Tarnsman's Projectile Hell - @Tarnsman

Doom 2, Eternity Engine, 36 maps

One of the first things that jumps out about Tarnsman's Projectile Hell, and ultimately one of the best things about it, is how unseriously it takes itself. As Doomgirl Kirasame, you enter through a USB stick instead of a portal, and it doesn't take long for you to meet cacodemons that dash around absurdly quickly. If you get melted by one, the obituary credits the kill to an "excited cacodemon."

It also doesn't take long to realize that underneath the flippant pose, it's a very serious work of craft. Tarnsman is one of the best active designers in the neoclassical tradition of Espi -- scenes unfold in bold angular shapes, contrasting bands of color interlaced at just the right proportions, like an unceasing golden mean. His smaller areas are beautiful in their minimalism, in the way a few features can carry so much. And as the scale grows, the panoramas sprawl with strange geometry like something out of a mathematical bad dream -- a stylized look that fits the madcap absurdist sci-fi of the story and is lovely to look at, beautiful too in its disorder. 

The early maps hold back -- a scary thought considering how wild they already are -- but grow more and more unhinged as the adventure continues...

...which is true of just about everything here.

When it hits its stride, Projectile Hell unfolds as a masterful blend of theme and combat and story and concept, a discursive adventure relayed with boundless wit. The mad genius is that the dazzling display of colorful locales and off-the-wall thematic incursions -- which are like Tarnsman's love letter to the myriad images throughout Doom wads that have left a mark on him -- are united by a farcical nonsense story, one where you turn down the sun's volume and battle the descendants of dead Bulgarian actors in a long-distant Super Future. This story is not just present in the wad's text file and the end-of-episode intertexts (high literature), but also embedded in the environment -- as some of the numerous visual set pieces and theme shifts that periodically intrude on the abstraction. To play more quickly is to be enchanted by a psychedelic whirlwind of spectacle, on the moon, in the sun, maybe all in your head. To play very attentively is to also be enchanted by the way it somehow holds together.  

Along the way, you'll laugh, you'll be impressed, and you might even yell at Tarnsman, because the combat gets very heated long before you are in the sun, even with carryovers as it's balanced for. If some familiar spiky imps have you expecting Valiant on steroids, the uncompromising tone -- the way the terrifying bizarro creatures all have the upper hand and excess supplies are all hard won -- will quickly defuse that idea. If it's at all similar, this is more like Valiant blazed on a strong cocktail of the hardest, dirtiest drugs. You'll long for the days when rude archvile fights were the worst of your troubles, and then wander into archvile nests that immediately make you regret that wish. You'll find cool oddities, like a berserk powerup that injects a massive temporary boost into every weapon you have. With the right mindset, it's good fun.

Over the years, some circles have held that creative vision and polished design were at cross purposes -- that the freewheeling lawlessness of a romanticized '90s could only be reclaimed by embracing sloppiness. 

Many people called that out as nonsense, said if you were attuned to the right frequencies of polished modern works, you'd find them just as creative in their own ways. Tarnsman long ago defended that position, even against extreme views that one should deliberately insert bad maps into megawads to keep things fresh. So it really isn't surprising that in his long-awaited pet project, he puts his fat stacks of money where his big mouth is. 

- @rd.

Sold Soul - @Fryuko

Heretic, GZDoom, 9 maps

A new chapter in the steadily expanding chronicles of Heretic, Sold Soul relates the tale of a mysterious merchant of the occult, who, having been betrayed and marked for 'liquidation' by unknown powers higher up the supply chain, sets out on a ruthless quest for revenge. While clearly inspired by other community classics for Heretic, the world of Sold Soul holds an appeal all its own, with a believably gritty, well-worn and lived-in look distinct from the grandiose building facades and interiors that characterized The Wayfarer, and a steady sense of linear travel through an increasingly dramatic landscape that escalates towards a climax in a more cathartic way than the episodic, occasionally surrealist approach of Curse of D'Sparil. There's a subtle impression of accumulated history and narrative depth to the setting and its many clever out-of-the-way nooks and crannies that goes beyond the immediate concerns of the protagonist (and the player), lending an extra feeling of intrigue to the journey through scourged and burnt-out towns and villages, abandoned fanes, murky bogs, frozen mountain passes, and sun-dappled temples perched high above the clouds.

Though scenic, the journey is anything but leisurely. Beginning in the midst of an all-out raid on the protagonist's sanctum by a horde of slavering beasts, Sold Soul kicks off with fast action right out of the gate, and, without ever losing its brisk forward pace, only becomes bloodier and bloodier as the story unfolds, with battles against veritable legions of foes becoming the norm long before the last minion of the Betrayer wheezes its final death-rattle at the merchant's feet. Fryuko shows an accomplished understanding of Heretic's distinct power dynamic, encouraging the player to cut loose and mercilessly leverage the full power of the game's specialized arsenal to swat aside swarms of foes like mere puffclouds of gnats, and to sardonically exploit its magical artifacts to gain every possible advantage. As the icing on the cake, this keen awareness of the game's mechanical peculiarities synergizes in intriguing ways with its detailed world design, allowing for some truly entertaining extracurricular sidetracks, including what is one of the cleverest methods of concealing a hidden level to be found in any PWAD.

Whether you're an inveterate Heretic or an occasional sinner, this is not one to miss. And remember: no room for honor or pity on vengeance trails.

- @Demon of the Well

Fractured Worlds - @Nirvana with @Scotty & @Insane_Gazebo

Doom 2, Boom-compatible, 9 maps

The intergalactic road trip of Fractured Worlds sees our nameless planet-hopping protagonist forging a path through the quietly rusting hulks of long abandoned outposts, the natural splendor of deep caverns and valleys worn by aeons of wind and water, ominous shells of alien cathedra pregnant with eerie silence, buried megavaults housing titanic machinery of imposing construction and incomprehensible purpose, and other places stranger still. As is so often the case in the realm of Doom, why he does this or what he must think while doing so is left largely to interpretation, but to us, the perennial ride-alongs, the tableau is a fairly familiar one: boldly highlighting the spectra of a few key colors at center stage, the visuals starkly contrast vivid shades of teal and cyan with gritty bands of dark metal and dusky earth to create a wealth of arresting scenes that toe the line between stylized realism and unfettered abstraction. Our hero's path is fraught with challenges that are likewise familiar, mined with perilous terrain and painstakingly designed gauntlets that stir old memories of bloodsoaked stardate chronicles and sensual solar sojourns alike.

Therein lies the beauty, of course. Once a theme manages to capture the community's imagination, it's bound to live on in perpetuity, to be continually re-examined and re-explored and re-interpreted by each successive generation. To that end, Nirvana and a pair of special guests have zeroed in on the deceptively complex layouts and cerebral combat design of their influences, pushing the envelope in both regards to new heights sure to leave even the most jaded old hand taken aback.

Both whimsical and deadly, the combat comprising the heart of Fractured Worlds is as boundlessly clever as it is abundant, actively marrying dynamic geometry to intense, stylish action like few have done before. Many maps, and even mapsets, are defined by a signature fight, but such a notion here seems as ephemeral as a twilight breeze; battle after battle, map after map, the authors dish up inventive twists that mark out each of its many battles as mechanically distinct and immediately memorable. A phantasmal waltz beneath the stars as foes blink menacingly between the different tiers of a lush open-air conservatory; a brutal game of red rover versus a demonic legion with each charge swept along on electric winds; a frantic race to outflank a cloud of floating terrors inside a giant amarite-fusion reactor without being ground into paste by the manically churning machinery of its bowels; these are but a scant few of the dazzling sequences to be found within.

Gripping as they are, the proceedings unfolding along the main route are also only the tip of the iceberg. All of the maps are mined with an increasingly elaborate wellspring of secrets, chief among them an optional quest in each to locate a hidden purple keycard, each of which in turn unlocks a secret gateway to a serene oasis of reflecting pools and astral gardens, suggesting a different reality entirely, and affording a brief peace of mind contrasted with even more highly stylized action. Yet, just beyond the facade of tranquility, sinister forces may lurk, and those who let their consciousness wander too far out past the soft light of the known will find that eventually something from Outside is bound to take notice, and just might decide to follow them back.
 

Simply put, few there is no other mapset this year that makes a finer showcase of sheer imagination in encounter design, and few that offer a setting as atmospheric and compelling. Prepare for a pilgrimage wreathed in curtains of gunsmoke and stardust, steeped in rivers of alien blood, out of the known and into the outermost darkness itself. Rest assured it's a journey you won't soon forget, whether or not you ever return.

- @Demon of the Well

Arceon - @DMPhobos

Doom 2, Boom-compatible, 6 maps

I knew of DMPhobos as a community project sleeper, patiently at work on the Doom 3–inspired Darkmoon, but meanwhile chipping in with highlights to projects like Mayhem 2019 and Mapwich 2 -- maps united by skilled craft, flowing layouts, thrilling fights, and dusky moods. 

If it's not clear which phase of gameplay Arceon loves most, it's because it fully commits to everything it does. It embraces freeform combat in spiraling metal shells that interconnect freely, outfitted with all sorts of windows and ramps and gaps to jump over -- a modern industrial take on the layout-above-all tradition. These spaces are sophisticated enough in their makeup and monster use to support engaging methodical play, while having all the open lanes and generous supplies for bold play to be rewarded. But every so often, the gears shift to electrifying choreographed fights that would be right at home in a combat gauntlet; and every so often, when you're treading through quiet space, expecting nothing, the world's underlying machinery simply knows. Every phase has that fussed-over quality to monster use that hints at thoughtful refinement, in how setups bend in response to many different tactics. 

In this versatility, it all gives the impression of being lovingly labored over, a feeling that holds as strongly with the visual craftmanship. With all the twisting metal under glowing alien skies, the appeal can be a lot like that of Back to Saturn X or ukiro's "Anagnorisis." In the heat of combat, the visuals become a gentle backdrop, and when you slow down, there is much to unpack and admire in the clean and meticulous way everything is built. Scenes are like postcards of graceful understatement, where every beam and slab fits together just so.

- @rd.

Unhallowed - @CyanoBlugron

Doom 2, Boom-compatible, 1 map

un·hal·lowed /ˌənˈhalōd/

  1. not formally consecrated.
    ° unholy; wicked.

Indeed, sleeping deep within the marble, wood, and rock of this place, lies a foul evil that must be eradicated before it completely consumes everything in its wake, awoken by forces that may never be known to us. Despite the gentle, earthy tones of this mysterious compound, there is nothing gentle about Cyano’s epic one-map wonder. Faces etched into stone peek from behind verdant greenery as you make your way up the first set of well-worn marble stairs, catching your first glimpse of something greater, a great tree sitting in the center of a vibrant oasis. From there, deep, dark caves hold secrets guarded fiercely by hell’s denizens, making the task of finding your way through this sometimes labyrinthine place less than easy, but well worth the effort. 

Despite the grandness of the scenery in the sightlines of this map, Cyano ensures no space is wasted, creating combat encounters both terrifyingly claustrophobic or largely-scaled, multi-staged fights that despite their immensity feel precisely choreographed. From the get-go, there is no time wasted showing the map’s teeth, Cyano making smart use of vertical space and staircases to create a simple yet elegant encounter mixing imps and a single archvile. The map’s general openness often works to its advantage to this end, the archviles sprinkled throughout the map able to create all kinds of extra chaos, doing their damndest to ensure that you never reach the end. Even in the wide open spaces of the last climb to the building marked by the great golden flags of death, Cyano creates a great visage of fear with a cloud of cacodemons hurtling toward you, a last-ditch effort to stop you from reaching the hallowed chambers within. Lined with golden finery and rich, blood-red flags, the last arena especially shows Cyano’s aptitude for the insane, a hectic but well-paced slaughterfest with quite a few surprises and plenty of action to have the map go out with a bang. 

While this is only a single map, it is, within itself, quite the journey, taking its time without meandering too much or feeling uneven in pace. Although it is structured in a relatively arena-to-arena type fashion, there’s plenty of variance in the way each arena is structured to feel fresh and new each time, some even implementing an interesting puzzle-like structure that requires precise and decisive movements. It’s certainly got something for everyone, and Cyano has done well to balance this map, creating a unique and challenging experience for both experienced and amateur players alike. 

- @Major Arlene

I.H.N.I. Episode 1 - @Kraja

Doom 2, GZDoom, 3 maps

Early on, I.H.N.I. presents itself as an effects showcase, and the rain and the rolling fog of the moonlit city, which encircle a corpse-laden parking lot you certainly don't belong in, definitely sell that impression. But as pretty and showy as this is, there is more to it.

The first hints might be after you shoot barrels to blow a hole in the building's door and squeeze in, to the sight of arcade game terminals behind all the rubble and eerie desolation of the lobby. The blue key -- oddly unguarded -- opens a cozy power terminal where a fallen marine lies near a toolbox, tiny sector-detail screwdrivers scattered around, a small drawer open to a vice hand-crafted to surprising detail. In another room, domestic objects like books and clocks and coffee mugs are still present, but their owners are dead, and the question of what went down is temporarily answered when zombies start reanimating off the lobby floor. And this is just one of two briefer tone-setters leading up to the expansive non-linear adventure at the heart of the mystery. 

I.H.N.I. is so compelling because it sure feels like every slice of the experience was painstakingly outfitted with reasons to entertain -- animated by the creative energy present in the best of vanilla and ZDoom alike. It all really takes off in "Site Omega," where during quiet moments, you can submerge in the creepy Doom 64–like ambiance: the glowing lights, the abyssal views, the hums and thrums of unseen machinery, the gory props that hint at and flesh out some darker story. These moments are bound to be interrupted, though, and in Kraja's pyrotechnic world, monster closets don't simply spring open pneumatically; your pursuers are so eager they break through the walls, leaving rubble and dust in their wake; mancubi fall from the ceiling and flatten metal beams with their weight. These dramatic entries segue into battles that might have been fillery afterthoughts in the late 2000s equivalent of this mod; here they are well-paced counterparts for Kraja's punchy new weapons. The 3D web of metal bars and air-sealed glass tunnels far above the ground aren't just for show; you occasionally navigate them and even move the architecture around as soft spatial puzzles. The pyrotechnics are periodically offset by cute gizmos and easter eggs that I couldn't help but clip for friends. But these detours don't undercut the darker parts of the mood, either. Because what could be creepier than a deeply human world, all of its cherished trinkets still intact, being overrun by a mystifying evil.

- @rd.