DOOM

40 Hardcore games like DOOM that you should try

Games like DOOM · Find similar →

More about this game →

Filter by:Hardcore×← Back to home

We filtered the 50 games similar to DOOM down to the 40 that fit the “Hardcore” category. Paint the Town Red, Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter and Doom top the list, ranked by affinity and similarity score to DOOM.

iRank91/ 100

Did you find what you were looking for?

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

Tags

DarkHardcoreSoloMultiplayer

Year 1993Dev SEGA

Stores

Steam ↗PS ↗

Quick answer

Within the “Hardcore” category, the closest game to DOOM is Paint the Town Red — scoring 98/100 on our similarity scale. Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter and Doom follow close behind.

#1Paint the Town Red98 #2Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter97 #3Doom93 #4The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth93 #5Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter90

🗳️

Help us build the best rankings

Community powered

Vote on each result below — good match or not. Every vote directly shapes how we rank similar games for everyone.

The best hardcore games like DOOM

40 similar games foundUpdated July 2026

Handpicked by our similarity algorithm, these are the titles with the highest gameplay match to DOOM. Each one has been evaluated across 12 real attributes — from combat style and progression mechanics to world structure and visual perspective — so every recommendation is based on how the game actually plays, not just its genre label.

#1Paint the Town Red

98

Paint the Town Red

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeRangedDarkHardcoreHorrorFirst Person

Steam👍 96%· 32KRAWG👍 80%· 68IGDB70· 2OC67· 13

Year 2015Dev South East GamesPlaytime ~4hOn PC · Xbox · Apple Macintosh

✓ Same family of arena shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Its own twist: adventure storytelling, fighting mechanics and deep RPG systems, while skipping setting scifi

#2Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter

97

Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeRangedDarkHardcoreSci-FiFirst Person

Steam👍 96%· 3.4KRAWG👍 85%· 603MC87IGDB83· 3

Year 2001Dev Croteam · Devolver DigitalPlaytime ~1hOn PC · Nintendo

✓ Same family of arena shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Where it differs: brings adventure storytelling and offline, while skipping horror setting

93

Doom

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeDarkHardcoreHorrorSci-FiFirst Person

Steam👍 96%· 218KIGDB87· 28

Year 2016Dev id Software · Bethesda SoftworksOn PS4 · PC · Xbox

✓ Fits the arena shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Where it differs: brings roguelike runs, horror tension and strong narrative focus, while skipping ranged combat

#4The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

93

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloCo-opMultiplayerMeleeRangedDarkHardcoreHorror

Steam👍 97%· 392KRAWG👍 87%· 1.2KMC86IGDB95· 2OC87· 27

Year 2014Dev NicalisPlaytime ~31hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Same family of arena shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Its own twist: roguelike runs, deep RPG systems and puzzle design, while skipping setting scifi

#5Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter

90

Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeDarkHardcoreSci-FiFirst Person

Steam👍 93%· 8.8KIGDB74· 2

Year 2009Dev Croteam · Devolver DigitalOn PC

✓ Fits the arena shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Stands apart with adventure storytelling and online features, while skipping ranged combat

#6Quake III Arena

89

Quake III Arena

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloMultiplayerRangedMeleeDarkHardcoreSci-FiFirst Person

Steam👍 96%· 4.0KRAWG👍 90%· 530IGDB87· 3

Year 1999Dev id Software · Electronic ArtsPlaytime ~1hOn PC · PS · Apple Macintosh

✓ Same family of arena shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Its own twist: competitive edge and PvP competition, while skipping horror setting

#7S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl

89

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloMultiplayerRangedMeleeDarkHardcoreHorrorSci-FiFirst Person

Steam👍 95%· 48KRAWG👍 86%· 1.4KMC82IGDB80· 2

Year 2007Dev GSC Game WorldPlaytime ~3hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Fits the arena shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Where it differs: brings deep RPG systems, survival mechanics and sandbox freedom, while skipping co op

88

Returnal

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloCo-opMultiplayerMeleeHardcoreDarkHorrorSci-FiFirst Person

Steam👍 81%· 10KIGDB90· 19OC86· 201

Year 2021Dev Housemarque · Sony Interactive EntertainmentOn PC · PS5

✓ Same family of arena shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and punishing difficulty

≠ Stands apart with roguelike runs, third-person shooting and horror tension, while skipping ranged combat

#9Hotline Miami

87

Hotline Miami

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloMeleeRangedDarkHardcore

Steam👍 97%· 122KRAWG👍 90%· 2.6KMC85IGDB86· 10

Year 2012Dev Devolver DigitalPlaytime ~5hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Both are arena shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Where it differs: brings puzzle design, strong narrative focus and visual isometric, while skipping setting scifi

#10SCP: Secret Laboratory

86

SCP: Secret Laboratory

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

MultiplayerCo-opMeleeDarkHardcoreHorrorSci-FiFirst Person

Steam👍 91%· 230K

Year 2017Dev Northwood StudiosOn PC

✓ Same family of arena shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Stands apart with deep RPG systems, horror tension and survival mechanics, while skipping ranged combat

#11Condemned: Criminal Origins

86

Condemned: Criminal Origins

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloMeleeRangedDarkHardcoreHorrorFirst Person

Steam👍 87%· 4.3KRAWG👍 78%· 423MC80IGDB74· 5

Year 2005Dev Monolith Productions · SEGAPlaytime ~1hOn PC · Xbox

✓ Fits the arena shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Its own twist: horror tension, puzzle design and adventure storytelling, while skipping setting scifi

86

Postal

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloMultiplayerMeleeHardcoreDarkHorror

Steam👍 92%· 14K

Year 1997Dev Running With Scissors · Ripcord GamesOn Linux · Android · PC

✓ Fits the arena shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and punishing difficulty

≠ Its own twist: horror tension, strong narrative focus and linear, story-driven structure, while skipping ranged combat

#13Devil Daggers

85

Devil Daggers

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloRangedMeleeHardcoreDarkHorrorFirst Person

Steam👍 95%· 9.3KRAWG👍 78%· 160MC83IGDB78· 3OC83· 12

Year 2016Dev SorathPlaytime ~1hOn PC · Apple Macintosh · Linux

✓ Both are arena shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and punishing difficulty

≠ Its own twist: horror tension, survival mechanics and strong narrative focus, while skipping setting scifi

#14The Binding of Isaac

84

The Binding of Isaac

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloMeleeRangedDarkHardcoreHorror

Steam👍 95%· 62KRAWG👍 76%· 1.2KMC84IGDB84· 2

Year 2011Dev Edmund McMillen and Florian Himsl · Edmund McMillenPlaytime ~5hOn PC · Apple Macintosh

✓ Both are arena shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Its own twist: roguelike runs, deep RPG systems and adventure storytelling, while skipping setting scifi

81

DEADBOLT

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloMeleeRangedDarkHardcoreHorror

Steam👍 96%· 5.6KRAWG👍 84%· 90MC76IGDB75· 2

Year 2016Dev Hopoo GamesPlaytime ~4hOn PC · PS · Apple Macintosh

✓ Same family of arena shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Where it differs: brings precision platforming, strong narrative focus and stealth mechanics, while skipping setting scifi

Complete list of hardcore games like DOOM

The full catalog of games sharing gameplay DNA with DOOM, ordered from highest to lowest similarity score. Use the filters above to narrow down by genre, setting or game mode and find the alternative that best fits your playstyle.

Explore games similar to DOOM by category

Rankings in the same genre

Best Arena FPS Games Best FPS Games Best Shooter Games