A few hours ago, publisher Bethesda Softworks revealed that id Software’s DOOM: The Dark Ages has already reached 3 million players, making it the biggest launch ever in the franchise. For comparison, it was seven times quicker than the previous entry, DOOM Eternal, to get to this milestone.
However, it should be noted that Eternal did not launch on Game Pass right away like The Dark Ages. Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda was completed in March 2021, while DOOM Eternal was released about a year before. It’s always hard to make comparisons between games in the same franchise when the new one is available on Microsoft’s subscription service, because it inevitably skews data.
Still, it does seem like the reception has been positive overall. DOOM: The Dark Ages is currently sitting at an 86% average user review score on Steam. Here on Wccftech, resident DOOM expert Chris Wray also gave it an 8.5/10 in his review:
So, to put it all quite simply, DOOM: The Dark Ages is a good game—no, it’s a very good game. I would recommend it to fans of the genre and people who want to have fun without the risk of anything transmissible via bodily fluids. Unless we’re talking about demon blood and guts, there’s lots of that. DOOM: The Dark Ages is yet another success from Id Software, and long may they continue.
DOOM: The Dark Ages is a rip-tearing fun ride that reigns in some of the excesses of DOOM Eternal, bringing the gameplay closer to DOOM (2016), while adding meat to the story in a long, meaty, campaign across over twenty stages. Put simply, if you liked DOOM and DOOM Eternal, you will like this, even if there are a few minor missteps.
In other news, NVIDIA has confirmed that the game will receive its path tracing update at some point in June. The patch will also add denoising through NVIDIA’s DLSS Ray Reconstruction.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Digital Foundry, id Software’s Billy Khan explained why DOOM: The Dark Ages wouldn’t have been possible without ray tracing.
How are you enjoying this new entry? Let us know below!
