If you’ve spent hours running through the grim, plague-ridden levels of the Doom The Dark Ages total conversion mod, you’ve probably caught a split-second glimpse of something familiar on random loot drops, wall carvings, or even enemy kill screens. I’m talking about the Doom the Dark Ages Doom Guy face, the tiny, nostalgic nod to classic Doom’s iconic marine hidden all across the mod’s gritty medieval world. I spent three full playthroughs last month tracking every single instance of this easter egg after I spotted it carved into the hilt of a cursed longsword mid-boss fight, and I’ve pulled together every detail I found, from its lore context to how you can unlock a permanent toggle to display it on your HUD.
What Makes the Doom the Dark Ages Doom Guy Face a Special Easter Egg?
Most mod easter eggs are just throwaway references thrown in to make fans laugh, but this one is tied directly to the mod’s core lore. The devs built the entire premise around the idea that the original Doom Guy was isekai’d to the dark ages after the events of Doom 2, so his face is left as a marker of his past presence for players to find decades after his rampage. It’s not just a lazy cameo – every instance ties to a piece of worldbuilding, like the village carvings that show locals worshipping the marine as a demon-slaying saint after he cleared their land of hellspawn before the mod’s story starts.
The classic Doom Guy face is one of the most recognizable icons in gaming, with its gritted teeth and shifting expressions based on how much damage you’ve taken. Most modern Doom games have phased it out in favor of more realistic HUD designs, so seeing it pop up in a gritty medieval mod feels like a fun little gift to long-time fans of the series. I screamed a little when I first spotted it on that sword hilt, because I’d spent hundreds of hours playing the original Doom as a kid, and I had no idea the mod had that level of attention to detail. I missed the first three instances of it on my first playthrough because I was too focused on running from hordes of possessed knights, so don’t feel bad if you haven’t spotted it yet.
Every Location You Can Find the Doom Guy Face in-Game
I mapped every confirmed spawn of the face across all four chapters of the mod, and most are easy to spot once you know where to look. Some are fixed spawns that show up in every playthrough, while others only show up on higher difficulty levels to reward players who want a bigger challenge. If you’re lucky enough to spot a rare random spawn of the Doom the Dark Ages Doom Guy face on a loot drop, take a screenshot – most players only ever see 2 or 3 fixed instances in a full playthrough.
- Chapter 1, Plagued Village: Carved into the stone altar in the abandoned church at the far west of the map, only visible after you defeat the possessed priest mini-boss and light all three candles on the altar’s edge
- Chapter 2, Cursed Keep: Etched into the blade of the secret greatsword hidden in the keep’s dungeon, accessible only if you collect all three rusted keys before fighting the keep lord boss
- Chapter 3, Blighted Forest: Printed on the tattered tabard of a dead marine hidden in a hollow oak tree near the forest’s southern exit, a direct nod to the Doom Guy’s original green armor from the 1993 game
- Chapter 4, Hell’s Portal: Displayed on the HUD for 10 seconds right before you fight the final boss, as a little confidence boost to remind you who you’re playing as and what you’re fighting for
There are also random spawns that pop up on loot drops like health potions and weapon runes, so keep an eye out any time you pick up a new item. If you’re playing on Ultra Violence difficulty, you’ll also spot the face painted on the shields of the elite possessed knight enemies, a fun little detail most casual players never see even if they beat the mod multiple times. I only noticed that detail on my third playthrough when I got up close to parry an attack, so don’t be afraid to slow down and look at enemy designs every once in a while.
How to Unlock the Permanent Doom Guy Face HUD Toggle
If you love the reference so much you want to see it every time you play, the devs hid a secret unlock that lets you replace the default medieval-style health indicator with the classic Doom Guy face that changes expression based on your health, just like the original game. It’s not listed in any official patch notes, so most players don’t even know it exists. First, you need to collect all 12 of the hidden runestones scattered across the mod’s levels – it’s worth exploring to find them on your own first, but there are plenty of community maps online if you get stuck trying to track down the last one or two.
Once you have all 12 runestones, go back to the church altar in Chapter 1 and interact with the carving of the Doom Guy face for 10 full seconds. You’ll hear the classic Doom pickup sound, and the toggle will show up in your settings menu immediately. You don’t have to start a new playthrough to use it – it works on existing saves too, so you can swap it on right away if you already have the runestones collected from a past run.
I tested this unlock on three different difficulty levels, and it works across all of them, even on the permadeath Ironman mode. It’s a fun way to make even the hardest playthroughs feel a little more familiar, and I’ve kept it toggled on ever since I unlocked it last month. Just make sure you don’t accidentally move away from the altar while you’re interacting with it, or you’ll have to collect all the runestones again to trigger the unlock – I made that mistake on my first attempt, and it took me an extra hour to re-find all the runestones I’d already picked up. The only downside is that it doesn’t work with custom HUD mods, so you’ll have to disable those first if you’re running any.
The Lore Backstory Behind the Face’s Inclusion
A lot of people assume the face is just a fun easter egg for long-time fans, but the mod’s dev team explained in a recent community Q&A that it’s core to the mod’s canon. The story follows a descendant of the original Doom Guy, who inherited his demon-slaying powers and was sent back to the dark ages to stop hell from invading earth centuries before the events of the original Doom games. The face carvings are left by the original Doom Guy, who visited the same timeline on his own rampage through hell in the extended Doom lore that’s been built out across novels and official comic releases.
This ties the mod directly to official Doom canon, which is a rare touch for a fan-made total conversion. I was shocked when I learned that, because most mods don’t put that much effort into aligning with the original game’s story. It makes every sighting of the face feel a lot more meaningful, not just a cheap throwback to a classic game. A lot of fan mods throw in references just to get clicks, but this one feels intentional, like the devs really care about both the Doom universe and the story they’re building for their own mod.
I’ve played dozens of Doom total conversions over the last 10 years, and this is one of the only ones that feels like it could fit right into the official game’s extended lore. The devs also said they’re working on a secret skin that lets you play as the classic Doom Guy in full medieval armor, with the iconic face visible on the helmet’s visor, so that’s another thing to look forward to in future updates. They also confirmed that they’re adding more instances of the face in the upcoming Chapter 5 expansion, including a secret level where you play as the original Doom Guy running through the dark ages hell levels.
Even if you’re only a casual fan of the Doom modding scene, hunting for the Doom the Dark Ages Doom Guy face adds a fun new layer to every playthrough, whether you’re looking for a nostalgic nod to the original game or want to dig into the mod’s surprisingly deep lore. You don’t have to be a pro player to find most of the spawns – just take a few extra minutes to explore off the main path, and you’ll spot more than you expect. If you find a spawn I haven’t listed here, drop it in the comments below so other players can check it out too.
