Doom: The Dark Ages pivots from Eternal’s platforming and instead literally grounds its combat in strafe-heavy gameplay with an emphasis on power. Sure, the great guns are still there – this is Doom, after all! But The Dark Ages also places a huge premium on your three melee weapons in this medieval-tinged prequel.

VGChartz's Lee Mehr: "Before getting into the nominees, there’s one interesting omission worth noting: Black Ops 7. This marks the first time in this decade when Call of Duty has consecutively failed to reach our shortlist. Regardless of its popularity, that sends a clear signal as to what these nominees – ranging from AAA to indie – bring to the table. And given the impressive vote share between them (none eclipsing 35%), it's safe to say shooter fans got their fill last year. Without further ado, here are the nominees…"

In which long-time video game critic Paul Semel recounts his favorite games of the year.

"Doom: The Dark Ages is a perfect blend of familiar and fresh - a gory, gorgeous shooter with plenty of content to enjoy."
- Stuart Cullen, TechStomper
Day 1
Day 1
It's still weird (and disappointing for me) for a Doom game that there isn't any multiplayer.