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Doorways: The Underworld

The scariest thing about this title is the horror of facing another “find the key puzzle.” Oculus support and solid voice acting doesn’t save Doorways from bad puzzles, poor monster design and ineffective scares.
Doorways: The Underworld Game Cover
61%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
grinding, optimization
64% User Score Based on 218 reviews
Critic Score 45%Based on 1 reviews

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Doorways: The Underworld Game Cover

About

Doorways: The Underworld is a single player action adventure game with a horror theme. It was developed by Saibot Studios and was released on September 17, 2014. It received neutral reviews from critics and mostly positive reviews from players.

"Doorways: The Underworld" is a first-person horror adventure game, where you play as special agent Thomas Foster, tasked with tracking down a missing psychopath in a terrifying and atmospheric underworld. The game features fast-paced gameplay, challenging puzzles, and high-quality visuals and sounds. It is the third chapter in the Doorways series, but can be played independently, with the option to explore many secret places and full controller support.

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Doorways: The Underworld screenshot
Doorways: The Underworld screenshot
Doorways: The Underworld screenshot
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64%
Audience ScoreBased on 218 reviews
story18 positive mentions
grinding15 negative mentions
  • The game creates a tense and immersive atmosphere, effectively utilizing sound design and voice acting to enhance the horror experience.
  • The introduction of unique mechanics, such as the flashback ability, adds an interesting twist to the gameplay and puzzles.
  • The game features a variety of environments and monsters, providing some engaging moments of chase and tension.
  • The gameplay becomes repetitive, with many puzzles revolving around finding keys and valves, leading to a monotonous experience.
  • The final maze section is frustratingly difficult, requiring trial and error that detracts from the overall enjoyment and tension.
  • The story lacks depth and clarity, making it difficult for players to feel invested in the narrative or characters.
  • story
    60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it unoriginal and confusing, often describing it as anti-climactic or lacking depth. While some appreciate the atmospheric elements and the gradual reveal of the plot, others criticize the execution and reliance on common tropes, leading to a sense of repetitiveness. Overall, the narrative is seen as a decent but flawed attempt at a horror-themed detective story, with varying levels of engagement among players.

    • “The gameplay, graphics, atmosphere, and story make the saga one of the best PC gaming experiences currently available.”
    • “It's a nice, new take on the detective story, a bright detective with an unknown past facing off against a twisted genius, but inside the killer's mind, rather than at the Reichenbach Falls.”
    • “Moreover, the gradual reveal of the story was very well paced, and even though the story is a little generic, it suits the environments well.”
    • “The story is unoriginal, but for a game released in 2014, it's acceptable.”
    • “The story never really took off; we were stuck finding random notes in random places.”
    • “Weak story, mediocre environment, terrible music, no 'thrill' of being chased, and no original ideas make this game a waste of time and money.”
  • gameplay
    55 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay in the "Doorways" series has received mixed reviews, with many players noting a lack of originality and repetitiveness, particularly in the later chapters. While some mechanics, like the flashback feature and environmental puzzles, are praised for their creativity, they are often overshadowed by frustrating enemy encounters and poorly implemented mechanics that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the gameplay is seen as enjoyable yet flawed, with a tendency towards linearity and reliance on familiar horror tropes.

    • “The gameplay is enjoyable and the difficulty is just right.”
    • “The graphics are impressive, the gameplay is enjoyable, and the difficulty is just right.”
    • “The gameplay consists of avoiding the lurking dangers and solving small puzzles.”
    • “Most of the monsters (except the fatso) have ridiculous unfair mechanics and appear in the most random and frustrating locations.”
    • “Last boss's flashback mechanic can spawn her 10 cm in front of you, resulting in an instakill, despite the game's popups saying that she cannot spawn near you.”
    • “The gameplay is relatively dull, and the lack of diversity left me with a familiar sense of strict linearity.”
  • atmosphere
    53 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its intensity and creepiness, with strong sound design and a bleak soundtrack that enhances the horror experience. However, some players feel that the shift towards more action-oriented gameplay detracts from the atmospheric tension established in earlier chapters, leading to frustration and a sense of repetitiveness. Overall, while the game maintains a solid atmospheric foundation, its execution can be inconsistent, impacting the overall immersion.

    • “Great atmosphere and a cold, bleak soundtrack.”
    • “The claustrophobic atmosphere and the excellent sound work really do give a sense of building dread and terror.”
    • “The game's sound design and atmosphere make for a truly eerie experience.”
    • “I think the creepiness was better, but I believe the atmosphere from the first game is gone.”
    • “There's nothing worth seeing here in the underworld, just some cheap scares and decent atmosphere propping up empty halls and lacking gameplay.”
    • “The atmosphere that Doorways relies on was ruined.”
  • graphics
    34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the improved visuals and atmospheric design, while others criticize them as outdated or average, likening them to older console graphics. Many players appreciate the creative 3D art and the overall aesthetic, noting that the graphics contribute positively to the game's creepy atmosphere, despite some performance issues. Overall, while not groundbreaking, the graphics are deemed sufficient for an indie title, enhancing the gameplay experience.

    • “The graphics are much improved and fixed a lot of prelude's issues with being unable to see where you're going.”
    • “The gameplay, graphics, atmosphere, and story make the saga one of the best PC gaming experiences currently available.”
    • “Very good game, I loved the graphics and the story!”
    • “Graphically average like something out of a PlayStation 2 console.”
    • “The graphics are still as bad as it was in Doorways: Chapter 1 & 2.”
    • “The graphics look like Penumbra.”
  • grinding
    15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The grinding aspect of the game has been widely criticized for being tedious and frustrating, with many players finding the gameplay repetitive and lacking in diversity. Key segments, particularly the final levels and certain puzzles, are described as boring and irritating, detracting from the overall experience and diminishing the scare factor. While some areas show potential, the overwhelming sentiment is that the game suffers from excessive monotony and linearity.

    • “They were incredibly tedious and frustrating.”
    • “The real failing of the underworld is its tedious gameplay, as the lack of diversity left me with a familiar sense of strict linearity.”
    • “It's so tedious that it stops being scary 5 minutes into this section.”
  • music
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally praised for its atmospheric quality, effectively enhancing the overall experience with a cold and bleak soundtrack that complements the environments. While some reviewers noted the potential for improvement in the looping soundtrack, many appreciated its ability to evoke strong feelings of tension and nostalgia, reminiscent of classic titles like Doom 64. Overall, the sound design and musical score are highlighted as standout features, contributing significantly to the game's immersive atmosphere.

    • “The music, the environments, the designs, everything.”
    • “Music was still excellent and suited the environment well.”
    • “Atmospheric music / sounds”
    • “These games have a lot of potential if they worked a bit more on the looping soundtrack by making it longer.”
    • “Very dark corridors (a lot of people complained about this, but it just makes the experience more intense in my opinion) and very creepy music.”
    • “Weak story, mediocre environment, terrible music, no 'thrill' of being chased, and no original ideas make this game a waste of time and money.”
  • optimization
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has been criticized, with players experiencing significant performance issues, such as low frame rates (down to 13fps) that hinder gameplay, particularly in fast-paced sections. While the graphics maintain quality, the overall performance has declined, making it challenging to play, especially with a gamepad.

    • “On the graphics side, things remain as good as the original, but performance took a huge nosedive.”
    • “As I mentioned in my review for the beginning of the series, these games are not properly optimized. This time, I had to play at a maximum of 13 FPS, which is not feasible, especially in the last part (maze with map) where you have to be fast - which is also the part where I rage quit.”
    • “The last level was annoying and at least not optimized to be played with a gamepad.”
  • stability
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's stability is generally solid, with few bugs or major glitches reported, though some users experienced issues such as achievements not unlocking on Linux and occasional control slow-downs. Despite these minor setbacks, the game received a favorable score of 7.5, indicating that stability did not significantly detract from the overall experience.

    • “Achievements did not unlock - buggy on Linux :(”
    • “Overall, this gets a solid 7.5, since the music and voice acting were brilliant, the environments were well made, and there were few bugs or breaking glitches (apart from the odd control slow-down issue).”
  • humor
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is highlighted through its clever puzzles and unexpected moments, such as players mistakenly underestimating the presence of enemies, leading to comical and often absurd situations. This blend of wit and surprise contributes to an engaging and entertaining experience.

    • “The game features funny puzzles that keep you entertained.”
    • “I foolishly believed that this meant the game was devoid of enemies entirely, leading me to charge headfirst into the first enemy I saw and die rather hilariously.”
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45%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews
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Frequently Asked Questions

Doorways: The Underworld is a action adventure game with horror theme.

Doorways: The Underworld is available on PC, Mac OS, Windows and Linux.

Doorways: The Underworld was released on September 17, 2014.

Doorways: The Underworld was developed by Saibot Studios.

Doorways: The Underworld has received neutral reviews from players and neutral reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Doorways: The Underworld is a single player game.

Similar games include Doorways: Prelude, The Alien Cube, Left Alone, WOUNDED, The Beast Inside and others.