DOOM: The Dark Ages | Revelations Preview: The Doomslayer Returns

3 weeks ago 22

Published Jul 1, 2026, 10:00 AM EDT

Maddie is a Contributor at DualShockers covering JRPGs, survival horror, arcade games, retro gaming, shooters, and features. She has been writing about games professionally since 2011, with more than a decade of experience across lists, reviews, guides, and games journalism.

Before joining DualShockers, Maddie contributed to WhatCulture, GameRant, and NowLoading, and has written extensively about games across multiple websites over the years. She is also a writer, journalist, and game developer, bringing both editorial experience and development perspective to her coverage.

If there's one word that may describe DOOM today, it's change. Ever since the immaculate 2016 reboot of the franchise, DOOM has been doing its best to alter the status quo into something that's altogether familiar, but a bit different.

While the ferocity and speed of DOOM has never slowed down since 2016, which was something of a course-correct from the slower speed of DOOM 3, director Hugo Martin and longtime id Software producer Marty Stratton have done their best over the past several years to find a new space for the franchise to occupy. With 2025's DOOM: The Dark Ages, the franchise took the Doomslayer back in time, challenging the fanbase to fight in a new way.

Every DOOM Game, Ranked

With the looming approach of DOOM: Dark Ages, we're excited to rank every game that came before it.

Now, one year later, the team is back with an all-new DLC called DOOM: The Dark Ages | Revelations. In June of this year, I was invited to take a look at the next chapter of DOOM, and what I saw showcased just how both unique and familiar this new DLC is going to be. It's just as bloody and brilliant as you may think, but there's also quite a lot of innovations that are poised to make this one of the most compelling pieces of DLC launching this year.

A Fitting Conclusion

With DOOM: The Dark Ages | Revelations, there seems to be an underlying feeling that this may be the final chapter of this era. Though nothing is official, and certainly neither Hugo nor Marty confirmed that during my preview, it feels like we've reached the end of the road for this period of DOOM.

It's rather fitting, then, that Revelations seems intent on being the most accurate representation of this era of DOOM that we've seen. It's just as fast, just as ferocious and unrelenting as it has always been, but the apocalyptic tone of the game just has a sense of finality to it.

During my preview, I could tell just how much bigger and broader Revelations was going with its map design and structure. With a total of six new levels, as well as an enormous hub world that also acts as its own level, Revelations isn't just looking to tread old ground.

Revelations has a keen focus on escalation. Director Hugo Martin spoke at length about their desire to create something that feels bigger than anything they've ever done, and indeed, Revelations looks and feels the part. The amount of content is honestly staggering for a DLC, and feels a lot like id attempting to cap off what made DOOM: The Dark Ages so fantastic.

It's just as fast, just as ferocious and unrelenting as it has always been, but the apocalyptic tone of the game just has a sense of finality to it.

Game director Hugo Martin spoke quite often about how Revelations is built on the themes of escalation and threats that continue to scale with each new chapter. Levels are deep, complex labyrinths as you may expect, but there are also a lot of layers to each one.

Revelations keeps its bosses and enemies coming in continuously larger numbers, as a series of keys will lead you to bigger and badder bosses. There's a lot of effort in Revelations to make good on the long-held promise of DOOM, which is conquering hordes of demons within the confines of gaming's greatest power fantasy.

Chain Spear Simulator 2026

The biggest new combat focus in DOOM: The Dark Ages back in 2025 was the Shield Saw, which was a major part of what made that game so enjoyable. The level of versatility and control you could gain over it was outstanding, and that methodology is exactly what powers Revelation's newest weapon.

The Chain Spear looks like absolute madness, in a way that only DOOM can accomplish. Much like the Shield Saw, the Chain Spear's main appeal comes from the chaotic, alluring trance it can put you in. It looks like one of those weapons that, once you really get a handle on its deeper systems, you can simply devastate the opposition.

There are some really cool things you can do with the Chain Spear. Both Hugo and Marty spoke about how the Chain Spear can be used to influence momentum and inertia, as you can use it to swing around some of the larger enemies and launch yourself towards another. It just looks like a total blast, and its use as both an offensive weapon and traversal system is delightful.

Hugo also spoke about the importance of the Chain Spear, and that even though there are a lot of other weapons, it will become mandatory by the end of Revelations. Thankfully, it looks like a weapon that's quite easy to understand the basics of, but learning its more complex systems will require some patience and effort. After all, if you're not having fun learning about a new weapon while slaying hundreds of demons, there's something wrong.

Revelations is most likely the last piece of new content we'll see for DOOM: The Dark Ages, and it looks like it will be a fitting conclusion. No matter what happens with the franchise next, be it a game that goes back to basics or something completely different, Revelations looks to be something pretty special. With a lot of new content, levels, and a fantastic-looking new weapon to take charge of, this is going to be a DLC to watch in 2026.

DOOM: The Dark Ages | Revelations is set to launch on July 7th, 2026, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.