DOOM: The Dark Ages offers a satisfying prequel to the beloved soft reboot of the DOOM franchise, while innovating on the formula with plenty of new mechanics. From simple gameplay additions to reworking the gameplay significantly, The Dark Ages almost feels more like a sequel to the original games than DOOM Eternal. Even if the gameplay is different, there's no shortage of secrets to uncover across the ancient realms of DOOM: The Dark Ages' mythology.

Although The Dark Ages makes several departures from the series, it still keeps the tradition of Easter eggs and secrets alive. With how many currencies there are to collect, and hidden areas filled with ammunition or health supplies, players are heavily encouraged to scour the map for every little treasure they can find. Even if there aren't as many hidden references to discover in DOOM: The Dark Ages as its predecessors, there are still a few surprises in store for eagle-eyed players.

10 Another Terminator Reference For Clumsy Slayer's

Keeping Up The Long-Running Tradition For The Trilogy

Given the settings of the DOOM franchise, it's little surprise that the Slayer often comes into with bodies of lava, offering more than a simple environmental hazard. If a player dies solely from lava damage without life sigils to spare, a unique animation will play of the Slayer giving a thumbs up as he sinks beneath the boiling depths, similar to the T-800 in The Terminator (1984).

Although The Dark Ages is far from the first game to include a reference to the iconic Terminator franchise, it's a long-held tradition for the series. Appearing in both predecessors to The Dark Ages​​​​, the game wouldn't feel complete without the inclusion.

9 The Slayer Himself References One Classic Mechanic

Doom Guy Has Never Shied Away From Powerful Upgrades

While it wasn't as surprising given that the effect was revealed in some of the earlier footage for DOOM: The Dark Ages, the slayer's iconic glowing eyes were more than a way to show his newfound power. Going back to the original pixel art games that started the franchise, the yellow eyes could be found by activating the god mode cheat for the games.

Given how overpowered and absurd the Slayer's feats have become in the DOOM reboots, the god mode comparison isn't too far off. Being empowered by the Maykr's themselves to serve as the ultimate weapon against the forces of hell, the Slayer more than lives up to his threatening title across the series, especially in The Dark Ages.

8 Bringing Back Doom Guy's Classic HUD

One Of The Best Easter Eggs Is Hiding In Your Settings

Another feature that was showcased in The Dark Ages' earliest trailers was that the new entry offers a nostalgic return of the face-themed health bar at the bottom of the screen. While the HUD icon itself has been updated for a modern art style with a holographic flair, you can still return it to its classic pixelated and colorful appearance.

Hidden right in the UI settings menu for The Dark Ages, you can choose to opt into the classic style for the Face Avatar Style of the Slayer. Given that The Dark Ages provides a greater focus on emulating the heavier boots-on-the-ground FPS action of the original games, the setting is more than a welcome inclusion.

7 A Powerful Weapon Returning From DOOM 64

A Familiar Weapon For Fans Of The Original

Although the iconic weapon has come a long way from its humble origins in DOOM 64, a codex entry found in the first chapter confirms that the shotgun in The Dark Ages is a modified version of its previous appearance. Even though The Dark Ages outright tells you that the weapon is the same as the original, the number of codex collectibles in the game can be hard to keep track of at times.

Being a prequel to the DOOM reboots, it makes perfect sense that the Slayer would still have his trusty weapon from DOOM 64​​​​​​ after his vacation in hell. Thankfully, the classic weapon has been upgraded in more ways than one, being capable of outputting much more firepower than ever before.

6 Iconic Painting Parodies Plastered Across Royal Hallways

Alternative Takes On Historical Paintings

Blending in with the medieval halls of the Sentinels' home, it can be easy to miss the detailed paintings scattered about the kingdom. While many of the paintings are simply gorgeous recreations of the fantastical landscapes of DOOM: The Dark Ages, some hold more meaning behind them.

Out of all the preferential paintings hidden in The Dark Ages, the most obvious parodies by far are Wanderer above the Sea of Fog and Saturn Devouring, his son, recreated using the characters and style of The Dark Ages. Given the greater narrative focus presented by The Dark Ages, these paintings could even offer deeper insights into the ideology of the factions and their place in DOOM​​​​​​'s sci-fi world.

5 The Dark Ages' Wanted Posters Hide Some Familiar Faces

The Very First Level Already Has A Surprising Secret

Right in the very first level of DOOM: The Dark Ages, some fans were quick to spot a few familiar faces on wanted posters scattered throughout the besieged town. While it's a little hard to narrow down exactly who each of the photos is referencing, some are easier to spot than others, displaying developers of the game in a lore-friendly art style.

Wanted posters, paintings, and other in-game signage are an iconic way for developers to reference themselves or each other in games for decades, with The Dark Ages being no exception. Aside from the posters, some of the in-game paintings also offer creative caricatures featuring recognizable developers, like Hugo Martin, that are easy to miss at first glance.

4 The Plasma Cycler Is A Subtle Quake Nod

Returning To The Roots Of The Series With Another Iconic Weapon

While the Plasma Cycler upgrade from the Accellerator is a functionally different weapon, the firearm bears a striking resemblance to the dual-barrelled Nailgun from the original Quake. While it might have made more sense for a reskinned version of The Dark Ages' stake shooting Impaler, it still serves as one of the best weapons in the game.

Being one of ID Software's most iconic franchises with plenty of the same medieval sci-fi inspirations, repurposing content from the Quake series feels like a perfect fit for The Dark Ages. The Plasma Cycler isn't the only Quake reference either, as you can find several symbols that appear to be from the iconic FPS series all throughout The Dark Ages, most prominently in the Lovecraftian-themed levels.

3 The Imp Stalker's Using The Arch-Vile Screams

One Of The Only Sound Effect References In The Dark Ages

It's easy to mistake the return of the Imp-Slayer with an Arch-Vile at first glance, but one audio file makes the differences between the two blend together even more. As spotted by YouTube Michniko, the Imp Stalkers have a chance at playing the easily recognizable Arch-Vile death sound from the original, striking fear into the hearts of veteran Slayers.

While there is a surprising lack of audio callbacks to the rest of the series when compared to the previous two DOOM games, Arch-Vile isn't the only one present in the game. During the first part of the Siege campaign, you can also find a Slayer toy tucked away in a secret level that plays the familiar DOOM's Gate jungle upon collection.

2 A Mysterious Skeletal Figure For Eagle-Eyed Players

A Confusing Easter Egg That Still Hasn't Been Explained

While nobody seems to have figured out what, if anything, the mysterious figure is a reference to yet, some players were quick to spot a Superman-posed skeleton donning a blue cape on one of The Dark Ages' early levels. Spotted in chapter 4 in the Sentinel Barracks stage, the skeleton is just behind you after completing a secret puzzle.

Compared to most of the secrets in The Dark Ages, the unidentified skeleton is probably one of the strangest, but not too difficult to come across. After using a shield leap and jumping down in front of a pushable cube halfway through the level, simply turning around will let you see the caped skeleton starting not so menacingly at the Slayer.

1 The Last Of Us Makes Its Way Into DOOM

It Seems Spores Are More Infectious Than We Thought

During one of the first levels in the Cosmic Realm, later on in The Dark Ages' story, you can come across abandoned shipwrecks with more than a few surprises hidden inside. While some are easy to miss at first, a few corpses bear an unmistakable resemblance to the iconic Clicker infected from The Last of Us​​​​​​.

While TLOU is more likely given the smaller infected corpse, the disfigured bodies could also be a reference to the novel-turned-film Annihilation, which would also match the location's cosmic horror themes.

Having mushrooms blooming from their heads and connected to the walls, it seems like an unmistakable reference to PlayStation's award-winning series, while fitting in perfectly with the cosmic horror of the mysterious dimension. With the ominous environments of the Cosmic Realm possibly being tied to the Earth's very own Bermuda Triangle, I wouldn't be too surprised if a ship of infected from TLOU somehow ended up between worlds, justifying its appearance in DOOM: The Dark Ages.

Source: Michniko/YouTube