The game uses a first-person perspective. The main objective is to survive each level, find colored keys, activate switches, defeat enemies, and reach the exit. Levels are nonlinear and include locked doors, ambushes, hidden rooms, armor, health, ammunition, and weapons.

The player progresses through a sequence of campaign maps, choosing weapons and conserving ammunition while fighting increasingly dangerous demons. Movement, aiming, firing, strafing, and opening doors are central actions. The Game Boy Advance version is focused on single-player play and does not reproduce every mode or feature found in later Doom releases.

Explore every branch of a level before using the exit. Look for colored keys, switches, secret walls, and alternate routes, since useful ammunition and weapons are often placed away from the main path.

Use the strongest weapon that is appropriate for the enemy, but avoid wasting scarce ammunition early in a stage. Keep moving, use doorways and corners for cover, and learn enemy attack patterns so that damage can be avoided rather than traded.

Save powerful weapons for crowded rooms and tougher enemies. If health or armor is available, collect it only when necessary when possible, so that later pickups are not wasted.