Best id Software Games, Ranked

Highlights

• id Software revolutionized the gaming industry with titles like
  DOOM
  ,
  Quake
  , and
  Rage
  , setting the standard for first-person shooters.
• Their acquisition by ZeniMax and later by Microsoft has diversified their projects, incorporating modern gaming tech and open-world gameplay.
• From the classic
  Wolfenstein
  to the latest
  DOOM Eternal
  , id Software’s enduring legacy continues to excite fans with innovative gameplay.

Since the days of the 8-bit console and the floppy disk, id Software has been a fixture in the video game industry. This is the company that gave the gaming world DOOM, the iconic first-person shooter that ignited a whole genre and became the bane of office networks the world over, along with other unforgettable titles like Heretic and Rage.

There’s a lot more in the id Software catalog besides DOOM these days, and the composition of the company has also changed significantly since the final years of the 20th century. Some of the highest-rated games are famous titles that even non-gamers will recognize, but there are also popular and well-aged vintage id games that have been lost to time.

Updated on June 22nd, 2024, by Kristy Ambrose: ZeniMax Media, the parent company that also owns Bethesda, acquired id Software in 2006, which is why the modern DOOM, Quake, and Rage games presently appear under their brand name. Although id Software still existed, the goals, projects, and financing were controlled entirely by ZeniMax. In 2021, the company changed hands yet again when it was purchased by Microsoft and is now an official part of Xbox Game Studios. Work continues at id on Quake and Rage, two of their most successful franchises to date.

12 Dangerous Dave In The Haunted Mansion

Metacritic Rating: N/A

• Developer: Gamer’s Edge, id Software
• Publisher: Softdisk Publishing
• Release Date: 1991

The tongue and cheek title, which followed the protagonist into the sequels, wasn’t the only innovative thing about this game, especially for the time. Not only was it shamelessly geared towards a mature audience with the subject matter and scenery, but Dangerous Dave In The Haunted Mansion also had features like an auto-loading shotgun and more precise character movement.

Dave is a simple guy; you can tell from his jeans and baseball cap, but he has to rescue his brother Delbert from the haunted mansion and the creatures within. The game was forgotten for more than 15 years before it was ported to Java and re-released for cell phones, but it goes to show the design and style have endured despite its simplicity.

11 Orcs and Elves

Metacritic Rating: 68

• Developer: id Software, Fountainhead Entertainment
• Publisher: EA Mobile (mobile phone), Electronic Arts
• Release Date: May 9, 2006

An early attempt at a hybrid between an RPG and an FPS, Orcs and Elves is exclusively for the Nintendo DS. In this game, the player has to fight their way through an elven citadel that includes a catacombs level along with a dragon’s lair.

That means adventure and items galore, like any decent role-playing game. There’s a variety of weapons available, like swords and bows, as opposed to the usual guns or missile launchers, keeping the FPS angle of the game but giving it a creative twist.

10 Rage 2

Metacritic Rating: 73

Rage 2 still has a dedicated fan following, even though it’s not as popular as the original. The dystopian setting is part of the charm, and instead of other FPS games that confine the player to an indoor space, this game includes a lot of open-world gameplay and customizable details for each individual character.

That means a lot more is included in addition to weapons. Players can also choose a land or flying vehicle, explore different parts of a vast wasteland, and choose factions to align with or fight against.

9 Wolfenstein 3D

Metacritic Rating: N/A

Developer(s): id Software

Publisher(s): Apogee Software

Release Date: 1992-05-05

A classic from the early days of stand-alone desktop computer games, Wolfenstein 3D combined ideas from historic lore, role-playing games, and the first-person shooter POV that featured a silent but deadly protagonist.

The result was an FPS that started a whole genre. Wolfenstein 3D was to the FPS genre what Resident Evil was to survival horror. The game has seen a couple of reboots since, with the latest and greatest being Wolfenstein: The New Order, which went on to spawn two sequels with The New Colossus and Youngblood.

8 Rage

Metacritic Rating: 81

The first game in what became a franchise, Rage combined a gritty post-apocalyptic setting with an elaborate FPS game. The open environment, the various options for individual customization, and the immersive storylines made players love this game.

It also has a lot of modern online options. There are no less than three gameplay options available when playing Rage. There’s a single-player mode with an immersive storyline, a co-op mode that lets players hook up with a friend, and, naturally, a multiplayer mode for enjoying some arena-like action.

7 DOOM 2

Metacritic Rating: 83

DOOM 2: Hell on Earth is one smash-hit sequel that surprised nobody. It improved on its predecessor in a number of ways, starting with putting it for sale in stores as opposed to shareware or mail order exclusively.

The game also introduced several elements that would become important fixtures in the more recent DOOM reboot series. Examples include the infamous Super Shotgun and an entire host of new demonic enemies, such as the Archvile and Revenant.

6 DOOM (2016)

Metacritic Rating: 85

DOOM (2016) paved the way for a new beginning for the entirety of the franchise, and would be followed up by the equally successful DOOM Eternal.

The game pleased both fans and critics, honing in on everything that made the original games great, then reimagining and reinventing it by taking full advantage of contemporary gaming tech to keep it fresh and gory. New and old fans alike could wield a myriad of new abilities and weapons in their battle against the monsters from Hell.

5 Doom

Metacritic Rating: 85

The original DOOM game, released in 1993, still retains a strong fan base, prompting several sequels, a myriad of spinoffs, and a remastered version more than a decade later. That’s just video games. There are also books, comics, and even a feature film.

Considering that this game wasn’t even sold in stores, it’s difficult not to find oneself impressed at what a massive imprint it ended up leaving on gaming and pop culture as a whole. Almost everyone has this game on their home computer even if they couldn’t remember where they got it.

4 Hexen: Beyond Heretic

Metacritic Rating: N/A

One of the earliest examples of a first-person shooter that also used fantasy elements along with a futuristic setting and a military aesthetic, this was one of the most popular titles in the already well-loved Hexen franchise. It was a direct sequel to Heretic, another fan favorite, and the last installment was the equally beloved Heretic 2.

The game was an FPS game, in keeping with id’s usual wheelhouse, but it was also an RPG, and the distinct classes had some familiar TTRPG elements but also had some creative twists. Players could choose between a pre-rolled class of Fighter, Cleric, or Mage before they set off to find and destroy the evil Korax.

3 Doom 3

Metacritic Rating: 87

This is when the DOOM games really started to look good by relatively contemporary standards. Doom 3 used a new 3D graphics engine that would revolutionize the whole gaming world, not just the FPS genre.

Although the title implies this is a sequel, it’s actually a reboot and virtually ignores the characters and storylines of the previous two games. Instead of fighting in an alternate dimension or fighting off an earthly invasion, the player has to save a research facility on Mars, a slight twist on the original.

2 Doom Eternal

Metacritic Rating: 88

Just released this year, the favorable reviews from both fans and critics strongly suggest that the franchise is still going strong. DOOM Eternal is a direct sequel to Doom 2016 and once again tells the story of the lone and rebranded “Doom Slayer” fighting against the forces of Hell trying to invade Earth.

The game is expanded and improved in a number of ways over the first few installments. There are several different environments to visit as opposed to being enclosed in a somewhat uniform space, and the combat has been made even more intense with several new layers of gadgetry.

The Flame belch and Crucible are two famous examples, not to mention deadly new demonic adversaries to bring down. Eternal also abandoned the conventional arena multiplayer in favor of an asymmetrical approach, casting two players as demons trying to take down a lone Slayer.

1 Quake

Metacritic Rating: 94

There are a number of Quake games and one of the fan-favorites is still the original that was released in 1996. This game took the monsters of DOOM and the beasts of fantasy lore and put them on some kind of video game steroids. The world was populated by classic monsters but taken up another notch in the spirit of games like Diablo and previous installments of DOOM.

The game used a real-time 3D video rendering engine, a dramatic change from earlier games that had similar effects but were still essentially one-dimensional. Quake‘s multiplayer, predictably, took the world by storm and it still enjoys a relatively competitive scene even today.