Common Sense Media Review
Dark horror game is more tedious than scary or violent.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
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Doorways: Chapters 1-3
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
A sadistic doctor known for her inhumane medical experiments is on the loose, and it's up to Agent Thomas Foster to stop her. Foster hails from an occult organization that uses a kind of "mind meld" technique to connect with psychos and maniacs. This means that all of DOORWAYS' action takes place within a kind of nightmarish mindscape that includes a shadowy mine shaft, a toxic waste dump, a dilapidated sewer, and a derelict hospital.
Is It Any Good?
Doorways wants desperately to be like Frictional Games' Amnesia: The Dark Descent, but it never comes close. The graphics might be nice, but who can tell? The lighting's so dim you really can't see much of anything (even if you crank the gamma up on your PC monitor). After starting with a goofy story idea, the writing makes things worse by seesawing back and forth between impressive and awkward; in some cases, the dialogue seems like poor English translation. Worse, long sections of uneventful exploration are only broken up by scares that are so evenly placed you can see them coming a mile away.
The result is one long slog through dark, similarly maze-like environments, an experience that's less frightening and more of a chore. The sound design makes a valiant attempt at adding some tension, and the monsters are adequately creepy, but ultimately, Doorways: Chapters 1-3 is more tedious than terrifying.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about things that go bump in the night, such as the monsters in Doorways. Why have humans from the beginning of history been afraid of the dark? What scares you most, and why? Is it scarier to see our fears face to face or to imagine them?
Discuss why it's important for the agent in Doorways to capture the killer. Think about how law enforcement officials keep civilians safe. Ask yourself: What would you do in Agent Foster's place?
Game Details
- Platform : Windows
- Pricing structure : Paid (As subsequent chapters are created, they will become available at an additional cost.)
- Available online? : Available online
- Publisher : Saibot Studios
- Release date : August 20, 2014
- Genre : Survival Horror
- Topics : Adventures , Fantasy
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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