Miasma

In Greek mythology, a miasma is a contagious force with an independent life of its own. This wonderfully detailed and disturbingly abstract environment is dominated by the color green, yet it combines many different themes, which flow into one another seamlessly as the player peels back Miasma's many layers during exploration. This... place is huge. Oppressive open areas and treacherous tight quarters await the brave, keeping them alert at all times, and making them feel weak and fragile.

Miasma is as much a piece of art and ingenuity as it is about gameplay variety. If there was something like "the everything map", Miasma more than deserves to be considered as such. Tourniquet managed to constantly mix up the gameplay in this non-linear microcosm: from exploration to close quarters combat to slaughter, all of which is delivered with many brilliantly executed and varied nuances. No encounter feels like the previous one, adding even more to the impression that this place is looking to get rid of you by any means necessary. That's not to say the map plays unfair. On the contrary, there is a reliable solution for everything here. However, if you want to see everything this green behemoth has on offer, I suggest saving your progress occasionally during your first, or maybe even second playthrough, in particular when playing on UV difficulty. Miasma can take well over 30 minutes to finish, even for quite experienced players, and dying 20 minutes into the map to then start it all over again may be unpleasant.

Encounter design throughout the map is consistently at high quality. Nicely orchestrated small encounters with impeccable thing placement create about as much psychological pressure as the relatively large scale encounters which take place in the deepest bowels of this festering abomination. The pacing is top notch every time; nothing ever feels boring, tedious, or uninteresting, let alone trivial.

When it comes to resources, you will be kept on a relatively short leash. Matching the visual theme of the map, players are going be limited to green armour for significant periods of time. When you get hit, it will hurt. In spite of the relatively low Archvile/Cyberdemon count when compared to other maps with roughly 1000-1500 monsters, the opposition is potentially lethal, and mistakes will get punished severely. Tourniquet is reasonably generous with firepower. You will always be given a little bit more than you might need, but never so much as to allow for an overall wasteful or careless play-style. Many encounters, especially early on, but also a bit later down the line, are designed around SSG/RL use and quick thinking paired with a good tactical approach on the player's end. As a consequence of limited resources, the creatively hidden secrets in Miasma are not only meaningful, but they also feel very rewarding to discover. Some secrets require a good eye; others can be found by way of hearing "something" happen.

I was more than pleasantly surprised by this astonishing masterpiece. It is one of the best Dooming experiences I have had.

Very nice and fun exploration map.

Miasma may not be the first of the supermaps, but it remains one of the more notable ones. With the green and brown aesthetic prevalent with certain notable slaughterfests, but with difficulty mostly toned down to compensate enough so that casuals can enjoy something, Miasma offers enough enjoyment for just about every playing field. Casuals will find some fights difficult, particularly the last one in the map, but they'll find enjoyment in most other ones. Speedrunners can have fun finding a good route to get keys with, while secret hunters and explorers will be looking in every nook and cranny for anything they can find. At least two BFG9000s would help, both however are challenges in their own right. The music for The Mucus Flow compliments this amazingly green map, and everything in this level flows fluidly so that even if you want to get lost, you will still find your way around things easily.