Horror shooters and action horror Sci-fi and space horror

DOOM 3

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A dark Mars base, a demonic invasion and a long road through hell.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Stores: Steam, GOG
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (86% of 12,610 reviews); Metacritic 87 (PC); 4.4 of 5 on PlayStation Store (5,734 ratings)
Length: About 10.5 hours for the main story (HowLongToBeat)
Players: 1 (campaign); up to 4 in the original PC deathmatch
Made by: id Software
Released: 2004

On PlayStation: one of the PlayStation horror games.

Get it on Steam PlayStation Store Xbox Nintendo eShop GOG

What frightens A demonic invasion has overrun the Union Aerospace Corporation's research base on Mars. You fight through dark, half-lit corridors where the staff have turned into possessed, glowing-eyed things and demons step out of the shadows, until the path leads into hell itself.
Content: blood and gore, intense violence, strong language, demons and horror imagery.

DOOM 3 is id Software's 2004 horror retelling of the original DOOM. A demonic invasion has overwhelmed the UAC's research facility on Mars, and as one of a few survivors you fight through its dark corridors and on into hell. The Steam release includes the original game with its Resurrection of Evil expansion and the 2012 BFG Edition. The main story takes about 10.5 hours.

About DOOM 3

DOOM 3 is a first-person horror shooter from id Software, first released on PC in 2004 and published by Bethesda Softworks. It reimagines the original DOOM as a slower, darker game: the Union Aerospace Corporation's research facility on Mars has been overwhelmed by a demonic invasion, and you are one of the few left alive.

The base is the horror. Corridors are dim or dark, blood is smeared across walls and floors, and the people who worked there have turned into possessed things with glowing eyes that wait on stairways and around corners. Demons come at you from the shadows: floating fanged heads, crawling skull-faced things, hulking brutes, and the deeper you go the more the metal of the base gives way to fleshy growths and then to hell. You fight back with a growing arsenal, from pistol, shotgun and chainsaw to machine guns and plasma weapons.

The Steam release holds both versions. The original 2004 game comes with the Resurrection of Evil expansion, set two years later, when the UAC returns to investigate a beacon buried in the ruins of an ancient civilisation. It adds six new demons, a double-barrelled shotgun and demonic powers to slow time and move objects. The 2012 BFG Edition adds better rendering and lighting, checkpoint saves, controller support, a flashlight mounted on your armour so you can see and shoot at once, The Lost Mission expansion, and the original DOOM and DOOM II. The original PC game also has a small deathmatch mode for up to four players.

The 2019 console version, sold on PlayStation 4, Xbox and Switch, also includes Resurrection of Evil and The Lost Mission, but it has no online multiplayer. The game is rated M by the ESRB and 18 by PEGI for blood, gore, intense violence and strong language. It suits players who want a shooter that leans into dark corridors and ambushes more than the fast arena fights of the later DOOM games.

How to play DOOM 3

Choose the original 2004 version or the BFG Edition from the Steam library; the BFG Edition is the easier start, with checkpoint saves and the armour-mounted flashlight.
Move through the Mars base with the flashlight ready, opening the way ahead one section at a time.
Fight the possessed staff and demons with the weapons you pick up, switching to the shotgun for close fights.
Pick up ammunition, armour and health as you go and save often in the original version.
When the campaign is done, play Resurrection of Evil and The Lost Mission.

Screenshots

A yellowish many-eyed demon lunges at the player's chainsaw in a blood-smeared base corridor, a body slumped over a counter

A possessed base worker in an orange jumpsuit with glowing eyes stands on a stairway in front of the player's machine gun

A hulking pale grey demon walks through a dark passage with fleshy growths on the walls

Two floating fanged demon heads, one breathing fire, inside a round metal chamber crossed by a lightning beam

A skull-faced demon with glowing eyes crawls down a blood-stained metal stairway in a dark corridor

A long-armed demon with a third eye on its forehead in a teal-lit tech room, facing the player's plasma gun

Tips

In the original version you must switch between the flashlight and your gun; the BFG Edition lets you use both at once.
Listen before you enter a dark room; demons often wait out of sight.
Keep shotgun ammunition for tight corridors where enemies reach you quickly.
Save before opening a door into a large, dark area.

Questions

Is DOOM 3 a horror game?

Yes. It is a first-person shooter built around fear: dark corridors, possessed staff and demons appearing out of the shadows on a Mars base. The store calls it a horror/action FPS.

What platforms is DOOM 3 on?

PC on Steam, and a 2019 version on PlayStation 4, Xbox and Nintendo Switch, each with its own store page.

What is included in DOOM 3 on Steam?

The original 2004 game with the Resurrection of Evil expansion, and the 2012 BFG Edition with The Lost Mission expansion and the original DOOM and DOOM II.

What is the difference between DOOM 3 and the BFG Edition?

The BFG Edition is the 2012 remaster: improved lighting, checkpoint saves, controller support and a flashlight mounted on your armour so you can see and shoot at the same time.

How long is DOOM 3?

HowLongToBeat, as shown on the GOG store page, puts the main story at about 10.5 hours, 13 hours with side content and 16.5 hours to complete everything.

Does DOOM 3 have multiplayer?

The original 2004 PC game has deathmatch modes for up to four players, and Resurrection of Evil raises that to eight. The campaign is single-player, and the 2019 console version has no online multiplayer.