Doom: The Dark Ages' new cutscenes exist because of fans' unlikely obsession with the series' lore: "A Doom game that doesn’t have a story is just an arcade game”

Doom: The Dark Ages will be in our hands in just a matter of months, but I found the game’s last trailer during the Xbox Developer Direct 2025 quite strange due to its heavy focus on the story and characters. Considering many associate Doom with seeing how fast you can blast demons into mush, the emphasis on the game’s lore was surprising. But according to studio director Marty Stratton, that decision stems from a surprisingly passionate subsection of fans

“In so many interviews, we sit down with somebody and their first question is about the story,” Stratton told Edge magazine, adding, “there’s YouTube channels dedicated to analyzing every little bit of iconography.” The previous entry, Doom Eternal, gave the story more focus than the 2016 reboot – which had the Doom Slayer literally throw audio logs out of the way so he could get back to killing demons. This clearly paid off, as Stratton says, “We have data that shows that in Doom Eternal an extremely large percentage of people who play through the game watch the cutscenes.”

In fact, Stratton believes that as the series continues, it's more important than ever to have a story that ties everything together, saying, “We just feel like it makes it a complete experience.” Of course, every Doom game has a story, but Doom: The Dark Ages was described as a “summer blockbuster event” by game director Hugo Martin during the Developer Direct trailer, where id has “taken the narrative out of the codex and into the cutscenes,” promising a heavier focus on cinematics this time around.

I personally have always treated Doom as a ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ kind of game, but I don’t mind the daft lore, as long as it doesn’t take me out of the action for a long time – if Doom: The Dark Ages has Metal Gear-sized cutscenes, then I think we might have a problem. But Stratton argues that story is an essential part of the puzzle, “A Doom game that doesn’t have a story is just an arcade game. Yes, there are people who like that experience, but, well, that’s what the ‘skip’ button is for.”

If you’re desperate for Doom and are looking for something to tide you over, check out our list of the best FPS games you can play right now.