You want to talk about scary? This is DOOM

Total Chaos dropped back in 2018 and quickly made a name for itself among Doom II mods. It didn’t just tweak the old demonic shooter—it flipped it into a gritty, psychological horror game. Picture Doom’s engine, but now you’re wandering through a bleak, crumbling world that feels more like a nightmare than a demon-slaying power fantasy. Sam Prebble, the creator, really went all out. This wasn’t just a skin swap; it was a full-blown survival adventure that stood on its own.

In 2023, Prebble announced something bigger: Total Chaos would become a standalone game. He showed off the first trailer at the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted, giving everyone a glimpse of what’s next.

Right now, you can play a demo on Steam. It’s not early access—it’s more like a taste of what Prebble thinks the game should be. He’s made it clear that he’s keeping the project close to his chest. He doesn’t want the flood of community suggestions to pull the game away from what made the original mod special. In his own words, “I don’t want to go too far in one direction and change what people liked about the mod.” And honestly, you have to respect that.

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The main setting still takes you to that abandoned offshore mining colony, inspired by Japan’s Hashima Island. But this new Total Chaos isn’t just a rehash of the old mod. The level design digs deeper now. Sure, you’ll spot a few familiar places, but you’ll also stumble into fresh areas, hidden paths, and whole new environments you haven’t seen before.

video www.youtube.com The idea here is to give players something that feels familiar but always keeps them on their toes. At first, Prebble wanted to create a game world where everything connected—a big, sprawling map. But he realized that sending players back and forth over the same ground dragged down the pacing, so he switched to a more straightforward, linear path. It just made the game move better.

One of the most surprising things Prebble shared in his interview? He built this super atmospheric horror mod, but he’s never actually played the big names in the genre—no Silent Hill, no Resident Evil. That probably explains why Total Chaos feels so personal, more like his own take on survival horror than a copy of what’s come before.

At the OTK Games Expo, they dropped a new trailer that really sets the scene: you’re exploring Fort Oasis, a mining outpost that’s been abandoned and twisted by some supernatural force. In this standalone version, Total Chaos calls itself an “atmospheric and frenetic nightmare,” and honestly, that fits. It pulls in all kinds of survival horror ideas—keeping track of your supplies, careful melee fighting, and visuals that really stand out.

You play as a coast guard who shows up at Fort Oasis after a strange walkie-talkie message. The game doesn’t just test your reflexes; it messes with your head too. You have to keep yourself fed, patch up wounds, keep an eye on your sanity—if you lose your grip, reality slips. Suddenly, walls move, secret passages appear, and nothing feels right. Ammo is rare, and you won’t find many guns. If you want to survive, you’ll have to dig through the ruins, find scraps, and turn whatever you can into makeshift weapons—axes, hammers, whatever works.

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