TechRadar called it 'the most modernised, spectacular Doom mod to date'. Andras Neltz of Kotaku said that it was 'shaping up to be one of the modding greats'.

Dominic Tarason of Rock, Paper, Shotgun remarked how the mod 'risen to such ubiquity that it has spawned a whole parallel mod scene of its own' and considered it 'a game in its own right at this point'. The mod was praised by John Romero, who jokingly said that if Id Software had released the original Doom with the features of Brutal Doom, they would have 'destroyed the gaming industry'. Weapon behavior is also changed, with a fully working reload system for most guns alongside weapon recoil and iron sights. The mod includes new and updated guns, such as a flamethrower, the demonic Unmaker, assault shotguns, new rifle types, a grenade launcher and even allows the player to equip enemy weapons in the form of Revenant missiles or a Mancubus' flame cannon.

Brutal Doom adds many gameplay features, such as blood splattering, allied Marines, an updated particle system, the ability to drive vehicles such as tanks, stealth kills, headshots, and a host of ' Mortal Kombat-esque fatality animations.' Enemy AI has been revamped, with most enemies gaining new attacks and behaviours.

How to set up brutal doom