described the storyline of The Dark Ages as a "Summer Blockbuster," there's plenty to look forward to when it comes to The Dark Ages expanding upon DOOM Eternal's story and challenges, alongside some exciting new weapons to unleash.

The Dark Ages' Story Won't Be Hidden Away Behind Walls Of Text

Providing A More Coherent Story For Players

While there's some merit to having a story that's more up to the player's interpretation of its exact meaning, it felt out of place given DOOM Eternal's grander narrative and more story-focused elements. Much of Eternal's story relied heavily on these codex entries to fill in the gaps between events and unexplained lore, making them essential to understanding the game world and overarching storyline.

Even though it didn't take much time to read each codex, and they greatly enhanced the experience, it was still a large point of contention when Eternal was first released, with complaints that it broke up the flow of the fast-paced gameplay.

Thankfully, for players who weren't fans of Eternal's choice of storytelling medium, The Dark Ages will feature even more fully fleshed-out cutscenes that tell the game's story in its entirety. While this is certainly an upgrade for creating a more seamless story experience for players, the codex entries could still hopefully retain some form of inclusion as additional worldbuilding treats rather than required reading.

Given the lack of sentient demons throughout each game, the codex entries in both games were the only way to learn about the demons' power structures. These entries allude to even more powerful creatures yet to be seen in the franchise.

Some of the more intricate pieces of the story were somewhat vague in their description.

While the Maykr's connection to demons explains a tremendous amount about the game world and the motivation behind each faction, The Dark Ages could give the Demons a further expanded storyline with characters similar to the Khan Maykr and Seraphi,m respectively. Although even with the codex, some of the more intricate pieces of the story were somewhat vague in their description, such as the Dark Lord's appearance and the true nature of the Slayer's origins, which will hopefully be expanded in greater detail when The Dark Ages finally releases.

Like the reasoning behind the Dark Lord's appearance and the true nature of the Doom Slayer's origins, were somewhat vague in their explanation both in and outside the game itself, with The Dark Ages hopefully explaining them in better detail on release.

The Slayer Won't Be Fighting Alone In DOOM: The Dark Ages

Introducing Even More Characters To Learn About And Fight Alongside With

The Demons aren't the only faction getting a chance to shine in The Dark Ages, either. The Doom Slayer's former allies also get a greater spotlight in the main story. This prequel to DOOM 2016 will follow the Slayer's storyline from ing the ranks of the Sentinels. The Dark Ages will showcase a more emotional, character-driven side of the world, featuring both friendship and betrayal.

While fighting alongside the Slayer's former allies is bound to create satisfying gameplay moments and climactic large-scale battles akin to the finale of The Ancient Gods Part 2, DOOM Eternal's story proved that some things simply can't last.

Fighting alongside the Slayer's former allies is bound to create satisfying gameplay moments and climactic large-scale battles.

The who almost died in The Ancient Gods Part 2.

Even though The Dark Ages is returning to its roots with more dense horizontal combat, it's not going to be like any DOOM experience to date. Similar to DOOM Eternal's evolution from DOOM 2016, the Dark Ages will see the Slayer transform from a fast-moving fighter jet into a dominating tank, being able to face any threats head-on rather than dashing around to avoid them. These revamped combat mechanics will also play well into the revised setting of this prequel, showcasing the fighting style and weapons used by The Slayer during his time with the legendary Sentinels.

Showcasing The Slayer's fighting style and weapons during his time with the legendary Sentinels.

Even if The Dark Ages should focus on developing its original story and tying up loose ends, there's still room to flesh out some well-deserved scenes only alluded to by its predecessors. While the latest trailer claims The Dark Ages will follow the Slayer's journey after his mythical upgrade, seeing his first interaction with the Sentinels after surviving hell for so long on his own or his battle to prove himself in the gladiatorial arena would be incredible.

Regardless of what the prequel chooses to cover throughout its blockbuster adventure, with DOOM: The Dark Ages likely to be the final entry in the Doom Slayer's trilogy, it will hopefully be able to tie up all the loose ends of its previous entries.