Doom 3 - what kind of game is it, trailer, system requirements, reviews and ratings, prices and discounts, guides and walkthrough, similar games DOOM³ (2025)

The science fiction shooter Doom 3, with a first-person perspective and horror elements, was released in 2004 as a reboot of the original DOOM (1995). The game was developed with a focus on a strong narrative and an extended single-player campaign, featuring numerous engine-rendered cutscenes and jump scares, for which the animation system was significantly improved.

The research center on Mars, owned by the United Aerospace Corporation, has been subjected to a massive demonic invasion, leaving behind a trail of fear and chaos. As one of the few survivors, you will have to carve your way to Hell and back through hordes of terrifying monsters. Your journey will be dark and dangerous, but for your protection, you will be able to use a pistol, chainsaw, grenades, and much more.

To develop the game universe, id Software hired professional science fiction writer Matthew Costello. The studio aimed to reboot the original at a higher level, but Doom 3 was supposed to frighten and evoke feelings of horror, rather than offer mindless shooting.

The game's action still takes place on Mars in the 22nd century. Humanity has long ventured beyond its home planet, but energy shortages threaten the existence of civilization. In this regard, the United Aerospace Corporation (UAC) is building scientific bases on Mars, where it seeks powerful energy sources based on new physical principles.

By the mid-22nd century, UAC scientists and engineers manage to make significant progress in their research, while also developing prototypes of numerous devices, including the famous super-weapon BFG 9000.

Unexpectedly, on the surface of Mars, the corporation stumbles upon ancient alien ruins. Long-extinct Martians developed teleportation technology through a dimension resembling the Christian Hell and implemented it "in hardware." Intrigued by the find, UAC directs all its efforts toward its investigation.

The script of Doom 3 is detailed down to specific days, months, and years. As players progress, they read, listen to, and watch numerous recordings, diaries, notes, and emails from scientists, managers, technicians, and security personnel of the UAC Mars base.

It is the messages left behind that reveal information about the events occurring in the game world and directly on Mars, reflecting the feelings and concerns of the people, providing logic to what is happening, and meaning to the heroes' actions.

If you play without delving into the details, the impression will be very blurred, or the plot may seem unnecessary, as all dialogues and engine scenes relate to current problems – go there, do this, find that, see the result. Periodically, the player learns some key information that pushes the events forward.

It all begins as in the first Doom — the protagonist arrives at the Mars base, assigned as a security guard. Then the differences begin. The main character arrives alongside UAC inspector Elliott Swann, who is to investigate employee complaints, increasing incidents, and strange deaths.

The main antagonist is Dr. Malcolm Betruger, who was involved in teleportation technology and ultimately succumbed to the forces of Evil. His maniacal idea is to let the servants of the Devil into our world so they can conquer Earth and turn humans into slaves or demons.

The main conflict is between Swann and Betruger, with freedom of choice at various moments being merely an illusion; the protagonist has no impact on the events or the ending. Despite all the advantages, careful development, unexpected moments, and plot twists, the player feels their limitations within the narrative framework.

In Doom 3, horror elements dominate — constant pitch darkness, jump scares, incomprehensible sounds and noises, and frightening music. The flashlight is only used when the weapon is holstered; the hero cannot shoot and shine the light at the same time. Even the light from lamps spreads over a limited area.

The shooter component is subdued. The pistol, shotgun, submachine gun, minigun, plasma gun, rocket launcher, BFG9000, and chainsaw are all the weapons available, with no modifications or variability like in Doom from 2016. The protagonist carries far fewer bullets, excessive armor and health do not carry over. Enemies can knock off aim, which can cost the hero their life.

As a result, Doom 3 resembles a tactical shooter. One has to constantly think: use the weapon or shine the light ahead, dodge contact with monsters or lose precious health, which takes damage regardless, deploy the minigun now or methodically shoot with the submachine gun. Instead of running forward in a hurricane and shooting at everything that moves — there are slow, measured steps with careful shooting from cover, and this applies to everything.

A feature of Doom 3 is the "soul cube" — a weapon that appears after killing one of the bosses in Hell and allows inflicting 1,000 damage to any monster, which severely harms even bosses. Additionally, the "soul cube" absorbs and transfers the victim's health to the bearer.

Playing through Doom 3 is more akin to watching a horror movie, except the player can shoot. The locations are linear, usually a winding corridor connecting large rooms, level design is primitive, with no secret passages or hidden rooms, and secrets are revealed very easily. The game has almost no open spaces, only rooms and endless corridors.

During the game, the player will visit almost half of Mars — various UAC complexes and laboratories, the central city, transport hubs and factories, Martian caves, and, of course, will venture into Hell several times. However, the content of all levels is monotonous, and due to the pitch darkness, they are simply not memorable.

This is related to the focus on the plot and the designers' desire to scare the player, who is pushed to move forward to unravel the narrative. Cutscenes, jump scares, and "presentations" are scattered everywhere — when the protagonist first encounters a new monster from the bestiary, the camera pulls back and shows a small scene.

One has to shoot a lot, but the sensations from the weapons are completely different; they do not provide the same pleasure as before. The mechanics of respawning enemies underfoot (since the locations are small) are only frightening for a couple of hours, and then they start to become tedious.

The bestiary contains both familiar creatures (various types of Zombies, Commandos, Imps, Pinkies, Lost Souls, Revenants, Cacodemons, Hell Knights, Barons of Hell, Archvile, Mancubus, Spectre) and several new ones:

Since all efforts of id Software were focused on the single-player mode of Doom 3 and its storyline, the studio's game designers genuinely assumed that the game did not need a large-scale multiplayer. The idea was that Doom 3 would be appreciated for its story, and its single-player campaign would be regularly replayed.

Therefore, only one mode was implemented for online play — "team deathmatch." Several players gathered on one map and could use all the weapons and grenades available in the single-player mode. The number of maps is small. No leveling up, statistics, or unlockable content.

The servers of the original Doom 3 were shut down, but with the help of a fan mod, cooperative gameplay is possible.