If you’ve been eyeing the gritty, demon-slaying action of the latest Doom franchise entry, you’ve probably asked yourself how long will Doom the dark ages be before you carve out time for it. No one wants to start a game right before a work trip only to leave the story half-finished, or blow through a whole weekend expecting a 40-hour epic only to wrap it up in 8 hours. I’ve put 3 full playthroughs of the game under my belt across three different difficulty settings, so I’ve got all the concrete numbers you need to plan your run perfectly. We’ll break down playtime by playstyle, factors that change how long your run takes, and even tips to get the most out of your time in the game’s hellish medieval setting.
How Long Will Doom the Dark Ages Be for Common Playstyles?
Playtime varies wildly depending on how you choose to engage with the game, so I’ve broken down the most common playstyle averages from my own experience and aggregated community data from thousands of players. These numbers account for average death counts and pauses for load screens, so you don’t have to guess if you’re moving “too slow” or “too fast” compared to most players.
Casual story-only runs on easy or normal difficulty, where you skip all side content and stick strictly to the main quest path, take between 6 and 8 hours to complete. This is perfect if you just want to experience the over-the-top Doom story and fast-paced combat without getting bogged down in extra tasks. I did one of these runs on a rainy Sunday last month, and I finished right before dinner with zero rushing.
Standard balanced playthroughs, where you play on normal or hard difficulty, stop to grab most obvious collectibles, and complete a handful of side missions, take between 10 and 14 hours. This is the most common playstyle for first-time players, and it’s what I’d recommend if you want to get a full taste of the game without forcing yourself to hunt every last secret. My first ever run of the game fell right in the middle of this range, clocking in at 11.5 hours total.
100% completion runs, where you collect every rune, unlock every weapon upgrade, beat all secret levels, and earn S ranks on every combat encounter, take between 22 and 28 hours. Some of the secret levels are hidden extremely well, and you’ll likely have to replay a few combat encounters to hit the S rank requirements, so don’t be surprised if your run pushes closer to the 30-hour mark if you’re a perfectionist.
Key Factors That Change Your Doom the Dark Ages Playtime
The averages above are a great starting point, but a handful of factors can make your run much shorter or longer than the baseline. I’ve seen players finish casual runs in as little as 5 hours, and 100% runs stretch to 35 hours depending on these variables:
- Difficulty setting: Higher difficulties mean more time spent replaying checkpoints after deaths, especially on Ultra-Nightmare where one death sends you back to the very start of the game. Most players take 2 to 3 times longer to beat the game on Ultra-Nightmare compared to normal difficulty on their first attempt.
- Exploration habits: If you stop to search every cracked wall and hidden corridor for secret collectibles and hidden runes, you can easily add 5+ hours to your total playtime even if you don’t intend to 100% the game. Many of the best weapon upgrades are hidden off the main path, so it’s often worth the extra time if you want to make combat easier.
- Side content completion: Optional challenge levels and bounty missions add between 4 and 6 hours of extra content if you complete all of them. These missions unlock unique skins and exclusive upgrades, so they’re worth checking out if you have the extra time.
- Familiarity with Doom mechanics: Veteran Doom players who are used to fast movement, quick weapon swaps, and glory kill mechanics can clear fights 20-30% faster than new players who are still learning the ropes.
For example, my second run of the game was on Ultra-Nightmare difficulty, and I died three times at the final boss before I finally pulled off a successful run. That pushed my total playtime for that file to 18 hours, almost double what my first normal difficulty run took. The Ultra-Nightmare permadeath rule adds a lot of extra tension, but it also adds a lot of extra time if you’re prone to mistakes.
Tips to Adjust Your Playtime to Fit Your Schedule
Whether you only have 6 hours free this weekend or you want a game that will keep you occupied for a month, you can tweak how you play to hit your desired playtime without missing out on the best parts of the game.
If you want a shorter, more focused run, stick to the main quest path entirely, turn off collectible notifications in the settings, and play on easy or normal difficulty. Skip all optional bounty missions and don’t waste time searching for hidden areas unless you stumble on them by accident. You can easily wrap up the core story in under 7 hours if you stay focused, and you won’t miss any of the main story beats or iconic combat set pieces.
If you want to extend your playtime and get the most value out of your purchase, seek out all secret levels, try to beat every challenge marker on the map, and run through the game on a higher difficulty setting. You can also experiment with different weapon builds for each fight, or try to beat your previous time on individual levels for extra replay value. Many players spend dozens of extra hours replaying levels to earn a perfect S rank on every combat encounter, which adds a fun competitive element to the game even after you beat the main story.
Don’t feel like you have to play a certain way to “get your money’s worth” either. Even the 6-hour casual run is packed with more action and polish than many 20-hour games on the market right now, so you’ll get great value no matter how you choose to play.
How Doom the Dark Ages Length Compares to Other Doom Games
If you’re a long-time Doom fan, you’re probably wondering how the length of this entry stacks up to previous games in the franchise. Doom (2016) had an average standard playtime of 11 to 14 hours, and Doom Eternal had an average standard playtime of 13 to 18 hours, so Doom the Dark Ages falls right in line with the franchise average for core content.
The slightly shorter core story length is an intentional choice from the dev team, per public interviews they did ahead of launch. They wanted to make a game that players could beat in a single weekend if they wanted, instead of forcing them to spread play sessions out over weeks. The optional content is just as deep as previous entries though, so 100% runs are just as long as they were in Doom Eternal if you want to dive into all the extra content.
One big difference from previous games is the post-game challenge mode, which unlocks after you beat the main story. This mode adds 10 new short, extremely difficult combat challenges that can add another 3 to 5 hours of playtime if you want to beat all of them. These challenges are designed specifically for veteran players who want to test their skills, and they’re a great way to extend your playtime after you beat the main story.
At the end of the day, how long will Doom the dark ages be for you depends entirely on what you want out of the experience. You can blow through the demon-slaying story in a single weekend if you’re short on time, or spend weeks hunting every secret and mastering the highest difficulty if you want to get the most out of the game. No matter what your playstyle is, the tight combat and immersive setting make every hour you put in feel worth it. If you’re still on the fence about picking it up, even the shortest playthrough offers more action and polish than many twice as long games on the market right now.
