Microsoft and id Software have announced DOOM: The Dark Ages. The game will take place in a setting similar to the Middle Ages. 
The game will be a kind of prequel to the series, and will tell about the adventures of the Doom Slayer in a setting similar to the Middle Ages. The developers have been working on the shooter for at least four years: the previous part, Eternal, was released in 2020. The main character will receive a shield with which you can not only defend yourself, but also attack enemies.
DOOM: The Dark Ages creative director Hugo Martin shared details about the creation of the game:
In DOOM: The Dark Ages, id Software will “return to its roots.” The company will make the shooter more similar to the first games in the series. This will be most strongly expressed in the fact that the Doom Slayer will become heavier, more powerful and more grounded. Players will clearly feel this, since the hero will no longer soar into the air as easily as in the previous part. According to Martin, if in Eternal Doomguy was a kind of fighter, then in The Dark Ages he will become a tank.
The shooter will return to its long-standing principle that every enemy projectile counts. Players will have to maneuver between projectiles more often, and the overall gameplay will become more horizontal. This will again distance The Dark Ages from Eternal, in which, on the contrary, the main emphasis was placed on verticality.
According to Martin, the developers decided to move away from Eternal's verticality not because it was a bad decision. According to him, simply developing this idea further would be overkill.
The Dark Ages will feature a record number of demons. The locations in the game will become larger, but you won’t have to run around looking for the goal. The arenas will be densely populated with opponents. They will be able to be destroyed with “the most powerful weapon that players have ever held in their hands in a game in the series.”
In the shooter, players will become "weapons of mass destruction," Martin said. According to him, players will have to kill more demons than ever.
The Saw Shield is an important weapon in The Dark Ages. With it you can block attacks, parry projectiles and combine attacks with other guns. Essentially, players will always have two weapons in their hands, Martin said. According to him, he wants players to feel like Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings or King Leonidas from 300, in other words, the hero of this large-scale battle.
