Video game expansions often fall into a predictable trap: they give you a few new levels, a slightly shinier weapon, and call it a day. It is rare for downloadable content to fundamentally alter how you interact with a game you have already spent dozens of hours mastering. Yet, id Software has never been a studio interested in playing it safe.
Last year, DOOM: The Dark Ages slowed down the blistering pace of the franchise, trading chaotic movement for a heavy, grounded approach where you stood your ground and traded blows. It was a bold shift, but some long-time fans missed the frantic, strategic juggling act of 2020’s DOOM Eternal. Enter DOOM: The Dark Ages – Revelations, an expansion that aggressively fuses these two distinct combat philosophies together. The result is one of the most rewarding first-person shooter experiences in recent memory.
The Slayer’s Trip to Purgatory
The narrative picks up as the realm of Argent D’Nur boils over in religious conflict. The Slayer, being the stubborn protagonist we know and love, refuses to bend the knee to the Khan Maykr. In response, she ships him off to face The High Council of hell. In a rare moment of vulnerability, the Slayer is defeated and cast straight into Purgatory, a desolate realm reserved for the damned.
Stripped of his armour and with his beloved Shield Saw shattered, he is nursed back to health by an ancient demon known as the Architect. To escape, you must hunt down three Ascension Stones, an objective designed to make the Slayer confront his own past trauma and self-doubt.
If that sounds like a surprisingly deep emotional arc for a man who communicates primarily through shotgun blasts, well, it is on paper. In execution, the narrative remains largely surface-level. The game teases a deep dive into the Slayer’s origins and his internal guilt, but it never quite commits to the bit.
Similarly, Marok (the Khan Maykr’s new champion) gets plenty of screen time but feels a bit undercooked as a villain. However, what the story lacks in emotional weight, it makes up for in sheer spectacle. Watching the Slayer do what he does best is always a thrill, and if you are a lore nerd, the new codex entries offer fascinating details about Purgatory and the Architect.
Mechanics: The Chain Spear Changes Everything
Where Revelations truly excels is in its mechanical overhaul. Because your Shield Saw is broken at the start, the game hands you the Chain Spear. This multifaceted weapon single-handedly drags the combat pace back toward the speed of DOOM Eternal. It comes equipped with a meathook for grappling across arenas, ranged throwing options, and a devastating aerial slam. It also swaps out your traditional block for last-second dodges and a quick dash.
Using these tools effectively revolves around a new resource called Empowerment, which you build by executing perfect dodges. Upgrading the Chain Spear turns combat into a hyper-fast puzzle of risk and reward. But the true genius of the DLC reveals itself once the Architect finally repairs your Shield Saw.
You aren’t forced to choose between the heavy defence of the shield and the mobility of the spear. The game demands you use both. Swapping to the Shield Saw to stun a towering Cyberdemon, then instantly pulling out the Chain Spear to grapple a flying Archvile, creates an incredibly satisfying flow state. Add in new enemies like the Warlock, who covers arenas in smog and buffs allied units, and you are constantly forced to prioritise targets and rethink your strategies.
It is a demanding system but it is supported by excellent endgame content. A new “End Game” mode lets you replay campaign levels with a Master Key, unlocking brutal Master Arenas, classic retro levels, and even a secret super boss.
The “Bowie” Effect
If you enjoy the weighty, deliberate weapon strikes of modern action games like God of War, but also crave the frantic, split-second resource management of a shooter like Returnal, you will absolutely devour this DLC.
But comparing the DOOM franchise to other video games only tells half the story. The most accurate comparison for what id Software is doing right now is actually David Bowie.
Bowie never stayed the same artist for long. He moved from Ziggy Stardust to the Thin White Duke to his Berlin era, constantly shedding his skin and reinventing his sound while always remaining undeniably Bowie. DOOM operates on the exact same wavelength. The franchise could easily rest on its laurels and release the exact same game every three years. Instead, id Software treats every release like a new era. They gave us the brutal simplicity of 2016, the manic puzzle-combat of Eternal, the heavy brawling of The Dark Ages, and now, a perfect synthesis of their past and present in Revelations. It is a constant cycle of creative reinvention that refuses to let the franchise grow stale.
Final Verdict
DOOM: The Dark Ages – Revelations is a triumph. It takes the solid, grounded foundation of the base game and injects it with a lethal dose of adrenaline and complexity. While the story might not hit the emotional highs it aims for, and the environments are a bit familiar, the moment-to-moment gameplay is entirely unmatched.
Verdict: Highly Recommended.
