“It’s always an evolution” The creators of Doom The Dark Ages look back on the design of the star FPS of the Xbox Games Showcase

Game news “It’s always an evolution” The creators of Doom The Dark Ages look back on the design of the star FPS of the Xbox Games Showcase

Back to the origins

The Doom Guy emerged from hell during the Xbox Games Showcase to officially reveal the next title from Id Software and Bethesda, Doom: The Dark Ages, the spiritual sequel to Doom Eternal. This new game embraces the medieval fantasy genre and takes us into the demon slayer’s past when he was feared by all and known as “The Weapon of the Gods”. Armed with a chainsaw shield and his iconic double-barreled rifle, the powerful soldier sports a new look by wearing a cape that gives him great style. While players have noticed that it will be possible to ride a dragon and maneuver a mecha, the game’s directors, Hugo Martin and Marty Stratton told Gamespot during an interview that this sequel is inspired by Doom 1 and 2 .

If Doom Eternal wanted to be very vertical, Doom: The Dark Ages should return to more horizontal gameplay as in the first games of the franchise. The previous title released in 2020 was based on what had already been done in Doom (2016), namely the weapons and the general tone of the game. While the next opus has been completely redesigned to offer a new experience to veterans and newcomers alike. According to Marty Stratton, it was necessary to replay the original games before developing Doom: The Dark Ages.

At the start of the project, everyone comes back and plays the original Doom. When we were talking about what Doom: The Dark Ages is, it was a bit like borrowing ideas from Doom 1 and Doom 2. As the brand has evolved, the ideas throughout the story have also had the same development like all the different mechanics of the game. It’s amazing when you play the game, you really say “This is amazing”.

Martin Stratton and Hugo Martin also spoke about their inspiration for the Doom Slayer’s new look, which reportedly comes from Leonidas from the film 300 and Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings. The goal for them was to give this impression of power to players when they see the character on screen. Like a Spartan, swinging his shield in the faces of demons or tearing their stomachs with his integrated chainsaw will be unprecedentedly bloody!

A rumor that pleases

Id Software and Bethesda have not yet announced an official release date, but the game is expected to be released in 2025 as announced in its trailer. This new opus will be available on Xbox Series and PC, but no announcement had been made about a possible arrival on PS5, in particular because Id Software is part of Xbox Game Studios following the acquisition of Bethesda by Microsoft. But that was before Phil Spencer made things clear! The boss of the American giant confirmed that the FPS will also arrive on PS5, because according to him “Doom is a franchise that everyone deserves to play”.

This news has been well received by players, as the previous parts of the franchise are available on PlayStation, Xbox and PC. Microsoft does, however, have plans for its future games and their exclusives. We imagine that after this announcement, certain titles could remain unique to the Xbox Series and PC, while others could be released on PlayStation 5.