Veeda Vidlak

Map30 “Cosmology” by Dragonfly and Antares031 We have reached the end at last and like the first time we have an angelic monstrosity to take down. I actually wasn’t aware the Archangelus was a contentious custom boss until very recently, I’ve always thought the ending was fine. Upon hitting the switch our adversary, The Origin, unfolds its wings and I already have to say the spritework is much improved. This first phase is straightforward, dodge projectiles and hide when the vile flames show up (he curls his wings). It fires some homing shots when you do so don’t hold still. Otherwise just be aware that some of his other projectiles home in as well. After this we get a rather gratuitous intermission against a big mass of astralcacos. Without the BFG this felt like work, it takes a while to grind them out and they’re no threat whatsoever. Second verse same as the first, it’s noticeably more aggressive but otherwise the same tactics work. One notable difference is that The Origin can lower parts of the arena into lava, which traps you there for a bit if you aren’t careful. You get a couple seconds of advance warning so no excuses! After this phase we get another intermission with nightmare cacodemons which unlike the first wave present some danger. I would recommend not engaging these spastic mofos until they’re all centered, just focus on where they’re coming in above you at first. The final phase is the most interesting, The Origin now frequently teleports (usually behind you) and avoiding damage is incredibly hard. It adds a BFG blast to its arsenal and can summon statue shooters like in Struggle. You want to end this phase quickly so the attacks I like the most are the ones in which it holds still for a bit. Once it’s down the level, and Eviternity II, is over. Take a stroll through the lovely credits map to celebrate. Final thoughts: Eviternity was a landmark megawad, even getting some mainstream coverage if I recall correctly. It did everything right, aesthetics, difficulty curve, good use of episode themes, memorable design, strong gameplay that never got too out of hand, a ballin soundtrack, and a “that level” super secret map in Anagnorisis. It’s about as tough an act to follow as a doom megawad gets. Eviternity II succeeds in at least matching the original’s quality. Its maps are universally beautiful, fine-tuned, superbly designed, and lacking in random issues. Gameplay never pointlessly brutalizes the player and is lacking in unfair moments. The megawad contains several memorable moments, showcasing MBF21’s strengths. It can also clearly be identified as Eviternity, which I consider a mildly underrated aspect of a good sequel. The expanded bestiary is worth mentioning, Eviternity’s custom monsters were a core aspect of its identity and the same is even more true here. The annihilator’s nerf and the captain’s demotion to corporal weakened these fearsome monsters considerably. The annihilator remained dangerous but the corporals I never found compelling at any point in the megawad, I was calling them pellet gunners for like half the thread. The new astral arachnotrons and mancubi, however, were very dangerous… high dps monstrosities that dominate infighting and laugh at your megaspheres. They give this version of Eviternity a unique vibe with their vibrant projectile spam, a vibe enhanced by the recolored astralcaco fireballs (and nightmare caco ones). The lightshow bullet hells of the Celestial episode were a sight to behold and I’ll probably think of this wad if I see anything similar in the future. There's also the duke of hell but I don't have much to say about him, he's a solid brute that fulfills a role similar to Valiant's pyro knight. Then we have the two monsters I find most interesting, the veilimp and the necromenace. The veilimp is a grade A custom enemy. It’s unpredictable, alarming, fast, and… weak. Much of this monster’s power is in its psychological effect and that is fantastic design. Then on the other end of the rank spectrum we have a boss tier spellcaster that has a ton of potential simply due to its special mechanics. The mass revival means its threat level is dependent on the support around it, which provides boundless design space for encounters. All of this adds up to a levelset I very much enjoyed playing. There were times I was hoping for meatier fights but I was never bored and could not believe some of the sequences getting pulled off here. Eviternity II is a great sequel to a great wad and makes me believe this old ass game still has a community that is alive and well. Cheers to the Eviternity team, you’re all pretty good at this whole doom mapping thing. Favorite Levels: Map32: The first holy shit moment of the wad, Charge remains one of my favorite maps and Velocity is my favorite midi. This was the point I was sold on Eviternity II. Map14: I am firmly convinced Aurelius’s presence elevates any wad he’s in and Equanimity does not suggest otherwise. Map15: My favorite map in terms of gameplay, Rubicon's setpieces are well balanced and are a good example of challenging but not rage-inducing encounters. Map24: The ending sequence is a contender for favorite doom moment of all time. The rest of the level is pretty damn good too. Map26: This map is just all kinds of great. Looks and plays like a jaw-dropper. Map36: Let Ukiro know that his herculean efforts do not go unappreciated. When I want to show my friends what this game is capable of Kenosis is getting added to the very small level list I pick from.

Map36 “Kenosis” by Ukiro Oh where to begin. Kenosis is the colossal penultimate challenge of Eviternity II, its outer area alone one of the most incredible feats of mapmaking I can think of. The compare/contrast with Anagnorisis is interesting because while its clearly reminiscent of it, there's quite a bit of design difference. Anagnorisis was a monstrous, interconnected compound dominated by incidental combat, overwhelming the player with its size and complexity. Kenosis is based around arena combat and sets the player around a ginormous heptagram to complete a circuit leading to a cross-shaped cathedral in the center. Progression is straightforward and there are no secrets (I am ok with this, it cuts like an hour off of secret and enemy hunting I had to do in Anagnorisis). Well let's get moving and... Wow this place looks impressive. It’s also hitting my framerate a bit so hopefully that doesn’t show up at an inopportune moment (it didn’t). The opening archvile dance gives a good idea of what we’re in for, their cubbyholes are constantly opening and closing in a circular pattern and we need to hit some switches and bail before we get attritioned out. It’s very much a warmup so you’re in for a rough time if this place is causing problems. I went to the westernmost point first and was given an SSG to battle hordes of astralcacos, nightmare demons, revenants, and elevated annihilators. Fun! Also easy, just circle the outer area and nothing ever hits you. Next, I head south into a small fortification to get the RL and find myself surrounded by hundreds of lost souls (with an invul). I’m feeling an in joke here, although the joke is clearly on me because this epic skull slaughter knocked a mighty eight enemies off the monster count. Only 2662 to go! And then some number fewer because a bunch of veilimps harassed me on the way out. Pretty dangerous actually, they managed to hand me an L the first time (Side note: don’t come here first, the SSG was important). Let’s try going east, this large brick blood dungeon thing looks neighborly. I guess it is from a certain point of view, we get to play hide and seek with archies to a crowd of adoring corporals. Good thing I have the rocket launcher and not just the wimpy chaingun given here. I’ll hit these switches and… gah! What is with all the lost souls in this level!? Look at this madlad inflating a monster count of 2777. At least I lowered it by more than single digits this time. So I head north and… vile purrs, great. Oh never mind, they’re caged in little pillars that move up and down, that’s not a problem. Maybe it would be if I was less well armed but the pain elementals, imps, and caged archviles pose no threat with my current arsenal. Neither do the revenants and mancs in the next step. The final wave with the astralcacos is harder, but there’s plenty of space. Just don’t fall in the little crevasse and everything will be fine. Next, I’ll head due west to the northwestern section, which is a neat little platforming puzzle with a problematic cyber and a number of astralmancs and astralarachnos. You need to raise cybie’s podium and slip past him to advance (distracting him with the lightshow bros can help). It’s clever but I wish I didn’t have to reset the platform to climb back up when doing the last section. Don’t fall I guess? There’s plenty of megaspheres in case you take a rocket… and don’t try to kill the cyber, he respawns so it’s a waste of ammo. And for the final section we’ve got a little circular arena to the southeast featuring a cyberdemon and a crusher that goes around like a wheel. I like this one, the pace is just right not to be a pain and you get a plasma to hose him down in a reasonable amount of time. The dukes afterwards are a threat so duck into one of their closets quickly to avoid shenanigans. And now with the heptagram done, lets go see what’s in this impressive looking cross-shaped cathedral in the middle. What a beauty. Except this mar on the mosaic in front, that looks amiss. Anyway, we’ve got more arenas at the cross points so let's go kill more demons. The two edges are pretty similar though I definitely found the east one scarier. It’s a lot more hectic and hard hitting with all the astralcacos compared to the slower paced one to the west. Then we have the fleshy pit to the south that reminds me of an encounter in Slaughterfest2012 of all things. It was for a blue key and had a row of archviles in the center that would immolate me unless I stayed glued to the wall they were standing on. Might have been map24. This one is much easier, I just killed them all with the rocket launcher before hitting any of the switches. Made the rest of the fight stress free. By the way the inverted cross sequence transforming the cathedral into a corpse filled death pit is metal as fuck. And yes, now we get the big finale, which is yet another highlight moment of the wad. Hitting the now accessible upper switch gives a perforator and a gnarly transformation sequence in which the cross on the far side inverts, the windows blow out into swirly bloody portals, and nearly 2000 zombiemen corpses get spewed onto the floor. What is this for? Why the final battle against a bunch of viles and necromenaces of course! I love this fight, the perforator is perfect for this encounter, carving through revived cannon fodder and one-shotting viles from a quarter mile away. Focus on archviles first and necromenaces (necromenaci?) second, big time custom boss or not the vile will always be the bigger threat. And that's Kenosis, a magnificent beast of a magnum opus. Wait... is this his magnum opus? Or is, ya know, Anagnorisis Ukiro's magnum opus (yes he made both). Can someone have two magnum opuses? Whatever, this map is everything I wanted to see for a sendoff to Evi II's secret levels. Grandiose and jaw-dropping in scale and aptitude. As for difficulty? Well, not too bad actually. None of the arenas are unfair and you're given plenty of resources to overcome mistakes (would you believe me if I said all but one of my deaths was to falling off the rocks between sections like an idiot?) I think the rocket launcher skull parade followed by veilimp ambush is the hardest encounter, though what order you approach them in makes a big difference. Awesome, one more to go which I will have tomorrow before the month is out.

I’ll post Kenosis tomorrow, I’ll need to get to bed before that behemoth is finished. Map29 “Maelstrom” by Dragonfly Sunlust veterans will no doubt bristle upon loading the penultimate map but have no fear. Maelstrom is in line with the design philosophy of the rest of Eviternity II and with the exception of a secret fight doesn’t present an inordinate challenge. First things first, there is a blue armor behind the SSG shrine, I’ll throw that one out for free. After a handful of troublesome but singular monsters we get the first and in my opinion toughest non-optional encounter of the map. Upon grabbing the RL all three passages open with each one containing a pair of revs and four hell knights. You want to quickly blow through one of the packs to duck into a passage, and while the barred secret exit works, I would not pick the northern one, you draw out more trouble than you want. After this you have the usual incidental fighting and a few key fights that aren’t any harder than what we’ve generally been getting. The red key lets loose copious amounts of caco and astralcaco fun so make sure you’re well stocked before you trigger it. The yellow key gives the enemy the high ground but unlike Anakin we all know how to handle that. The secret necromenace arena to the west is a kid’s glove fight for sure, you’re given plenty of time to down him before reinforcements arrive. The cyberdemon tag team for the blue key would have been challenging if you had to ride lifts or something to get out of there. Instead, it’s a timed arena before stairs rise, so you don’t actually have to kill them before the damaging floor does you in. And we can leave now but… oh… right there’s a secret exit on this map. To reach it we have a second secret necromenace fight to the east and this one is the real deal. Not a lot of space, many hell knights, imps, and we’re stuck with the rocket launcher and plasma. This is one of the hardest single arenas we’ve had in the entire megawad, it’s tough to get prolonged damage on the necromenace and easy to get cornered by hell knights. I find a bit of patience goes a long way; everything is getting revived anyway so instead of trying to brute force it try to move around until the nobles are all on one side… then move to the other so the faster necromenace advances alone. Maelstrom is a good semifinal but the restrained combat and presence of the secret exit make things clear. Map36 is going to be the big boy challenge of Eviternity II and Dragonfly is telling us to only advance that way if we dare. The nasty necromenace secret is his way of giving us fair warning.

Map28 “Afterimage” by Velvetic Everyone calling this a breather level is very interesting to me. It took eight attempts to single-segment Afterimage while the last map didn’t kill me at all. The core of the map is similar to many of Dragonfly’s, we have two keys that may be acquired in any order, a secret BFG, and mostly incidental combat. It doesn’t look particularly hard at first glance, pretty much the entirety of the map remains accessible for all but a couple (sedate) encounters. However, the incidental combat is far nastier than anything we’ve gotten so far. Astralcacos and dukes of hell everywhere, viles backing them up, low-lit irregular terrain… Without a surplus of healing artifacts a bad break like getting caught under an astralcaco likely ends the run. And I wasn’t even having ammo issues, I never found it scarce on any attempt. Then we have the necromenace at the end which I found to be a major roadblock. Rush him and a good number of astral and nightmare cacos home in and pulverize you while killing him. Take your time and his ghosts whittle you down. Ultimately, I found the best plan is to save that secret soulsphere for this part so you can run up there with 200/200. That was enough to survive the cacos and clean up the rest. Afterimage is well made and seems calibrated in its recovery and combat (and ammo apparently). It is, for me at least, the most difficult map so far this episode and a fearsome setup for the penultimate level.

Map27 “Empyreal” by DMPhobos and Dragonfly The second map of the last act starts with an intense encounter against nm cacos, astralmancs, and viles with revs and astralcacos joining in once the walls open. This opening fight looks scarier than it is, the astralmancs seem to draw everyone’s attention with their ridiculous golden bullet storms. You can get the viles caught in them if you watch the manc’s tells, which helps if they’re being uncooperative. After this we have two paths leading to the blue and red keys. Neither path has particularly dangerous combat, its all incremental or brief lock-ins with nonthreatening enemies. The east one does have a snug drop-down nm demon/duke rink so make sure you have the plasma ready for that. The west side also has a tougher encounter but its not on the main path… it’s in a secret found at the top after the hexagon platforms. Upon grabbing the (very important) BFG a bunch of annihilators with backup warp in on the passage back, putting up a fair bit of resistance. With both keys in hand, we may proceed to the final fight, which is in all honesty fairly challenging. As per usual, the constant waves of Eviternity exclusive foes pressure the player with lethal dps so getting stuck is generally immediate death. The real threat, however, is the necromenace that arrives at the finish, with a vile for good measure. His ghosts resurrecting astralcacos and dukes is so much scarier than the pitiful monsters from Boreas. Having the BFG is crucial for him and the battle in general, it turns an absolute nightmare arena into a “merely” moderately difficult one. Oh, and if you wait a moment and hit a newly revealed switch you can go to a secret fight with dukes, nm demons, and annihilators in an area with copious amounts of acid floor. I actually find this place pretty harrowing; it’s very fast paced and with all the rockets flying around I’m scared of taking a stray one to the face. So, this map is your more typical late 20s fare after the splendor of the episode opener. It’s still good of course and I like that the major encounters are dynamic, requiring quick decision making to avoid being overwhelmed.

Map26 “Myriad” by Tristan Clark, Guardsoul, and Dragonfly The end of the week wasn’t fun. Here’s Friday’s map and I’ll have the two weekend ones written up sometime in the next 24 hours. The commencement of the last episode is as grandiose as any opener I can recall, featuring an immense battle chamber and six side areas with their own subtheme. Said chamber has an intimidating exotic color/magitek/inhuman high-technology architecture like in Sunlust or modern slaughtermaps and our authors do not see fit to subvert expectations in that regard. We start with an unsettling trek across some starry rocks, overflowing with pools of acidic green fluid. We eventually find a switch that lowers a colossal… something. What is this god machine apparatus of dark, ancient power? I would only call it “celestial” in the old-testament sense. We can actually trigger the marquee fight now but let’s hold off for the moment. If you do it now you won’t have a bunch of megaspheres or a superweapon, so let’s explore these six side areas that are labeled with a word describing what to expect. I’ll start with Endure, which knocks you to 1 hp then pits you against imps and troopers (DFF does this for a full level in Skulltiverse’s “Beyond Life,” a map I very much enjoy). I’m neutral on this one, hitscanners are unkind in this scenario and there’s a lot of ways to die, some which will feel cheap. If playing single segment come here first. Next, we have silence, my pick for second section to do single segment. I am, again, reminded of another map I like (Aurelius’s Ephemeral) as gameplay involves finding “silent” sectors to shoot switches on and not wake up a new cacodemon variant which will obliterate you (I’ll get to them in a bit). It’s nothing fancy until you get to this big dark cavern with specters and nm demons you can’t shoot at without dying horribly. Don’t get pinned and don’t get scammed by a rather nasty nightmare cacodemon ambush at the very end. For the other four I don’t have an order preference but that’s just me. The “evade” section puts us on a platform and surrounds us with enemies to dodge until the teleporter lowers for us to leave (and they all get crushed). While hundreds of monsters are present, the only two I found dangerous are the astralarachnos spamming deathstreams. I ran around in an awkward to describe pattern and was rarely getting hit, you kind of duck into the lower areas for a bit then scamper up and over to the next one. Don’t be afraid to cross the acid, it doesn’t hurt much (same with falling off). Also, this one might be cheeseable... you can stand on the edges of the teleporters at the bottom and you won't take acid damage. I didn't try it with monsters still around though. The ”destroy” section is classic two-shot cyberdemon practice. BFG, small platforms, four cybers to pass, fought one at a time. Don’t get blown away by ill-timed rockets when jumping to the next platform. The “conceal” section is a Go $#%! Yourself homage, a passageway with viles on each side and a barrier moving with you for cover. There’s also some pain in the ass corporals pecking at you from the opposite end. You get a megasphere so it’s not so bad and I guess if you have the BFG from destroy you can knock a vile or two out. No real need though. And finally, the “passage” section is a puzzle grid with the correct path (rapidly) lighting up every few seconds. A cyberdemon pops up to add some tension but he’s hardly an issue, half the time he’s just shooting into the wall. You could memorize this but there’s no real point besides speedrunning, falling off isn’t lethal. Oh, and each side area has a secret that in tandem opens another secret area with a perforator (and some imp stress relief). It helps quite a bit with our new enemy. So now with megaspheres, a perforator, and no acid to worry about its time to dance. Hitting the exit switch initiates a bona fide slaughterfight against a cornucopia of terrifying foes. Cacos, astralcacos, astralmancs, annihilators, revs, yadayadayada… and of course the new nightmare cacodemon (no cybers or viles though). The most dangerous element of this fight, by far, is not having a rig strong enough to handle the lightshow erupting on screen. It’s pretty spectacular and I remember writing about wanting this all the way back in map01 (thanks guys!) Otherwise, the biggest threats are the nightmare cacos… these guys are brutal. Fast, flying, screeching balls of death with quick-firing projectiles that home in the same way the astralmancs amethyst fireballs do. Remember the perforator? This is why you want it. Landing meaningful BFG tracer or rocket hits against the speedy bastards is incredibly hard, but the perforator plucks them from the sky with ease. I've already prattled on way too long so I'll just say this map is really goddamned good. Every element is done well and it sets the perfect tone for the final chapter.

Ah, that's the method through which everything was getting resurrected. I remember seeing something like this in a recent wad I played (Crusader maybe?) so I'm surprised I didn't notice that. Granted I also didn't notice I had a plasma rifle in my inventory so clearly there were some issues that day.

Map25 “Boreas” by Dragonfly Boss fight! Boreas starts with a slow descent into the heart of this corrupted ice fortress. Dragonfly doesn’t waste time; we get a brief skirmish with some imps before being taken to the main event, an isolated oval platform with two switches on the raised sides and the equivalent of a megasphere plus some medkits for health. Upon triggering both switches the steel box in the center lowers to reveal… The Heresiarch! He’s a bulky fellow that takes some time to kill and attacks by shooting ghosts at you (is… this a Daikatana reference?) Getting hit directly by his Casper projector hurts quite a bit and the ectoplasmic enemies drain your health if they touch you. They don’t linger around for long, but they love to swallow your rockets, so treat them similarly to lost souls in that regard. After downing him a small army shows up. Nothing fancy, but you’ll likely take damage from hitscanners doing hitscanner things. But wait! Just as we’re finishing up another heresiarch appears and displays his real power… necromancy. All these enemies are repeatedly resurrected in his presence and it does not take a lick of his concentration, he’s still spewing out phantoms. It’s not backbreakingly hard but the attrition will kill you, go after him aggressively. The RL, which was risky with him alone, is now probably just a bad choice so stick with the SSG. And don’t let your guard down after its over, a vile and some pinkies approach from the exit area and will gank you if unprepared. Um… actually, you know what, ignore me. Despite playing twice I straight up didn’t notice I had a plasma… just… use that I’m sure it works better. Anyway, as far as boss maps go, I liked this one quite a bit. The enemy is rather unique, and the battle flow was done excellently. Facing the heresiarch alone (with only minor difficulty), then facing what appears to just be a common teleport arena, and finally having a rematch where our new foe shows what he can REALLY do is great gameplay-based storytelling. And the whole time it felt like I was playing Doom and not fighting a gimmick boss. Kudos.

Map24 “Temeraire” by Seongbae Park (antares031) Oh, hell yes. Antares’s presence foretells a good time as anyone who played Struggle could tell you. His lone solo entry, Temeraire, is a sequel to Eviternity’s Frimaire (map14) and improves on an already stellar design to give us one of the banner maps of Eviternity II. Right off the bat rocket that archvile and execute whatever plan you have to make a foothold. You... can stand your ground in the opening area but ammo is tight, and you’d better be a crack shot with the rocket launcher to fend off nm demons, astralcacos, and a pain elemental among other foes. There is an SSG on the ice roughly due east of the starting block and you’ll want that ASAP, it’s crucial for fending off the early rush. Once able to breathe you’ll no doubt notice the obvious parallels with Frimaire. You might also recall that Frimaire had harrowing arena combat and Antares ups the ante for Eviternity II. While the rest of the incidental combat is resting heart rate, none of the three skull key arenas are anywhere near gimmes. Arena fights, we get some damn good ones so put your game face on. We can do them in any order (I think) but the yellow skull one has a secret BFG so I’d recommend that one first. It’s similar to one of Frimaire’s fights, a big circular thunderdome, except this time the starting enemies are a cyberdemon and archviles. You really want to kill those viles quick because after a few seconds the room starts to fill up and you’ll have all sorts of nonsense to deal with (including sniping astralmancs and another cyber). The blue skull key arena (north in the techbase) is actually shown ahead of time, you can see the key and ultimately teleport to it. We get a lock-in fight against waves of various foes, PEs, nm demons, astralcacos, revs, imps, hell-knights… It’s perfectly manageable with the BFG and likely still fine without. You can weaken this one beforehand as well with a nifty secret not far from the red door. Then we have the red skull key arena, which I think is the hardest. It’s an… intimate crate warehouse to the east that constantly floods the place with monsters. Unlike the other two, there is very little room to dodge all the astral projectiles, rev missiles, and nightmare demons clogging everything up. Walk in here with a fully stocked BFG or get ready to gitgud, not much else to say. Now that we have all six keys, take the teleporter and… oop, rip blind run. So here we have a headliner moment of the wad… a cyberdemon blocking a teleporter and his 59 cyberbuddies on the elevated rocks behind him. Running into a deluge of rockets was not the winning strategy but upon getting back here (and saving this time) I found that moving in an erratic oval pattern forward and back wasn’t getting me hit. Upon removing the roadblock, teleport onto Her Majesty’s battleship of supreme awesomeness (holy shit Antares) and make your way up to the fire switch which MOTHERFUCKING BLOWS THEM ALL TO THE SEVENTH CIRCLE OF HELL, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!? What a jaw-dropper. Best moment of the wad. Oh and did I mention this battleship looks phenomenal? Good luck to Jody “Kill-Crazy” Russell on sinking this thing. Yeah… no hyberbole. This map is incredible. Absolutely incredible. Its incidental combat is good, its arena combat is good, its ending is unforgettable, and its classic Antares design is of the highest standard. The crown jewel of what’s looking like the strongest overall episode at the moment.

Map23 “Thaw” by DMPhobos DMPhobos is back! This time taking us through a militarized snowy facility that wouldn’t look out of place in a James Bond film. It's a fun ride and features a nifty bit of storytelling involving "thawing" (that also kicks the gameplay up a notch). We start our incursion into this base by… basically doing whatever we want. The entire map sans key buildings is immediately available and roughly half the monster count serves in the outside garrison. We can play it safe, run around and incite havoc, head straight for the yellow key (southwest), see how many enemies we can get killed playing pacifist… Progression is linear, but it doesn’t really feel like it. Sovereign gave a similar impression, and this “linear sandbox” style is clearly one of DMPhobos’s strengths. Clearing out the main area takes some time and at this point in the wad I will confidently label the corporals as “annoying,” their projectiles are constantly plinking me for minor damage. Nothing presents much threat up until the red switch behind the yellow door, after which the ice starts to melt, long dormant demons start to stir, and DMPhobos starts making concerted efforts to kill us. This fight for the blue key is a cramped arena with a bunch of mid-tiers and dukes of hell have never looked as threatening as they do here. Tactically I find immediately hammering the initial dukes and nm demons with the rocket launcher damages them enough that when the second group starts bearing down I can switch to plasma, sweep aside the remainder of the first wave, and fight everything from their closet with cover. After that we are presented with groups of vile-backed raiding parties in the main area, more lock-in arenas, and astralcaco ambushes. The red key arena with the timed ice walls is an excellent encounter, stranding the player in an increasingly frantic deathpit culminating in annihilators. We also get a little surprise back up top, so don’t let your guard down when the dust has settled (or flee early like I did on my blind run). The final ambush in the exit hallway isn’t too bad but be aware that there is more than one vile group released outside, I think one before and after the red key fight. Also, while I found the annihilator secret from the last episode endearing, I consider the astralcaco secret in this map assholish. You get locked in a tiny closet so if you don’t have the plasma out, you’re probably just straight dead. Lulzy gotcha secret aside, Thaw is an outstanding sandbox just like Sovereign was back in Episode 2. We’ve had some beastly maps this month and DMPhobos has two right up with the best of them.

Map22 “Inclement” by Bauul and Dragonfly Now this is more like it. Bauul and Dragonfly contrast the frigid environment with our hottest start yet, harassing the player with around 130 bodies spread across the main playing area. Carefully working our way forward is not an option, four nightmare demons bear down on us the instant we make a sound. There is one safe space, the icy cavern at the south of the map. You can funnel enemies with the berserk here at the cost of needing to fight on slippery terrain, which I will praise as stellar design (adding complexity to decision making is excellent mapmaking). The energy sags wait nevermind it actually doesn’t. Instead, we switch styles to arena combat. The invul pit is just stress relief but the double caco dance behind the red door can get scary against such an unpredictable enemy. The big one is of course the yellow key trap that serves as the final fight. We get to choose between toughing it out in the hallway under astralarachno fire or running outside and fighting a horde backed by astralcacos. If you’ve been stockpiling plasma it’s pretty trivial to mow down (and is just more stress relief with the secret BFG). The secret exit is on this map, made accessible the same way as Episode one. Three hidden switches around the level will grant entry to a fourth (also hidden) switch which opens the purple door up north to allow the player to go to map35. A bit unimaginative but I thought the execution was better here so it works fine. I do have a minor complaint; navigation was tricky and I spent some time wandering around wondering what I needed to do. Not much, but this is the first level that’s even remotely been an issue. Overall though I’m a fan of Inclement, the wad needed some energy after the previous episode. It isn’t all that hard, but it applies pressure so that we don’t have another “casual stroll” map. A fine outing. Map35 “Parallel” by Dragonfly Our fifth secret level features a new take on the premise of TNT Revilution’s map32 (Duality), which is itself a branch of the Wormhole mapping tree. Essentially, we have a normal map and various ways to visit a hellish version of it, warping back and forth between the two to reach the exit. Mechanically we have these purple flows of viscera that serve as the door between the quaint village and the hellscape. Once in said hellscape, stepping off the purple corruption takes us back. Between both dimensions we have seven or eight switches that raise steps to the exit. Monsters cannot cross between worlds and combat is a mix of incidental and small-scale arena. And unfortunately… I don’t find Parallel all that interesting. In short, not enough was done with the gimmick or the gameplay. The archvile skirmish involving backing out of the immaterium to avoid their magic is clever but lacks depth… I wish the encounter was more tactical. The area with the purple fountain in which we find ourselves trapped in the netherworld could have been a frantic fight for our lives, but the area has too much space and too few enemies to elicit the sense of panic I believe it should. The toughest fight is probably the sweet looking golden sky arena past the yellow door… but the perforator renders it impotent. There’s no “that moment” in this level I can point to as a gameplay highlight and of all the maps so far this is the one I think is hurt most by a lack of menace. Also, while the gameplay is less jarring (and therefore less frustrating) than Duality, I find the design to be less complex. Duality had clever secrets that involved finding ways to get to the alternative dimension from new directions, whereas here that isn’t in play. Giving it some thought, very little is actually done with the parallel dimension theme. Consider this, if every use of the upside down was replaced with one-way doors, pit drops, or other mundane transitions… what changes? I know I just wrote two paragraphs of complaints but in truth there’s nothing inherently wrong with Parallel, it just feels like a missed opportunity. I’d argue a secret map this late in the megawad should be bolder with its gameplay. Fielding 215 monsters, weighted towards clumps of imps, does not inspire fear.

I see what you did there. Map21 “Numb” by Dragonfly Everyone ready for ice mechanics? Winter has come, and with it one of my favorite Doom aesthetic themes. I’ve always liked how well the faded colors, pine trees, and snow showcase a cold, wintry environment, it just looks so good. Our obligatory ice episode begins with Numb, a snappy little opener with an average runtime. Numb progresses in traditional Dragonfly fashion. Two keys. Two pathways. Two secrets. Just like map13. Gameplay is incidental with some low friction fun added in. Watching the mass of zombiemen up northeast slide all over the ice is hysterical. Tangoing with the annihilator and astralmanc just beforehand in similar fashion is less hysterical. Don’t let the annihilator out of his little house and you’ll minimize trouble. There’s two viles and an astralmanc down south but they aren’t a problem, the terrain favors you. The only other notable moment is the ending, which attacks the player with astralcacos, nm demons, and an annihilator. Just back through one of the key doors to take care of them. Numb is also the first map since Charge I struggled mightily finding a secret… except this time a monster was involved so I couldn’t ignore it. It took me about as long to find that switch as it did to beat the map in its entirety. Numb is a solid if uneventful start to the fifth episode. I particularly like how we're eased in to the new ice mechanics (and how unlike the first eviternity the introduction does not include platforming).

Map20 “Dominion” by Bri and Dragonfly I like how this level starts by pushing the player off the starting platform. It gives the impression Bri and Dragonfly are telling me to get my ass moving. And get moving I will because this map is great. Right off the bat we’re introduced to a new enemy, the mean green Duke of Hell. He comes from the Valiant pyro knight line of foes, having solid hit points and a three-part fireball attack. I don’t find these guys dangerous, they’re slow and easy to disrupt, but the final step of their combo is a punishing projectile stream. The potential for high damage must be respected. So we continue with another storming the castle map, this one offering somewhat stiffer resistance. While combat is still incidental, enemies are often entrenched and cover each other, making it easy to get blindsided. The cyberdemon overlooking the northeast courtyard is of great concern, he’s a formidable sniper and will pick off unwary players. You can leave him to assist with the finale but hosing him down with plasma is the safe option. Still, the difficulty is a shade below what I would have expected for an episode ender. Compare it with map15, which contained multiple lethal combat arenas whereas here the only significant threat is the cybersniper (and the ending to an extent). There are some fun encounters, like the revenant/astralcaco ambush upon picking up the eastern soulsphere. Rush em with the hidden BFG! You’ll kill them all in seconds! Even without Dominion’s powerful secrets, we’re given more than enough ammo and recovery items to handle everything. I would try to find the BFG though... I mean its a BFG, why wouldn't you want one? Using all three keys lowers the wall surrounding the northeast courtyard and its final fight time! Jump down and… uh oh… that’s a lot of dukes of hell. But don’t worry, they’re harmless. Seriously, just run around in circles and they won’t hit you, then when the stairs rise you can leave and kill them all with the BFG. Hitting the switch up top starts the second wave featuring two viles, two astralarachnos, and a horde of hell dukes and astralcacos. It’s more bark than bite, the ground enemies mostly bicker in the courtyard so you can fight the cacos separately, then kill the infighting survivors however you like. Dominion is richly detailed, a treat to explore, total eye candy, and a little tamer than I would have preferred. It’s the perfect ending to the episode, which almost universally featured these traits for me. Bloodlust aside, the Bastion episode is a phenomenal showcase of aesthetic skill and a welcome reprieve for anyone worried about the second half after playing Rubicon. And with two whole episodes left, I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunity for deadlier gameplay.

Map19 “Spellbound” by Dragonfly What a cute little village, maybe I’ll find Belle in one of these houses. Oh, and speaking of Runescape from earlier... Soundtrack: “92 is half of 99” by Dragonfly Looks like Dragonfly is a man of culture as well. Anyway, Spellbound is another medium sized map, set in a quiescent oldtown village (overrun by demons). Much like map34, killing monsters here felt charming. OG Eviternity’s map15 gave me this feeling as well, something about fighting the forces of hell in serene environments with pretty music. The visuals are yet another homerun and fit in with the “Bastion” theme in a medieval sense. Castle towns were common back then and we’re clearly making our way through one after the events of Malaise. I must confess I found the gameplay a little undercooked. I liked the skirmish before the blue key, but the yellow key ambush was disappointing (two revs and a vile that got stuck). I also think the soulsphere trap nearby would have been more effective if the teleport linedef wasn’t visible on the automap. The double vile ambush on the way to the red key did catch me with my pants down (the megasphere secret beforehand should probably have tipped me off) but even that is only a blind run concern. If you keep running you can grab the red key and kill everything from safety… or just leave, the exit is right there upon jumping down. I will give Dragonfly the “cheekiest moment of the megawad” award for said megasphere secret though. The audacity made me laugh. Combat intensity is a matter of preference though, and Spellbound is an excellent map by any impartial metric. It’s picturesque, relaxing, and has good flow for its runtime.

Map18 “Malaise” by Bauul Bauul gives us our “storming the castle” level of the episode, starting with a cave and taking us through a foreboding fortress. It's quite the adventure, and a map I suspect will end up in the "underrated" category because its combat isn't as demanding as many other levels. The keyword for today is “atmosphere” because Bauul gives us Jupiter sized quantities of it. Malaise is richly detailed, competing for number one in the wad in that regard right now, featuring superb lighting, thing placement, and height variation. You don’t even have to go inside to see it, just walk around the perimeter of the castle. I struggle a bit to describe why I find this map so strong and it basically comes down to doing all the little things right. To give an example, the soulsphere secret near the megaarmor is among the best I’ve seen in any levelset, very well hidden yet giving the player all the clues needed to find it. Gameplay is procedural, letting the level design and aesthetics take center stage. That said, two encounters stand out, the pellet gunnercorporal arena and the finale. For the first one we have several rows of corporals firing down on us while imps, pinkies, and a couple HKs muck up the ground. If you act quickly with the RL you can drastically reduce the amount of incoming fire before the pinkies show up, making the overall encounter go smoothly. The final fight mobs us with imps, corporals, and pinkies that are all plasma fodder up until four astral arachnos show up. They’re the biggest threats in the level and it’s actually helpful to have a good chunk of chaff left to absorb some of the plasma streams while you deal with them. Malaise is an impressive piece of doom mapmaking and a good “anchor” level as far as gameplay goes. Bauul is one of the best and it shows in this mid-megawad stronghold.