The 10 Best Doom Games (Ranked)

What are the best Doom games?

When the Doom franchise was born in the lowest level of Hell, gaming got a massive overhaul and would never be the same.

We credit Doom with blazing a trail for first-person shooters, and that’s just the beginning of what this devilish world had to offer.

Today, we have so many iterations that we’re listing the best Doom games of all time – and that’s what we’re here to do.

The 10 Best Doom Games

Doom started strong in 1993 and raged through the horror world to span novels, comics, films, and – of course – more games.

We’ve pulled from top rankings online to make the ultimate list so you can battle Hell itself in the best the series has to offer.

So, if you’re ready to face your demons, it’s time to suit up and read on to find our 10 best Doom games: 

10. Doom II RPG (2009)

Shooting demons is a full-time job that you can’t stop when you leave your computer; real heroes take it to their phone.

Released in 2009 for many mobile devices and then to iOS the next year, Doom II RPG is the direct sequel to Doom RPG.

There are three playable characters in this horror game, which provides more in the way of story than most Doom titles are known for.

The first playable character is a Marine Commander known as Major Kira Morgan, who commands the characters in the adventures of the game.

Another playable option is Sergeant Stan Blazkowicz, who Doom fans will recognize as a relative of the Doom Slayer himself.

Finally, players can choose to play as scientist Riley O’Connor, who winds up traveling with the others to the moon to fight Hell itself.

Gameplay may be more story-centric than other mainstream Doom titles, but it keeps the energy of the FPS horror genre strong.

And, as if all that wasn’t enough, it comes with a digital comic book to keep fans immersed on all levels.

9. Doom Resurrection (2009)

We’ll start this one with an apology: it’s definitely one of the best Doom games out there… but it’s no longer out there.

That’s right, Doom Resurrection came out in 2009 for the iOS and provided fans hours of fun, but today it isn’t available for download.

Several reviewers took a good look at this when it came out, even posting gameplay video clips, and the general consensus was that this game was “awesome.” 

The story and gameplay are meant to be reminiscent of Doom 3, so if you remember that title, then you can imagine this one.

A main difference that many fans didn’t like was the on-rails shooter style, which locks players onto a specific path, limiting movement.

Another more popular title had recently been Remastered into one of the best games like Dead Space, so that was another distraction.

These things didn’t bother everyone, though, and Doom Resurrection found a healthy player base during its short life on the iPhone.

8. Doom RPG (2005)

The mention of this predecessor to Doom II RPG also comes with our apologies, as it’s no longer available by normal channels.

Most interesting about this game is its use of turn-based mechanics rather than the usual first-person shooter mechanics of Doom’s favorite genre.

Players go to Mars for this one, much like the setting for Doom 3, where – you guessed it – they encounter demons from Hell.

This is another mobile game, released in 2005 to general critical acclaim for its success in story structure and gameplay.

It took home awards for Game of the Year and RPG of the Year, among several others, assuring its place in Doom history.

As Doom RPG actually predated the release of iOS and Android phones, it wasn’t quite ready for the mobile revolution that was to come.

Luckily for us, though, Engadget reports that Doom fans have brought this one back from the dead in a Windows version.

It just goes to show that you can’t keep Hell down, no matter how long you wait or how hard you try. 

7. Final Doom (1996)

 Yeah, this came out back in 1996, but by then it was already the third installment in this epic lineup of Doom games.

Final Doom is nostalgia at its best – assuming your idea of nostalgia is battling monsters and getting covered in gore.

Gamers got this one for MS-DOS and Mac, as well as for PlayStation, which featured a few additions and differences in content.

Overall, this game is usually compared to Doom II: Hell on Earth, which makes sense, as the gameplay is almost exactly the same.

Some critics and fans argued that Final Doom was simply a collection of new maps for the original series, but others loved the new challenges.

One notable feature was that it was crazy hard to beat, which led to the difficulty level getting nerfed a bit in the PlayStation release.

6. Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil (2005)

Resurrection of Evil is a classic Doom favorite and is still considered one of the best original Xbox games ever released.

It utilizes the FPS mechanics that Doom has become known for, and it introduces sweet tools for players to take down demons.

Success in the game hinges on players mastering the use of these tools against both mobs and boss fights alike.

The game begins on Mars, where all Hell breaks loose, and then the player has to travel to the underworld to return an artifact.

In addition to being a load of fun, this game introduced mechanics that inspired later popular games for years to come.

Though Doom is sometimes criticized for releasing redundant iterations of its former titles, a closer look proves their innovations have been changing gaming for years.

5. Doom 64 (1997)

The Doom franchise is known for setting the standard for gaming as it moves into the future, and this was yet another example.

Doom 64 was released for the (could you guess?) Nintendo 64 in 1997, and then later for basically everything else.

Without a doubt, this first-person shooter is one of the best N64 games in the entire catalogue of the console.

Once again with this title, critics somehow found it both redundant, with similar mechanics to its predecessors, and progressive, with amazing updates to graphics.

This game continues the lore where the previous ones left off, and it takes us to the pits of Hell with some truly horrific monsters.

Thanks to the popularity of Doom 64 at its release, it got a remastered version in 2020 that included a thrilling Lost Levels Expansion.

4. Doom Eternal (2020)

 Gamers can’t stop raving about how epic Doom Eternal was, and we’re not surprised one bit – it’s literally the best PS5 FPS game to date.

When players pre-ordered this one, they had the opportunity to grab the much-awaited Doom 64 remaster, complete with its expansion.

If the goal was to bring fans all-Doom-all-the-time, then gamers were more than ready to rise to the Hellish challenge.

Story-wise, this is a sequel to the 2016 Doom, and it shows us a horrific future where demons have succeeded in taking over Earth.

For those who wanted to up the difficulty, one exciting addition to the gameplay was the introduction of a multiplayer PvP function called Battlemode.

It was one of the best-selling games the month and year it released, spreading hype faster than demons spread evil.

Immensely popular, Doom Eternal scored nominations for top awards and earned Best PC Game and Best Action Game from the Game Critics Awards.  

For a more in-depth look at this fabulous game, read all about the magic that is Doom Eternal and get hype to play through.

3. Doom II: Hell On Earth (1994)

Released in 1994 and 1995 for Windows and Mac systems respectively, this was the second installment in the overall Doom experience.

Everything about this game is pretty much the OG Doom on steroids, with bigger maps, batter weapons, and badder enemies.

In other words, if you loved the first Doom game, then you were in for more of the same, only better with this iteration.

Due to its lasting popularity, Doom II: Hell on Earth got a re-release for all the major consoles and mobile devices years later.

Though Doom was already known more for mechanics than story, the narrative still featured much of the dark horror tropes it excelled at.

It went on to win an Origins Award for Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Computer Game in 1994, solidifying Doom as a gaming staple.

Many gamers were still addicted to both Doom and the best RPG Nintendo Switch game during the pandemic, which prompted hilarious memes suggesting a crossover between the two worlds.

This game continues to get played regularly, and new levels even came out in 2022 to raise money to send support to Ukraine.

2. Doom (1993)

This is the OG Doom, the first nightmare journey for all future fans of the franchise that was only just getting started.

Doomguy, working as a Marine on the moons of Mars, battles a grotesque invasion of demons and blasts them back to Hell with shocking violence for the time.

It was a heck of a lot of fun, of course, but it was so much more than just another addictive computer game time waster.

Some audiences and organizations were also – predictably – offended by the graphic violence and what they saw as Satanic imagery aimed at children.

As we can see from this list, the Doom franchise has always been ahead of the current technology and has never been afraid to push limits.

Whether you’re a Doom fan or not, chances are you owe many of your favorite gaming moments to the innovative developers of Doom.

When Doom demonstrated to game developers an as-of-yet unexplored mechanic known as first-person shooting, it effectively gave birth to a new genre.

Though critics cited a lack of depth in the game’s story, players and future developers were drawn to the edgy premise and exciting gameplay.

1. Doom (2016)

Raise your hand if you knew the 2016 Doom was going to take the top spot on this ranked list.

It’s also the top spot in a list of the best FPS PS4 games, which makes sense, as Doom is the grandfather of first-person shooters.

This was originally conceived as Doom 4, but by the time of its release, the title and concept had shifted to simply Doom.

We realize that’s somewhat confusing, as there’s already a rather famous game with the same title, so let’s examine the differences.

Fans of The Legend of Zelda games will be familiar with the concept of alternate timelines and retellings of older characters’ stories.

You can think of this Doom as something similar, effectively rebooting the franchise with a new timeline and new events in the story.

Essentially, this is a new game, but the designers and developers took a step back to the original premise and updated it to a new timeline.

The most important thing to know, though, is that this is widely recognized as a stellar modernization of a badass video game franchise.

Summary

As the developers themselves have said, this game is gory, violent, often over-the-top, and therefore it’s not meant for everybody.

But for those of us who love a great shooter that pushes boundaries and employs efficiency in storytelling, Doom delivers time and time again.

For those nights when you really need to blast some space demons in the face, grab this list and go get your game on.

Here’s a quick recap of the 10 best Doom games:

1. Doom (2016)
2. Doom (1993)
3. Doom II: Hell on Earth (1994)
4. Doom Eternal (2020)
5. Doom 64 (1997)
6. Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil (2005)
7. Final Doom (1996)
8. Doom RPG (2005)
9. Doom Resurrection (2009)
10. Doom II RPG (2009)

Which Doom game is the most hellish fun? Leave a comment below.