ZenGun

DBP 54: Steamy Bathhouse. After the HDOOM, second best wad to stay in, i think

I second TNT Revilution and Ancient Aliens. Also, probably unexpectedly - Down the Drain by Benjogami, because it contains MIDI renditions of Radiohead, Abba, Nirvana and few songs from other very good artists. Playing doom maps with this music was very unique experience, and it fits this wad's atmosphere very well. Hell, this wad recently singlehandedly rekindled my old forgotten passion for Radiohead, and i finally decided to listen Moon Shaped Pool, which i have been ignoring. Other then that, if we're counting only megawads with midis written specially for them, i'd go with TNTR and AA

I think, original IWADs and TNT are looking better. Probably Plutonia's style is just not my thing.

- Tarnsman's Projectile Hell is a bad name for this megawad, because, objectively, it's a projectile heaven - I don't like Plutonia experiment. It's gameplay heavily relies on cheap ambushes, many of which you have zero chance of beating on a first try, but most importantly - its texturing is too ugly, like it has no visual aesthetic whatsoever. It feels like this was on very low priority, and texturing was made only to make levels look like... something minimaly passible for a level. I know that Casali worked under heavy time restrictions, but still, Plutonia is the most ugly looking wad i ever seen, with the exception of pure jokewads and shitposts.

Oh, the Magenta Spire. I love it so much. Before i start with my review, i must say: I'm relatively new to Doom scene. I played original IWADs, and some levels from Final Doom, but it never left a huge impact on me. I knew that Doom is the most modded game of all time, but had zero interest in it outside officilly released games. After MyHouse.wad blew up in may, i knew about whole other universe of modding, which now fascinates me to no end, and i didn't play any games, other then Doom, since then. In this time, i beat timeless classic Alien Vendetta, BTSX1, JPCP, Scythe, and a few other less famous megawads But Magenta Spire is, no doubt, the most memorable of all wads that i played, even including the MyHouse.wad itself. I'm not saying this is the best wad - it has its flaws - but it is the only wad who made me think of itself outside the playtime. I thought about Magenta Spire at work, looked through doomwiki and streams during my trips in underground trying to figure out something about the lore. Even more so - i think, that Magenta Spire is the only game which legit gave me nightmares after playthrough. So what is it in Magenta Spire that impressed me so much? A few things: - Oppressive gamedesign. There is something crazy about MS's action, which i can't quite put my finger on. Most of the other wads i played, even the hard ones, don't have that. Yes, they give you a challenge and sometimes this challenge may seem frustrating and over the top. But many of MS's fights feel not just challeging - they feel like a psychological attack on the player. Maybe it's abundance of damaging floors, maybe it's a cramped spaces without clear indication where to go (E1M4), maybe it's both (same E1M4), maybe it's sudden attacks from unexpected angles (beginning of E2M1). But quite often i felt on the edge, like a confused prey with a very grim chances of survival. Some fights are straitght up uncoformotable or even horrifying. For example, endless stream of zombiemen in E2M1 after getting a red card - they can't really do harm if you hold a chaingun, but damn it is uncomfortable to shoot so many of them, and they keep on and on and on... Final fight on the same E2M1- what a cruel geometry it has! And the fact that it is foreshadowed in a shape of small saircase just before it makes it even more sinister. Efflivium is the prime example of this design and, to me, is the high point of all adventure. Very disoreinting start and frantic escape through damaging floors god knows where; hordes of hitscanners, cramped in a small hallways; glorious final fight in a giant pit of unnaturaly colourful pit of decaying flesh, WUTH HUMAN SKULLS LOOKING LIKE FLOWERS AS BARRIERS (how many people should these demons kill to make these fences?) This fight orhestrated brilliantly, but i couldn't made myself to play MS for three days straight, because i felt that i wasn't prepared for it mentally :) Don't get me wrong - it is very captivating and engaging gamedesign. Maybe because Magenta Spire attacks you with such a brutal force, it is so interesting to play. Every fight is something special and keeping you on edge, and every moment you are intrigued, what encounter waits you behind a corner. And this leads us to... - Visual design and environmental storytelling. I'll start with this - Magenta Spire's visuals are ugly, but it is good kind of ugly. Like, John Carpenter good kind of ugly. In the end, unthinkable alien invasion from a different universe shouldn't be an eye candy. Pink and blue rotten flesh, barfed on the ground and mixed with blood, guts and giant decaying plants sprawling all over broken and abandoned technical equipment is a perfect way to go. We saw hell so many times, that it feels like home, but reality which demons brought in this time is truly alien - and this is what so unnerving. The fact that now they choose magenta, which is usually associated with something girly and magical, is right on so many levels, maybe because it goes heavily against preconceptions and confuses further. It feels only natutal to have this colour for some ultimate alien evil. And maps of this wad clearly tell some story. I figured that Magenta Spire doesn't have a developed lore - but looking at it, i had a strong feeling that it does. Everything that's going on provoke all kinds of questions. What does Magenta Spire does? Why even explosions from my RPG became of magenta colour? Why this planet's satellite shaped like an egg, which is impossible for celestial bodies? What are we witnessing in a secret map - is this a memories of a first contact with aliens, is it happened on some other planet? Where were we between E1M5 and E1M6, did we've been on a secret map for so long, that everything covered in vines and spider webs? Why is the BFG9000 is now cursed, and will it curse ever affect the protagonist? And so on, and so on. Magenta Spire resonated with me, and i couldn't stop thinking about it for days. This wad is truly special - maybe because you managed to visualize and create your own world, which, as i think, is the most important thing about art. It feels like you had a vision that you committed yourself to. Everything - gamedesign, aesthetics and even a dehacked changes that you made work together so well, and carries a lot of integrity. Thank you for this unforgettable journey, and hope to see more of your works in a future, if you wish to continue. Thank you.

Great work! Very vibrant and memorable atmosphere. It's rare when i feel that something made in Doom is objectively beatiful (not by the standarts of Doom engine and maps made in it, but in itself), but this is one of those cases. It feels really good even walk through these levels and look at them, let alone killing demons in process. Fights are interesting and engaging, and UV+ difficulty feels just right. Was pleasently surprised by semi-slaughterish gameplay at Map 03. At the moment completed half of the set, probably finish it today or tommorow, because this is dope. P.S. Played without a intended music, because wasn't in the mood for music with melody. Instead, i turned on "Kirghiz Light" by Rapoon from a second track. It is a deep psychedelic tribal ambient, and it syncronized surprisingly well. I recommend everyone to try it, i think it reveals aesthetic of the wad from a new angle, and even fits gameplay-wise. Thanks for great vibes