If you love diving into Doom Guy’s world but fancy a little change of pace and villain but all of the otherworldly, hellfire action, then check out ten of the best games like Doom to play today!
Ah Doom, one of the most exciting and frenzied shooters of our time. Nothing says action like hordes of undead cretins from the bowls of hell running at you as you blast them into next week.
But what happens when you’ve played all of the best Doom games and want something new to try?
Are there any titles out there that cut the mustard, games that follow in Doom guys massive footsteps and allow you to destroy enemies left, right and centre?
Doom, and some of the other games from the same era in this list, have helped to shape the FPS genre as a whole and brought about many of the titles we play today.
Heck, it’s a revolutionary title, so you better believe that there will be other games like it out there to satiate your bloodlust!
So, let’s cut the waffle and dive into the gore as we check out the best games like Doom to play right now!
Table of Contents
11. Borderlands 3 (2019)
Borderlands 3 kickstarts this list of the best games like Doom!
When it comes to looter shooters, nothing hits the same as the Borderlands series. Fire, violence, hordes of enemies… it could be the spiritual successor or lovechild of Doom!
There are so many guns to collect in this game; it’s unreal how many items and weapons you can take with you into battle.
It has some slick RPG features too like upping elements of a Skill Tree, levelling up players as you progress.
The whole thing is a bit wild and boasts a ‘flying by the seat of your pants’ feel, but once you get into it, you’ll find that there is method to the madness.
Well, sort of…
10. Duke Nukem 3D (1996)
Duke Nukem 3D needs no introduction. It’s one of the most exciting dungeon crawlers with one of the gnarliest protagonists in any game.
Just look how hardcore this guy is! Ok, the gameplay is simple and fairly linear as it did come out in 1996, and most of the enemies are Pig Cops, but it’s still amazing today.
And Duke Nukem is available to play on the Nintendo Switch too – just check out our N64 games on Switch article!
One thing I love about Duke Nukem is that there’s no real story to follow or much of a narrative to get stuck into. It’s just full-on shooting gameplay with not a real lot to think about.
That means it’s not as immersive as some of the other titles in our list, but hey, if you’re just looking for something mindless to get stuck into after a long day in the office, then this is it!
9. Dead Space (2023)
Dead Space takes the 9th spot on our list of the best games like Doom to play today!
The 2023 remastered version of this game is incredible, taking the same title we loved on the PS3 and making it, if possible, even scarier!
Honestly, this game will make you feel like hiding behind the sofa and praying for the TV to turn off in a power cut.
It’s a frightening survival horror title that involves a lot of dismemberment and killing people with severed limbs.
So, not a family friendly title then, eh?
To be fair, I suppose Link does that with the Stalkoblins in BotW and TotK, but that’s far less gruesome!
Float around in space, destroying horrible enemies with all the style and guile that Doom Guy exudes in all of his games.
And, the main characters name ‘Isaac Clarke’ actually derives from Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, two of the finest Sci-Fi writers of our time! How’s that for a cool fact?
8. Turbo Overkill (2022)
If I had to describe Turbo Overkill to a new gamer, I would say that it feels like Doom crossed with Altered Carbon and the Matrix.
I’ve said the Matrix because of one of the main elements of this game that players can wield – Turbo Time.
In Turbo time, players can move super fast while the world around them is passing by incredibly slowly, firing dual guns and lobbing off people’s limbs with your chainsaw leg.
Hang on… what!
Turbo Overkill is choc-a-bloc with bonuses to uncover, puzzles to solve, and insane weapons with mammoth firepower.
Take a leaf out of Jin Sakai’s book and swing from place to place with a grappling hook, and earn cash from killing enemies to use when installing augments to your leg, arm, and head!
7. Quake III Arena (1999)
Quake III Arena takes the 7th spot in our best games like Doom!
The Quake canon is legendary, and most of you won’t be surprised that Quake III Arena made it into this list.
I mean, it was, and still is, one of the greatest multiplayer games of our time, directly influencing modern day modern FPS games like Fortnight and PUBG!
While this was an epic online title, the offline campaign still hit home hard with die-hard FPS fans.
And look at the still above; lots of gothic vibes, hellfire – the works!
Take part in capture the flag matches, deathmatches, battle tournaments, collecting weapons as you play.
If you die, however, all of your weapons are up for grabs for your killers and you start back with the base weapons again.
So, as I’ll no doubt say all the way through this article – try not to die!
6. HROT (2023)
HROT takes the 6th spot in this list of the best games like Doom!
Like a few of the other games in this list, HROT chooses to follow in the footsteps of the early Doom, Quake, and Half-Life days.
It all feels very earthy thanks to the very old-school brown colour palette, again bringing those Doom and Quake vibes to the table.
The game isn’t that complicated to get to grips with; like most of the other titles in our best Doom games list, it follows a pretty straightforward ‘get to the end of the level’ path, with players following a pre-determined route and blasting everything in sight into oblivion.
That’s not to say that you won’t have any problems to overcome as you move through the game though.
Switches to open doors and will be hidden in the strangest places, and if you really want to get your moneys worth, there are lots of optional extra to get stuck into like playing table football, riding bikes, answering phones, and much more.
It’s odd playing a game that came out in 2023 that looks so old but has so many modern features. It also has a weird kind of Pokedex for the beasts that you come across as you play through the game.
Nothing says a relaxing Sunday morning like going back and looking at all the weird foes that tried to kill you, right?
5. Return To Castle Wolfenstein (2001)
Return To Castle Wolfenstein is one of those epic games that you just never know how to put dow once you start playing.
The chilling horror of Nazi Germany, secret agents infiltrating Castle Wolfenstein, all seen through a first-person point of view.
Stealth is one of the main keys to this game too, with players moving through the castle in a bid to assassinate soldiers and sabotage the Nazi’s plans, all while trying to remain very much alive.
Return to Castle Wolfenstein has an epic multiplayer mode too, where players can either play as the Nazis or the Allied Forces.
And all the weapons are true to the time too, bar the addition of a few made-up weapons like the Tesla gun (not made by Elon Musk).
It goes very in-depth into different roles in each faction too, with players using Soldiers, Lieutenants, Engineers, and Medics for different aspects of your mission.
So, Doom but in a World War setting and Nazis instead of Demons… although they’re pretty much the same thing.
4. Prodeus (2020)
Prodeus is up next, and if you love the idea of the early classic shooting games, then players have the choice of playing with either 2D sprites or diving into a fully 3D modelled world.
And, like Doom, most of the gameplay revolves around you trying to fight in spaces that are far too tight with more enemies than you can count running towards you.
If you love the gory elements to Doom such as ripping off enemies limbs, more blood than you can shake a stick at, and lots of stuff on fire, then Prodeus more than delivers.
And, players can make maps and edit levels too! Find keys, unlock areas, pick up bigger weapons, and try your very best not to bite the dust!
3. Quake II Remastered (2023)
Quake II Remastered takes the bronze medal in today’s list of the best games like Doom to play today!
That’s right; you can give your retro consoles a break for a couple of months and throw a remastered version of Quake II onto your next gen console. How cool is that!
And, while the digital edition of Quake 2 is available to download now, it’s the physical editions of the game available from Limited Run Games that have caught our eye the most!
The new Quake II boasts upgraded visuals that don’t make your eyes bleed when you try to play it on a new 4K TV, and there’s also a whole bunch of performance upgrades to make it play a heck of a lot smoother.
Seeing Quake II working in widescreen with a 4K output really is something special; the textures just feel more rich and vibrant, and the online multiplayer is a brilliant touch!
Don’t worry though; there’s also local multiplayer too for those old school couch-co-op vibes.
And (here’s the pièce de résistance), it comes with two existing DLCs and a brand new DLC for players to sink their teeth into aswell!
2. Amid Evil (2018)
Amid Evil is up next, a game that, despite having an old school cover, looks and plays like a modern title.
When it comes to gameplay, it follows that same style path or progression as all the best FPS games from the 90s and 00s.
Explore, find secret doors, destroy everything in sight, and garner epic power-ups to use against gigantic enemies!
Instead of the BFG9000, players wield magical weapons that use mana, mana that needs collecting as you progress through the game.
It actually has a bit of a Dark Souls vibe about it too, with players picking up items such as Blood Orbs and harnessing souls of fallen enemies.
Amid Evil definitely manages to capture the gothic and dark vibe of Doom though places it into more of a magical fantasy world. If that sounds like your kind of thing, jump right in!
1. Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun (2023)
The results are in, and Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun officially takes the top spot in our list of the best games like Doom.
I mean come on, look at the front cover for instance. This basically looks like Doom Guy has put on a new suit and just headed back into his usual stance!
If you love FPS gameplay, Warhammer, blood, bullet hell, and retro-inspired graphics, then step right up.
Just as a side note, that should be all of you!
The game plays so slick just like a title from 2023 should do. It’s responsive, easy to get to grips with, and filled with Space Marine goodness.
The graphics, however, have a neat retro-FPS feel to them, just like the earlier Doom games!
For all the Warhammer 40K fans out there, you play as a Space Marine fighting the Daemons of Chaos and the Chaos Space Marines.
Heck, even if that means nothing to you, this explosive, dark, and dingy game has so much of Dooms DNA in it that you’ll feel right at home blasting massive guns and running through levels brimming with more bad guys than a breakout at Azkaban!
