DOOM: The Dark Ages graphics detail showcased in new drool-worthy comparison

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DOOM: The Dark Ages is just around the corner, and ahead of the official release scheduled for May 15, we have some gorgeous side-by-side images showcasing the graphical fidelity of the new Id Tech 7 engine.

The tech experts over at Digital Foundry have assessed the new screenshots showcasing the difference between Path Tracing and standard ray-traced rasterization. In the above GIF, we can see a big difference between the two graphical modes, with the Path Tracing image showcasing a lot more detail in the reflections, particularly on the ground and around character models.

We can also take notice of the detail that is brought out in objects such as the shield wielded by the Slayer, with the blades around the edges of the shield being a lot more prominent in Path Tracing than in ray-traced rasterization mode. Looking back to the dead sentinels that are on the ground in the middle of the screenshot, we can notice that in the standard ray-traced rasterization image they don't look very "natural" compared to the Path Traced screenshots, where each of the sentinels has its own high detail shadows and reflections off the ground.

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These reflections and shadows, along with increased graphical detail, make the sentinels feel more baked into the world itself. As you can probably imagine, with this increase in graphical fidelity, there will be a cost to performance. Digital Foundry expects it will be quite difficult to reach 120 FPS with Path Tracing enabled.

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DOOM: The Dark Ages enters early access on May 13, with a full public release on May 15. More on DOOM: The Dark Ages on the Steam listing here.