ExhiBIT: a guided tour of “DOOM: The Gallery Experience”
Talking about art while poking fun at the art world. #exhibition #art #parody #videogame
Welcome back to Artcade, the free ticket you didn’t know was tucked in your pocket. We’re once again in the ExhiBIT column—the safest way to visit museums inside video games. In the first installment we explored the art treasures of Sifu’s Museum with a tour that proved surprisingly popular. This time we’re headed somewhere that used to be all demons and destruction but now looks freshly gentrified. Enjoy the read!
The image above—the classic DOOM start‑up screen—comes from the PlayStation 4 edition, but anything that plugs into a TV (or has a screen at all) has its own version of DOOM, because since 1993 it keeps coming back like the tastiest of pepper stews. Today we’re touring a slightly different build tailor‑made for ExhiBIT. Here it is:
Created by Filippo Meozzi and Liam Stone, this version of DOOM doesn’t pit us against Arachnotrons or Cacodemons but against the ruthless (and slightly snobbish) art world. Let’s begin.
We immediately find ourselves in a gorgeous Renaissance hall. Instead of a shotgun we’re brandishing a glass of red wine, and the sharp‑eyed will notice that Doomguy—the hero with the world‑class name—is sporting a pair of art‑critic spectacles. The HUD has changed too: health is now cash, armor is a cheese‑tasting meter, and wine sips replace ammunition.
Move closer to a masterpiece and a pop‑up appears with details and a link straight to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York—“the Met”—which kindly lent the work.
Fra Angelico (Guido di Pietro) (c. 1420–23) The Crucifixion [Painting] [Tempera on panel] [63.8 × 48.3 cm] The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The second gallery is devoted to Greek masterpieces, crowned by a bronze statuette of a tipsy Herakles at the top of a staircase (rough reputation you had there, Herakles—maybe he shared our art‑plus‑wine hobby).
Unknown artist (3rd–2nd century BC) Drunken Herakles [Sculpture] [Bronze] [15.6 cm] The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The collection is first‑rate, and scattered around are excellent cheese bites, bottles of wine, and piles of money we scoop up without hesitation. After refueling and slurping more red wine (loudly), we head to the inevitable Egypt section.
Another toothpick‑and‑cheese cube awaits beneath yet another gem.
Unknown artist (c. 1294–1279 BC) Wife and Daughter of Userhat [Painting] [Tempera on paper] [49 × 26.5 cm] The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
In the Egyptian pavilion I discover what must be a distant relative of mine: the god Bes.
Perhaps powerful, definitely unconventionally handsome. To the right of the Bes on display in DOOM you can see a photo I snapped of a Bes in the Vatican Museums. As you can guess, there are lots of us, each with… unique style.
Sadly, the tour draws to a close. The Japanese art wing (image below) is the last—and the most spectacular—complete with a walkway over water that leads us to the inevitable gift shop.
Uto Gyoshi (16th century) Musk Cat [Painting] [Ink and color on paper] [76 × 46.5 cm] The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Gift shop time—let’s buy stuff. As you can see, despite the price I couldn’t resist and picked up a physical copy of DOOM: The Gallery Experience. Playing it will cost you far less—just click the link above, because this build of DOOM runs right in your browser.
Filippo Meozzi, Liam Stone (2025) DOOM: The Gallery Experience [Video game] [Parody] [10 min] (Windows) itch.io
Information Desk:
Strolling the halls wouldn’t hit the same without a soundtrack of classical music. Even on the title screen we’re greeted by Vivaldi’s Winter—though I suspect many know it as the Chef’s Table theme. Fits the tongue‑in‑cheek vibe of DOOM: The Gallery Experience perfectly.
When I said DOOM runs on anything with a screen, I wasn’t exaggerating. Over the years “can it run DOOM?” has become a meme pushing absurdity to its limits: DOOM on a McDonald’s order kiosk? Done. On a computer inside Minecraft? Done. On the tiny display of a vape pen? Yep. Even on the microscopic screen of a pregnancy test. There are plenty more, as detailed in this video.
My last two coins
There’s a subtle joy in seeing a game like DOOM turn into a parody of the art gallery scene—and equal pleasure in watching a tiny project make big noise and earn coverage in outlets far fancier than this one. Everyone knows there are games out there that take dozens of hours just to reach the first ending (and then a second run for the “true” ending—looking at you, Ghosts ’n Goblins). Here, by contrast, is a ten‑minute wonder that still captured critics’ and players’ attention. Maybe you don’t have to be gigantic to say something that matters.
Until the next episode, ciao!