The Classic Episode

At a time when the Doom mapping well was running dry and source ports had made it possible to steal ideas wholesale from "Quake II" and "Half-Life", the humble and aptly-named Classic Episode was released. While it was made by the same authors of "The Darkening E1", The Classic Episode outclasses both it and its overhyped sequel in terms of gameplay.

Sure, the maps are nothing more than the same tired IWAD tropes we've seen countless times before, particularly in E2M3 "The Deimos Complex". However, it is precisely this lack of pretensions why The Classic Episode works so well. It's an episode that plays in the vintage style, but with the massive leaps in quality that came with years of experience in the Doom community. The maps work well, have impeccable balancing, and provide a damn good difficulty curve throughout the 9 levels. E2M9 "Dissension" in particular is the highlight of the episode, which is probably why they made the secret exit in E2M5 so stupidly obvious in the first place.  E2M7 "A Place of Sin" is also stellar, seamlessly merging "Pandemonium" with "And Hell Followed".

I wouldn't say it's the best or most faithful IWAD-style levelset ever created, as I still feel fondness for 1995's "Fava Beans". In terms of sheer fun factor, however, The Classic Episode delivers in spades.

The Classic Episode is very likely to be forgotten in time nowadays, but it's one of the few add-on packs to be used for Compet-N, which means it has some recognition that way. of course, it's by far the most obscure of those Compet-N add-ons, but back in the day it sure wasn't. people outright thought this was a worthwhile episode replacement (the only one out of all the addons for Doom 1 I may add).

when you look at Classic Episode on the surface, it's really nothing much. no new textures, no new monsters, the layouts aren't really as exciting as what you could expect from modern wads. BUT THAT'S EXACTLY WHY IT IS CALLED CLASSIC EPISODE, ISN'T IT? it aimed only for the classic style of Doom that had the same run-and-gun action and atmosphere as the original Doom. Thus, the level layouts aren't amazing and aren't designed to be amazing, they're made to just be normal levels, without any gimmicks really. only E2M8 seemed to have one with the way the teleporters and locked doors were set up, but the gameplay isn't all that different from Classic Doom.

if you wanna take a break from all the fancy schmancy Zandronum/Zdoom/Boom maps of the modern age, this can be right up your alley. there's many episode replacements like this one old and new but this has aged considerably well and its gameplay is a great reminder of the original game in every way.