Review: Gore Doctor | Xbox

Sometimes a game’s title tells you everything you need to know, and Gore Doctor certainly delivers on its promise of visceral horror. Unfortunately, that’s about all it manages to deliver successfully. This Xbox Series X|S exclusive from Salient Games feels more like a rough draft than a finished product, leaving players stumbling through darkness both literally and figuratively.

Lost in the Dark

From the moment you wake up in the deranged doctor’s institute, Gore Doctor’s most glaring issue becomes painfully apparent: you simply can’t see what you’re doing. Even after finding a headtorch, navigating the dimly lit corridors feels like a constant battle against the game’s oppressive darkness. I found myself repeatedly adjusting my TV’s brightness settings, only to discover that the problem wasn’t my display—it’s the game itself.

This wouldn’t be such a critical flaw if Gore Doctor were a atmospheric horror masterpiece, but when you’re constantly squinting to find the next door or puzzle element, immersion quickly gives way to frustration.

Shallow Waters Run Deep… Unfortunately

The core gameplay revolves around wandering through interconnected locations—from schools to cinemas to the main hospital—searching for keys and solving basic puzzles. During my three-hour playthrough, I was struck by how repetitive these tasks became. Most “puzzles” involve little more than collecting specimen jars or inputting codes found scattered around the environment.

While there are occasional moments of creativity, like mimicking a musical toy on a piano, these bright spots are few and far between. The game seems more interested in showing you grotesque imagery than challenging your problem-solving skills.

Combat That Feels DOA

When Gore Doctor does attempt combat, the results are frankly embarrassing. The two available weapons—a pistol and shotgun—feel like they’re made of cardboard. There’s no satisfying feedback when shooting enemies, and the handful of masked adversaries you encounter don’t even react when hit.

I encountered a boss fight with a sinister dinner lady who became stuck on a table and couldn’t attack me. It’s these moments that highlight just how unfinished the AI feels. The enemies are so dim-witted that I completed the entire game having taken perhaps two hits total.

Technical Troubles

Visually, Gore Doctor is a mixed bag at best. While the gore effects are suitably gruesome, the overall presentation suffers from bizarre lighting artifacts and waxy textures that reflect light inappropriately—I saw reflections on books and other non-reflective surfaces throughout my playthrough.

The first-person jumping feels clunky and imprecise, making platforming sections more tedious than they should be. There’s also an utterly pointless five-minute elevator sequence midway through that serves no purpose other than padding out the already brief runtime.

Value for Money Concerns

Here’s where Gore Doctor really struggles to justify itself. At £16 for roughly three hours of content, it’s asking premium pricing for what feels like an early access title. The lack of replay value—no multiple endings or meaningful choices—makes this feel particularly steep.

While I appreciate that this is an independent production with limited resources, the price point sets expectations that the game simply doesn’t meet.

A One-Trick Pony

Gore Doctor’s biggest problem is that it’s entirely one-dimensional. Strip away the shock value and grotesque imagery, and you’re left with a bare-bones horror experience that doesn’t understand what makes the genre compelling. The story, supposedly about a doctor driven mad by his wife’s death, is paper-thin and told through scattered notes that fail to create any emotional connection.

It feels like a poor imitation of the Saw films without understanding what made those movies work beyond the gore.

Just More Time

Gore Doctor isn’t necessarily a terrible game—it’s more of an unfinished one. While I can appreciate the developers’ ambition to create something disturbing and visceral, the execution falls well short of the mark. Technical issues, shallow gameplay, and poor value for money make this a difficult recommendation.

Horror fans seeking genuine scares would be better served looking elsewhere. Gore Doctor might satisfy a very specific audience craving mindless gore, but for everyone else, this prescription should probably be left unfilled.