Firearms Expert Tries to Make Sense of DOOM: THE DARKAGES’ Demon-Slaying Arsenal

DOOM has always prioritized style over realism. It’s not about plausibility, it’s about ripping and tearing in the loudest, bloodiest way possible. So when DOOM: The Dark Ages dropped its trailer featuring weapons like a demon-claw flintlock Super Shotgun and a medieval mech armed with a skull-launching cannon, fans knew it was time to call in an expert. Enter Jonathan Ferguson, Keeper of Firearms & Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in the UK and a go-to voice for breaking down fictional firepower. In his latest breakdown, Ferguson does his best to unpack the sheer absurdity of the game’s arsenal, from the monstrous Chainshot to the gloriously unhinged Skullcrusher Pulverizer.Ferguson not only analyzes, but he reacts, and that’s where the fun lies. With each weapon, you can see the historian in him wrestling between admiration for the creativity and a deep, unspoken “what the hell am I looking at?” kind of bewilderment. It’s a lot of fun to watch! If you’re into games that laugh in the face of physics and want to see a real weapons expert try to rationalize a shotgun fused with demon parts, this video is filled glorious chaos you don’t want to miss.

Jun 1, 2025 - 00:10

Firearms Expert Tries to Make Sense of DOOM: THE DARKAGES’ Demon-Slaying Arsenal

DOOM has always prioritized style over realism. It’s not about plausibility, it’s about ripping and tearing in the loudest, bloodiest way possible. So when DOOM: The Dark Ages dropped its trailer featuring weapons like a demon-claw flintlock Super Shotgun and a medieval mech armed with a skull-launching cannon, fans knew it was time to call in an expert.

Enter Jonathan Ferguson, Keeper of Firearms & Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in the UK and a go-to voice for breaking down fictional firepower. In his latest breakdown, Ferguson does his best to unpack the sheer absurdity of the game’s arsenal, from the monstrous Chainshot to the gloriously unhinged Skullcrusher Pulverizer.

Ferguson not only analyzes, but he reacts, and that’s where the fun lies. With each weapon, you can see the historian in him wrestling between admiration for the creativity and a deep, unspoken “what the hell am I looking at?” kind of bewilderment.

It’s a lot of fun to watch! If you’re into games that laugh in the face of physics and want to see a real weapons expert try to rationalize a shotgun fused with demon parts, this video is filled glorious chaos you don’t want to miss.