Modern Vintage Gamer tested whether the Neo Geo could handle Doom and found the console's architecture makes it functionally impossible. The system lacks the processing power for Doom's complex 3D environments with textured walls, raised platforms, and multi-level structures that define the classic first-person shooter.

MVG built a raycasting demo that mimics Wolfenstein 3D's simpler engine, using 4-pixel-wide sprites scaled vertically by Neo Geo's hardware to create wall segments. By firing rays from the player's position to detect wall distances, the system renders 80 horizontal sprite pieces to approximate a first-person view.

The demo achieves only 8 frames per second through emulation, even without enemies or game logic. This sluggish performance highlights why Doom's advanced features would overwhelm the hardware. Unlike the SNES version that used a Super FX2 chip for polygon rendering, Neo Geo lacks any comparable graphics acceleration.

Without cartridge-based coprocessing solutions, Neo Geo will likely stay Doom-free. MVG acknowledges that declaring anything impossible invites attempts to prove otherwise, but the technical barriers here are substantial enough that most developers would need to rebuild the engine from scratch.