DOOM 3: VR Edition

Even with its limited adjustment for VR environments, Doom 3 still delivers straight-forward oldschool action, especially if you use the Aim Controller.

The game is still solid and charming, but the graphics didn't age well and the controls don't always work as expected.

When Doom 3 originally came out, we could only dream of playing it in VR. Now that's a reality, we feel that Doom 3 is simply too old. Thankfully Archiact made it very intuitive.

DOOM 3 VR is also able to breathe new life into one of the game’s more divisive facets: the horror. While jump scares are constant, and as annoying as ever, the VR succeeds in placing you on Mars in a way DOOM 3 has never previously been able to accomplish. This means all of the ambient audio, the lighting, the abrupt discomfiting silence – everything contributes to the creepiness of the experience to an unprecedented level. It provides an opportunity to appreciate all of the things that DOOM 3 did well all those years ago, without having to carry the baggage of defining the series moving forward. And it’s better for it. Just don’t expect much of a visual upgrade, as thanks to the headset’s limitations, things more or less look the same as when the game first launched.

DOOM 3 VR Edition is a welcome addition for AIM Controller owners, but a little too late to the party.

Doom 3: VR Edition is a somewhat listless version in the implementation of VR, although the effectiveness of the game remains indisputable even almost twenty years after its original release.

Doom 3 makes its debut on PlayStation VR with an edition that clearly shows the signs of the years that have passed since the title's debut, as well as the effects of a rather superficial adaptation work, with repercussions especially on the playful side of the experience. Despite everything, however, Doom 3 VR Edition still proves to be an enjoyable product, largely due to the merits of the particular horrific characterization of the title, which on PSVR preserves and amplifies the effectiveness of its particular atmospheres.

Killing demons in VR is interesting and intriguing, but PS VR integration could have been way better.

Doom 3 was an excellent game in its day. Said day is long gone now and the limitations of the technology and the more simplistic gameplay loop are much more prominent 17 years later. While VR definitely makes things better by making the the world feel a little more real, the enemies feel a little larger and adding in the ability to free aim your weapons — all without being too gimmicky — it’s not enough to warrant a purchase VR gear if you don’t already have it.

After insanely intense Doom Eternal it was somewhat strange to revisit much calmer Doom 3. Back in the day I loved its slower pace and horror atmosphere though, so I was excited to return to the UAC facility. It is still a decent game, but it’s quite ugly even compared to other PS VR shooters and it was hell-bent on giving me motion sickness (there’s no option to replace fluid movement with teleportation). [06/2021, p.71]

It's always nice to return to the dark and foreboding world of Doom 3, and the chance to relive it in a Virtual Reality environment is truly welcomed, but in this version Doom 3 really shows its age.

If silly jump scare horror is your thing, you can do a lot worse than Doom 3 VR Edition, but you can also do much better. Its cutscenes are 2D, you get lost a lot, and occasionally you need to waggle your weapon about so it cooperates, but if you can get past these issues it's... a good enough version of the venerable id Software shooter.

Without the PS Move support Doom 3: VR Edition feels (and plays) like a clumsy, rusty ride in an old horror amusement park.

Doom 3: VR Edition is Doom 3 and its extensions, playable in virtual reality. And that's about it.

Overall I feel this really isn’t the ideal way to experience this title. That doesn’t mean that Doom 3: VR Edition is a bad game by any means, it just doesn’t mesh well with VR. With that being said, I can still recommend this for your PSVR library. It’s not horrible, but not exactly the best experience you can have.