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Summary

Id's 2004 departure from the high octane action that has typified most of the series. A jump scare infused first person shooter that experiments with a slower paced, more survival-horror-esque reimagining of Doom. This version, though simply called Doom 3 now in the store listing, is actually the 2012 BFG Edition. It has some alterations from the original, which is no longer listed. (Your library will correctly call this BFG Edition.)

Who is it for?

Doom fans who always wanted the series to take a step back from the arcade action approach, and double down on the horror elements suggested by past installments. Anyone who enjoys dark, atmospherically lit, first person horror. Anyone who likes jump scares. Existing owners of Doom 3 who want to experience the 2nd DLC or a slightly altered version of the game with some quality of life features.

Who is it probably not for?

Those wanting a high speed action shooter in the vein of the classic or newer Dooms. Those who dislike jump scares, or find them ineffective/repetitive. Owners of the vanilla version who dislike the changes here. (See below.)

PROS


Id Tech 4's unified shadows and lighting were made for this kind of game, and despite obviously aged geometry, animations, and assets, it's still a very effective approach to lighting in a horror-themed game like this.
Some of the jump scares are still very startling, even after years.
Large amount of emails, PDA files, audio logs, etc. flesh out the backstory, provide details of what exactly is happening as all hell breaks loose, and grant access to secrets.
Amusing corporate satire.
Does a great job of easing players into a false sense of security before things go awry.
Controller support works well (using an Xbox Windows controller for reference) once enabled in-game.
Excellent sound design.
Steadily ramps up tension, danger, and threat level.
Included DLC missions, while nothing to write home about and really just more of the same, provide more of a good thing for those who enjoy it.
BFG Edition includes some quality of life changes (not universally loved by purists, but probably welcome for the general user) such as the ability to use the flashlight while a weapon is equipped, the aforementioned controller support, support for high Hz displays, and (in my view) better DSR factor support (the image looks notably cleaner to me when upscaling here than in the vanilla version.)
An interesting reimagining of the Doom premise, including many of its iconic enemy types and weapons.
Intriguing lore which can be interpreted in a variety of ways for headcanon purposes, though this game canonically stands apart from the others in the series.
Boss fights can actually prove tough if you don't know the proper technique and are playing on a harder difficulty. But can be run through quickly on the easiest difficulty, while still not being total pushovers.
Includes Ultimate Doom (Doom 1 + expansions) and Doom 2 (and its expansion, No Rest for the Living... however... see CONS.)


CONS


While terrifying at release (for me,) the years have dulled its scare factor in comparison to more modern horror games. (Even Quake 4 feels considerably scarier to me today.)
Movement speed is very slow, especially compared to other Dooms.
We only venture into hell proper briefly.
While stylistically impressive, atmospherically effective, and still visually striking despite some dated assets, after a while all of the dark mechanical hallways and hissing pipes do begin to blur together indistinctly and feel a tad repetitive.
Some players may dislike the changes present in the BFG Edition (I personally prefer it honestly, as someone who has extensively played both on PC as well as console back in the day. My recent quick replay on the lowest difficulty just to refresh my memory here on Steam for the purposes of this review is probably about my fifth time replaying the BFG Edition, albeit my first on Steam. And I played the vanilla version on PC back in the day several times as well. And I can say I prefer this edition.) Your mileage may vary.
Having a stamina bar in a Doom game always felt odd and unnecessary to me.
Lack of expansive maps.
Gunplay always felt a tad soft to me.
Using F12 with Steam overlay to take screenshots makes the game flag the console as enabled, which disables achievements. You must modify the cfg file in the install directory to address this (see Steam guides) and save and restart after taking screenshots to re-enable achievements if that's something you care about.
Ultimate Doom and Doom 2 are locked at 35 fps unless you use a mod, and Doom 2 does not include the Master Levels. (See Steam guides for how to mod the game to address these and other issues.)


What does this edition change VS the original version?


Enhanced visuals and lighting (although some criticize flashlight shadows & some other elements, on the whole I prefer this version visually.)
Includes a new DLC "The Lost Mission," in addition to the previous DLC for Doom 3, Resurrection of Evil.
The ability to use the flashlight with a weapon equipped (not possible in the original.)
Some map layouts have slightly changed,
Some weapon locations have been altered.
New and different monster closets and other jump scares have been added.
Difficulty (number of enemies, ammo) changes.
New sound design elements and generally improved audio.
Adds an auto-save at specific points in the game.
Native controller support once enabled in-game.
High Hz support.


General Thoughts

Doom 3 has always been the outlier of the Doom series. It's the only game to not be explicitly connected to the other games' main continuity (other than via Easter eggs, which may or may not indicate canonical ties.) It plays, feels, looks, and presents itself distinctly from the other games as well, and was originally intended as a reboot.
Whereas every other Doom game either adheres to the same formula, or updates it for more contemporary audiences and standards, Doom 3 is a completely different reimagining of what Doom is, as a horror game taking itself (more or less) completely seriously. It succeeds in that for the most part in my view, and is still a sincerely unnerving experience even today.
How scary is it? Well, fear is subjective. For me, Ravensoft's Quake 4 using the same engine and many of the same design considerations is even scarier and more disturbing. If Doom 3 doesn't quite do it for you in terms of scares, consider checking Q4 out. (Unlike this version of Doom 3 though, you may have to take more steps to get things running as you wish. See my Quake 4 review.) And it's a different kind of fear than, say, Amnesia, where you can't fight back.
Still, as you're gradually sucked into its depths and more dangers emerge from every shadow, it does end up becoming fairly intense. It feels like a haunted house a lot of the time, complete with demonic laughter and ghostly "pranks," as if the evil that's consuming the Mars base is having malevolent fun at your expense.
Some feel BFG Edition's flashlight & other tweaks make it less scary. Personally, it's not enough of a difference to affect the fear level, and simply cranking the difficulty up provides similar unease. Your mileage may vary. Doom 3's lighting and shadow model still looks impressive and terrifying, even when cast by other elements that show their age.
I wish we spent more time in hell, that maps were larger & more varied, and that enemy counts were higher. But I've always loved the game. Especially if it's new to you, it's a fun way to generate some scares. I recommend playing in a dark room at night with good headphones on, and on the highest difficulty you can stomach without frustration. It still packs a lot of frightening fun.