DOOM: The Dark Ages brings new insights straight from Hugo Martincreative director at id Softwarewho explains that the signature glory kills from DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal didn’t quite fit with the large-scale battles in this upcoming installment.
DOOM: The Dark Age — A Shift in Signature Gameplay
Both the 2016 reboot and DOOM Eternal are known for their brutal executions—iconic mechanics that not only define the games visually but also serve gameplay purposes like resource management, providing health or ammo depending on the type of execution.
Resource management and executions haven’t been removed in DOOM: The Dark Agesas revealed in early impressions, but the gore-heavy moments are now quicker, shorter, and less flashy. There’s a reason behind this, as Martin explained during an online interview.
The Movie 300 Inspired the New Combat Style
Martin cited the movie 300—specifically the scene where Leonidas charges through waves of enemies at the Hot Gates with spear, shield, and sword—as the core inspiration for the feel they want players to experience.
“We wanted players to feel like that, and part of it [meant] being able to take down enemies quickly,” he said.
“So if every stunned enemy required a locked, synced animation… they’d act like little quick time events, which is great if you’re just fighting a couple of enemies, but not if you’re in a massive battlefield,”
Martin explained. “We wanted it to feel like war, so there are more enemies on screen than ever, and that requires players to dispatch them faster than ever before.”
Why Traditional Glory Kills Don’t Work Anymore
Martin noted that if the game used the same style of glory kills as before, enemies nearby would come out of their stunned state by the time the animation finished. To address this, id Software developed a system of “asynchronous glory kills”—melee finishers with different animations depending on the enemy’s type and size, the melee weapon used, and the player’s position.
With these asynchronous melee executionsMartin believes they’ve nailed the original inspiration for the game’s combat:
“Leonidas at the Hot Gates—you really feel like him because you’re flowing through enemies and are unstoppable.”
DOOM: The Dark Ages launches on May 15 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. It will be available day one on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. There will also be a Premium Editionwhich includes two days early accessand can be upgraded from the standard Game Pass version.
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