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Although you've seen these textures a million times before, Double Impact's core focus is on old-school Ult Doom combat. Expect traps, shotgun duels, and a lot of pinkies. Fights are fast and intense without ever feeling frustrating or impossible. While Double Impact's large, nonlinear levels may not dazzle players at every turn, they're never confusing and they keep fights interesting. There's a misaligned texture or two every once in a while, but it adds to that KDITD charm. The levels feel familiar without ever feeling like they were copy-pasted from the IWAD. That said, it's worth mentioning that Double doesn't carry over Ult Doom's atmosphere or occasional spookier tone. Combat is the centerpiece of this E1 replacement. While some fights might rub certain players the wrong way, Double Impact does a lot to keep its combat interesting and intense. If you've grown tired of confusing switch hunts and the SSG's long reload time, Double Impact will remind you why you fell in love with Doom's run-and-gun gameplay. Played in PrBoom+ (complevel 3), UV, pistol starts, with saves.

It's tough, moody, and vanilla-compatible. Excellent use of IWAD textures and a nice soundtrack make this Episode 2 replacement very compelling and definitely worth a play for vanilla purists. E2M3 is a particular standout although I really didn't care for E2M8. That said, totally worth a download. Played in PrBoom+ (complevel 3), UV, pistol starts, with saves.

If you like your Doom levels to play out like a series of intense combat puzzles, then this is certainly up your alley. BG throws a lot of enemies but not a lot of resources so if you do want to play on UV, I'd recommend playing continuously. Pistol starting every level may turn BG from a challenging megawad into a punishing one. To keep the player on their toes, BG likes to ambush the player with monster closets and teleport spawns. Unfortunately, BG likes its teleport spawns too much as there instances when the player is ambushed by sudden imps while a pinkie teleports behind them. Even for a Doom megawad, BG plays this card too often. While the levels never really wowed me, they deftly elicit that vanilla Doom vibe without becoming a DTWiD clone or repeating structures from the IWADS. They're also on the smaller side, which means that they don't meander and getting lost is never a problem. Although BG likes it crowds, I never saw the monster count ever exceed the high 200s. Tough fights in smaller levels is BG's bread and butter. If you can overlook its overreliance on teleport ambushes, BG is a worthwhile megawad especially for vanilla Doom fans. It's vanilla compatible, feels like Ultimate Doom without being a lookalike, and plays much tougher. While it may not suit everyone's taste, BG is sure to have its fans.

Possibly my favorite Ultimate Doom megawad. Although its first half feels like DTWID, it quickly becomes a much more twisted and demented take on the familiar techbase/hell aesthetic. Expect well hidden secrets, tight corridors, and some tough encounters in large, complex levels. In keeping with Ult Doom's tone, NaturalTvventy layers the atomphere on thick to create levels that feel genuinely hostile and evil, even more so than in the original. If you have a soft spot in your heart for the original Ultimate Doom, this megawad is a must play. NEIS makes you realize how rock solid the original Doom formula is, even without the SSG and revenants.