OpenCritic has DOOM: The Dark Ages | Revelations at 89 from 30 critics, with 97% recommending it. Revelations is an expansion to DOOM: The Dark Ages, developed by id Software, published by Bethesda Softworks and released July 7, 2026 on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Nobody doubts id can still make a good shooter. The real question is whether Revelations fixes what made The Dark Ages awkward for some players: making Doom heavier, more defensive and more rooted to the floor. Critics mostly say it does.
Revelations review scores
- PC Gamer: 90
- IGN: 90
- COGconnected: 90
- Press Start: 90
- GamingBolt: 90
- Hobby Consolas: 85
- Hardcore Gamer: 80
- 3DNews: 75
The earliest reviews ran hotter. In the first days, OpenCritic showed 92 from five reviews: DayOne and ZdobywcyGier.eu at 9.5/10, SECTOR.sk and Uagna at 9/10, and PowerUp! at 8.5/10. DayOne called it "my favorite playing shooter, ever." Uagna called it more a small sequel than an add-on, pointing to the returning dash, more verticality and quick switching between spear and shield. PowerUp! says it "gleefully stitches the best parts of both games together" and is "absolutely bloody merciless."
The spread is about appetite, not quality. The top scores are energized by an expansion that asks more of you. The lower ones still like it but are more cautious about the story, mechanical overload, and whether it reveals enough to earn its name.
Rory Norris at PC Gamer is the most enthusiastic: "Revelations isn't just The Dark Ages firing on all cylinders, it's modern Doom's magic in a single bottle." He calls it "the best Doom has ever been," blending Eternal's movement and level design with The Dark Ages' heavier, timing-based combat. He found the base game's levels uneven and the DLC tighter, faster and more coherent.
Mitchell Saltzman at IGN says The Dark Ages already had action "among the best in the genre," and Revelations "elevates it even further by fusing it with just the right amount of Doom Eternal." It can be overwhelming, though: it drops you in with the full late-game arsenal and layers new systems on top. For Saltzman that difficulty is the thrill; for some players it'll be a reason to hesitate.
Kevin Dunsmore at Hardcore Gamer gave 80: it "does what any good DLC should do: give you more of what the base game did right, while also adding in new layers." His criticism is the story, which spends time on the Slayer's past but too little on the Khan Makyr's plan, Marok, the civil conflict on Argent D'nur and the identity of the Architect. More lore than room. Across the reviews, the combat wins and the story is up for debate.
How the Chain Spear changes the combat
Most reviews come back to the Chain Spear, which replaces the Shield Saw for part of the campaign. Instead of the shield's defensive posture, it gives the Slayer riskier, more active mobility. You still parry, now through timed clashes. You still close distance, now by throwing the spear into an enemy and pulling yourself through the fight with more directional control.
Modern Doom lives in its verbs: shoot, swap, parry, stagger, close, escape, refill, repeat. Change one and the whole sentence changes. PC Gamer calls it "one of the most rewarding, satisfying combat systems in the genre." IGN says the spear seems designed to bring Eternal's mobility back into The Dark Ages' heavier design. GamingBolt: "The Chain Spear is the exception, and it's easily one of the most fun additions to the game." Press Start frames the DLC as a fusion of The Dark Ages' stand-and-fight identity and Eternal's movement and resource pressure.
That matters because The Dark Ages was divisive by design. Doom 2016 made movement aggressive, Eternal turned resource management into a frantic rhythm game, and The Dark Ages asked you to absorb, parry and hold ground. Some loved the weight; others missed the aerial pressure. Revelations doesn't just become Eternal again. It lets The Dark Ages keep its armour and gives it quicker feet.
Where critics disagree: difficulty and story
Revelations isn't gentle. IGN says it starts hard even for someone who beat The Dark Ages on Nightmare. Alex Everatt at COGconnected calls the opening a trial by fire if you haven't played recently, and while still giving 90, admits Doom has become "quite the complicated beast." Modern Doom is amazing when its systems click and fussy when they don't. Revelations assumes you remember the base game's language and are ready to learn a new dialect immediately. That's perfect if you wanted a harder, faster coda, less so if you rolled credits and exhaled.
The story is the other split. Press Start likes the attempt to make it personal but finds the Slayer material surface-level and some threads undercooked. Hardcore Gamer says too many mysteries go without payoff. GamingBolt is kinder, calling it a fitting send-off with useful clarity on the Slayer's past. Doom has never needed story to carry things, but a DLC called Revelations sounds like it promises answers.
The early reviews split the same way. SECTOR.sk likes how deep it goes into the mythology, connecting older games and even books, with more than an hour of cutscenes, but warns the difficulty and backtracking won't suit everyone. ZdobywcyGier.eu says it comes close to the perfect FPS but calls the story unnecessary, joking that Doom needs excess story about as much as "a bald man needs a comb." DayOne and Uagna also mention uncertainty about id Software's future after restructuring at Xbox, which gives some of the praise a wistful edge.
A DLC that argues with its base game
This isn't filler or three maps and a shrug. Critics describe an expansion that revisits the base game's most debated choices and tries to resolve them through play. An 89 for DLC usually means either only the faithful showed up or the expansion really sharpens the base game. Here it looks like both: the reviewers understand what modern Doom wants, but their praise is specific. The Chain Spear changes the texture of fights, the levels are stronger, the pace is meaner, and the Eternal itch gets scratched without erasing The Dark Ages.
Not every expansion needs to become a never-ending season. Sometimes the best DLC is a late correction: a tighter pass and a few new verbs that make the old ones feel better.
Should you play Revelations?
If The Dark Ages felt too heavy, Revelations may be what pulls you back in. If you loved the shield-first combat and don't want the pace turned up, or you're rusty and wary of dense fights, the lower scores are your warning. Most DLC picks one audience and annoys the other. Critics say this one manages to serve both the base game's defenders and its doubters.
