Doom The Dark Ages Setting and Lore explained

The Doom The Dark Ages setting and lore, including what year the game takes place in, might be of some confusion to those scholars of medieval history who don't remember anything about alien incursions and giant mechs. The additions of knightly weaponry and visuals to Doom The Dark Ages (to say nothing of the name) have slightly muddied the understanding many people have about when the game is set and what you have to expect from the game's content.

To help you better understand Doom The Dark Ages setting, lore and place in the Doom Timeline, we'll explain below, but don't worry – we're keeping this spoiler free, only really discussing the game's rough setting and relation to the other games, as well as those details already covered in other games already.

What year is Doom The Dark Ages set in? The Doom Timeline Explained:

Doom The Dark Ages isn't set in a specific year as we know it, as it isn't set on Earth, but instead the alien world of Argent D'Nur, so a specific year date wouldn't help to clarify anything. It would be more illustrative to say that The Dark Ages is a sequel to the original Doom games, but a prequel to the Doom 2016 reboot. That means the chronological order of all Doom games – aka, the Doom timeline – goes as follows:

1. Doom (1993)
2. Doom 2
3. Doom 64
4. Doom: The Dark Ages
5. Doom (2016)
6. Doom: Eternal
7. Doom: The Ancient Gods Part 1
8. Doom: The Ancient Gods Part 2

What is the setting and lore in Doom The Dark Ages?

Doom The Dark Ages covers a war called The Unholy Crusade, referenced in Doom 2016 and elaborated on more heavily in Doom Eternal, but never shown before now. That war was between the demons of Hell and the alien world of Argent D'Nur, led by King Novik and their greatest warriors, The Night Sentinels.

As shown in Doom Eternal, the Doomguy accidentally ends up on Argent D'Nur during his battles with the demons, and after proving himself in the gladiator arena would become one of their most legendary warriors. In fact, he was so effective that their masters, the angelic Maykrs, will bestow Doomguy with superhuman abilities and turn him into the Doom Slayer (you can play Eternal for more info on this).

But this is where The Dark Ages takes place: Doomguy is now the Slayer, fighting to keep the demons off Argent D'Nur in allegiance with the Maykrs and Night Sentinels. The reason it looks like the medieval period (and is called The Dark Ages) is because the culture of Argent D'Nur is a mixture of Viking, fantasy and medieval mixed with science fiction technology (this is why nearly all Doom The Dark Ages weapons look the way that they do). The game isn't actually set in Earth's Dark Age period, though it is clearly inspired by it and the mythology around it.

Ready to start playing through the Unholy Crusade? We've got the solutions to the toughest puzzles, the Doom The Dark Ages Wolf Statues, right here! Or if you're wondering what's ahead of you, find out: how long is Doom The Dark Ages? It might be more than you think…

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