Doom 2 in Spain Only - @Tarnsman et al

Doom 2, vanilla, 32 maps

In March, new user @Trustworthy Software unloaded a megawad on the forums, proudly bragging with the help of Google Translate that "it has 32 exciting new levels of destruction. These famous authors include Juan Romero, El Pedersen and South America McGee."

The suspiciously appealing screenshots and knowing replies from long-time members quickly tipped off that Trustworthy Software was a front for Tarnsman, deep in the last act of showing how ridiculously far he'd go to flesh out a silly concept. It might sound absurd, but a throwaway pun on Doom 2 in Name Only really did give life to a whole megawad -- one that opens with salsa variants of Doom 2 music and mangled map names like "Entrada" and "El Foco." 

As surprised as some forum-goers were, Tarnsman had one last trick to spring: this Doom 2 bootleg was one of the most well-rounded experiences of the year.

While playing, if you're curious about the map names and translate them in reverse, you'll spot that the butchering is used for more than quick laughs. 

That is the inner beauty of Doom 2 in Spain Only, and what immediately makes it so clever. The twisted names inform the map's broad gimmick or angle, which then shapes the structure or gameplay or props. Along the way, desert Spain bleeds into the overall look and worldbuilding through earthy tones and gritty surfaces...and lots of wine. Throughout this, everything retains the stamp of the original map slot, sometimes in a loose physical sense, sometimes through a metaphor or unexpected reference -- sometimes even through a ruthless dunk. There's a lot going on, and somehow it feels effortless. 

A simple example is how "The Inmost Dens" becomes "Las Antros Mas Intimos" -- "The Most Intimate Clubs" -- a water stronghold broadly similar to the original, but more tightly scaled and home to what else but a dance club with small heart-adorned bedrooms (use your imagination). The wordplay peaks in the super secret map, which is literally a play on words -- every line in the song christening it has been translated into a gameplay scenario, which, not surprisingly, is often ridiculous. 

You're soon propelled not just by the punchlines but also by the core gameplay they tag along with. The combat freely shifts between countless gears, ranging from eccentric and high concept -- with outlandish scenarios that torment you in truly inspired ways -- all the way to entertaining strains of bread-and-butter conflict that take more after Plutonia. In doing so, it rivals just about any "do more with less" mapset out there in how craftily, or cruelly, it can choreograph smaller bands of monsters, whether in enclosed set pieces or in open organic spaces -- and how well it can spin tense, well-paced experiences out of that. Since many of the raw layouts and guest contributions came from authors with a good mind for structure, Doom 2 in Spain Only can be fun to navigate, with an unexpectedly rich sense of place. The visuals are often striking in their exotic, sometimes deranged abstraction, and overall the whole thing succeeds even as a serious take on the expanded D2TWiD metaverse home to wads like Syringe (or as Trustworthy Software called it, "Injection"). Even if none of the gags register for you, the chain of distortions -- that long game of conceptual telephone where every call leaves its mark -- creates a richly layered experience that can be enthralling, atmospheric, and unsettling even more often than it's humorous. 

Although let's be real: it's really fucking funny too.

- @rd.

Atmospheric Extinction - @Velvetic

Doom 2, Boom-compatible, 9 maps

In the throes of a dying world, the void threatens to swallow it whole- the atmosphere around it closing tighter and tighter. Atmospheric Extinction follows this journey through many different places, from rustic to futuristic, all becoming overgrown and overtaken by nature, or in some cases, something much more sinister. While much of the first episode explores fare that may seem normal on the surface, the forces that be culminate in Reality Binder, the ending map of the second episode, explores the fracturing of not just this world, but many.

From the get-go, Velvetic wastes no time ensuring that these maps not only look amazing, but sets up strong combat that is equal parts challenging and balancing, ebbing and flowing in excellent pace with the scale of the maps. From the epic sight lines of Royalty, to the tenseness of The Twelve Angry Archviles Monarchs, every map brings fresh combat configurations, from claustrophobic halls with a well-placed hitscanner to wide, grand marble arenas that throw the kitchen sink at you.

Not only did Velvetic create great combat and visuals- he also created a great OST. A seasoned musician since at least 2015 in projects such as NOVA II and the Revolution! MIDI Pack, Velvetic demonstrates great flexibility in genre, from the 80’s synth vibes of “Installation” for the techbase map Devour & Saturate, to the strong metal riffs of “Black Mountain”, showing its teeth in the later maps. 

So, go, defeat the Reality Binder- this nine map journey is an incredible trip into a somber, strange world in need of saving. This first entry back from a four year hiatus is a welcome sight, and I can only hope for more from Velvetic. 

- @Major Arlene

Infraworld: Coma Moonlight - @StormCatcher.77

Doom 2, GZDoom, 1 map

It may well be 2021's worst kept secret, but this has been a packed year for Doom mods. Such a wide range of different maps and mods makes it hard to determine what to play, let alone what to come back to. So what if I told you that Infraworld: Coma Moonlight is so outstanding that, for a very brief moment, it might make one forget that any other 2021 release has ever existed?

The first location you'll be whisked away to upon starting your adventure is a series of caves that go every which way, but as go you around, up, and about you'll quickly come to realize the scale of the structure you're visiting, a giant tower encased in stone, forever floating in the purple sky. Verticality is the name of the game here, as the tunnels eventually give way to the tower's external platforms and interior hallways, all beautifully constructed through portals, 3d floors, and pure mapping wizardry. Navigating the tower is not limited to hopping on the rocks surrounding it, going up staircases or lifts, but several jumping pads are available not only for reaching new areas but also to quickly get back into your position should you ever fall down into the depths below. The map does a remarkable job at slowly revealing the scale of your surroundings, for only after a good portion of the building has been explored will you be able to fully take in the magnitude of the environments - a considerable accomplishment given the unusual progression flow. In this sense Coma Moonlight feels especially intricate, almost sculpted, perhaps best evinced by the perspective gained upon reaching the upper halls, with one coming to understand that the caves and galleries we passed through earlier were not just an introductory area, but the natural foundations of the tower the player has been ascending.

Above all else, Coma Moonlight's greatest triumph lies in how its unorthodox progression never gets in the way of intelligent layout construction, non-linear exploration, and well-paced fights: in fact, it complements them all. The rooms are ultimately logically interconnected and painless to navigate, not to mention staggeringly beautiful. The dazzling interiors are ornate and breathtaking, the lighting work masterful throughout, and the sheer scale of the external areas contain some of the better scenic views in recent memory. The monsters guarding this realm are well utilized throughout, with lost souls prowling through the rocky exterior, mancubi guarding the larger rooms, revenants and spectres eager and willing to ambush you, and obviously, the verticality is not lost on the combat either. And just when you think you've explored everything in your pursuit of the three runes required to exit, a new area leading back to the beginning reveals itself, with an ornate chapel and shadowy paths, indicating that there is more to this world than the lone monolith.

Stormcatcher.77 has always impressed with his extreme versatility as a mapper, and if Infraworld - The Hatehammer was an excellent start to the series, Coma Moonlight truly propels it to untold heights. Should you decide to visit this fascinating realm, the ascent to the great tower is bound to become one of your more unforgettable journeys for this year, and hopefully, for years to come too.

- @Dynamo

URE2020 - @Zylinderkatze

Ultimate Doom, vanilla, 9 maps

Unexpected Retro Experience. Few titles so accurately and succinctly describe their host material, for Zylinderkatze’s unique masterpiece is certainly Unexpected, undeniably Retro, and very much an Experience.

Early last year, Zylinderkatze, armed with modern tools and a quarter-century of hindsight, set about a grand reimagining of his old work. A holistic transformation insued, touching every aspect of the source material. High-concepts were retained, but their physical manifestation was altered significantly, in some cases beyond the point of recognition; barren, flat-lit rooms overhauled into immaculately-detailed and illuminated spaces, brutalist ashwall edifices reshaped into subtle naturalist landscapes and naive, unfocused layouts refined and organically expanded into interconnected, thematically holistic spaces. 

In the course of this transformation, Doom’s limited texture palette was stretched to its limits, coaxed into portraying all manner of gizmos and environs, betraying a fanatical attention to detail on the part of the author that touches every facet of the set’s design and execution. The whimsical, unpredictable and concept-oriented design of the source material was retained and further enhanced by the author’s increased understanding of the engine. Convoluted progression, obscure secrets and devious puzzles abound, in stark defiance of today’s design sensibilities.

The end result of this transformation is one of my favourite wads released this year: a wonderful adventure, spanning nine varied maps and a range of familiar-yet-alien locales. Each map is a distinct experience, in length, difficulty and especially theme. Some, like M1, are brilliant examples of pseudo-realism: spaces so grounded in their presentation that they feel almost like real places, whilst retaining the appealing abstraction that idtech1 is so adept at fostering. Others, such as M6, are far more abstract, intent on tormenting the player with their other-worldly design and deranged gimmickry. Most maps lie somewhere between these two extremes, resulting in a healthy stylistic balance that keeps the set interesting all the way through to the end. 

URE2020 is a truly unique work, a reimagining of an antediluvian artifact, recontextualizing age-old design sensibilities into a work of progressive retro-media, innovative in its embrace of limitation and a testament to the author’s visionary mind.

- @Omniarch

Arrival - @Pavera

Doom 2, limit-removing, 9 maps

Pavera's output has long been a tease: over the last ten years, he hasn't released a great deal more than ten maps, mid-length romps spread through works like Back to Saturn X and Doom 2 the Way id Did. Two standalone maps in 2017 that would later become part of Arrival were a tantalizing hint at the future, and for many, the thirst was kept manageable, but not fully satisfied, with another pair in last year's Syringe. Well, for all you Pavera junkies, and for those who don't know you are one yet, that long wait is over.

What makes Arrival magical is how unconscious playing it can be, how so many threads of the game's raw appeal are united in one smooth experience. Like some bigger, badder take on classic Doom -- Doom 2 the Way id Did's forms upscaled to imposing monoliths -- you're cruising through these tangled paths, with more supplies than you can waste, with one bloody melee erupting after another. The atmosphere is crushing, as the early facilities and their cooler colors shift with passing days to shadowy ruins of wood, metal, and dirt; then finally to bleaker, more hostile forms: bastions bound by lava or transfigured into flesh. No matter the place, the playgrounds are intricate but spacious knots of ledges, catwalks, cliffs, and pools. To stand at a crossroads within one is to be flanked or swarmed, to be tugged between countless options, but to find any improvised set of actions fluid and kinetic, like a dance. All the while, composer AD_79's soundtrack is less a backdrop to that dance, and more a partner. Sometimes it mirrors a map's pace and attitude or even anticipates how you might play; sometimes it hovers delicately between moods, suiting both quiet and lively moments and the frequent shifts between them. Fitting, because whether you want to soak in the ambiance or satisfy your bloodlust, little ever holds you back.

Little ever holds Pavera back. There's something not just unconscious but unselfconscious about all of this, the way he delights in joyfully chaotic brawls that are pretty much engineered to be dopamine rushes. Playing can be euphoric, like an eternal thrill ride. Across all the peaks and valleys, intensity becomes a greater rhythm and song. You feel how some maps climax in the middle and then descend gently like codas; how some idle in mellowness until flaring into sharp, debauched bursts; how some start hot and keep rising, and rising, and rising. 

At the end of this journey, you could look at the green sun over the barren world and feel that what has arrived is not just Pavera's long-coveted homecoming, but a promise present long ago in the original game, finally fulfilled. Because though the raw materials are hardly new, the wisdom brought to bear is a modern artifact -- and at the tail of it, Arrival stands as one of the best works ever at letting you revel in the simple joys of the Doom engine. 

- @rd.

Old Still Life - @Rednov

Doom 2, Boom-compatible, 12 maps

Emerging unheralded out of the inky black, Old Still Life is a fascinating blend of influences both old and new. Rednov's keen eye for lighting, texture selection, and baroque representational detail combine with a thoroughly grim and despondent mood reminiscent of Russian surrealism ala Sacrament or A.L.T. in its air of post-apocalyptic desolation, though the aesthetic bent here is more persistently gothic in tone. One of the most unrepentantly gloomy presentations in recent memory in both a very literal sense and an emotive one, the mapset's atmosphere is thick with foreboding and an ethereally sorrowful quality, and above all the travails of navigating its vexing labyrinths hangs a palpable impression that none of this can end well, that you're not the hero here. That doesn't mean you aren't in for an epic journey into darkness all the same.

That is, provided you can figure out how to depart the remote space station where it all begins. Or, hell, even how to leave the very first area. While its overall character is amorphous and difficult to pin down, Old Still Life is arguably a puzzle set foremost, and wanderers drawn into its depths will inevitably find themselves drifting from place to place in search of progress, like forgotten ghosts in search of reason. The nature of the riddles varies -- many are purely navigational or orientative in nature, but some involve cyphers or codes, while others require acute perception of minute visual clues or a keen recognition of opportunities for traversing an environment in unconventional ways. These quiet, often emphatically protracted periods of puzzle-solving allow ample time to soak in the aura of melancholy and creeping dread, before swerving into flash encounters with your fellow damned balanced on the knife-edge of survival, which land with all of the visceral impact of the greenstick snap preceding every gallows dance. Short pacer maps with a more immediate focus on tense action dot the adventure, ranging in content from carefully staged battles to bizarre gauntlets to be run. Soon enough, though, it's back to the puzzles, back to the brooding. For a time.

This contrast is genuinely affecting. To a modern and casual audience, Doom is conceived of primarily as a power fantasy, and even insider content tends to revolve heavily around the axes of mechanical and tactical mastery, and the empowerment and confidence that comes with them. Old Still Life is different, and will remind you of something that many of us who've spent our lives inhabiting the realm of Doom have all but forgotten: what it feels like to be.....well, doomed.

- @Demon of the Well