• [Doomworld link]
  • GZDoom
  • Pistol Start
  • UVMAX (Ultra Violence with All Kills and Secrets)
  • Saves allowed, but frowned upon

tldr;

32 Map Megawad where they take modern map design philosophies and mix it with old school assets and simple geometry design. Every map is short and easy digestible and it’s fantastic.

Map reviews

MAP01-03

0 Deaths. Pretty easy so far, and by easy I mean I completed them without much hassle. I’ll say that the secrets can definitely carry the level in your favour, which is what they should be. Finding a random soulsphere or Rocket Launcher that can help you deal with a bunch of Hell Knights later is definitely great secret design.

MAP04

2 Deaths, one for getting stuck in nukage which I later realized there is a LOT of radsuits laying around, another rocketing myself in the face against a Revenant. The secrets here were a bit more obstuse but getting the plasma halfway through was worth it. The Archvile near the end was real nice too.

MAP05

0 Deaths. More nukage to deal with, but not as much as MAP04. No deaths here but that last secret with the hidden switch almost got me. No Archviles at all this time but they still introduced Mancubuses in a fun way. I realized at this point too that the plasma/arachnotrons have a different/more satisfying plasma sound.

MAP06

2 Deaths. First combat-puzzle style map, sort of. The start is an adrenaline rush but everything after that was pretty easy to get through. The big scare near the end by an Archvile waltzing in was great.

MAP07

0 Deaths. Mancubus trigger level, I didn’t realize that until nearly the end what was happening with the keys triggering them to spawn ‘for some reason’. The one secret isn’t super helpful given its near the end, definitely better than Dead Simple.

B+

MAP08

1 Death. Best map of the WAD so far. Just the right amount of chaos while having a lot of room to move around in. The end fight with a barrage of cacos/hell knights and a single archvile nearly got me when I went down to ~20HP, but the pillars around the room give JUST ENOUGH room to avoid eyesight of archy. Really fun.

A

MAP09

0 Deaths. First BFG of the WAD, at least I think so. Didn’t actually use it at all until the very end, and it was only so I didnt feel like I wasted it. Level was very ho-hum. The key backtracking was slightly weird, given the previous levels of the WAD. Doesn’t really feel right when I go a far ways down a corridor only to be met with a key I don’t have. Still it’s not a bad map, just doesn’t live up to the rest so far. Lots of low-tier fodder for SSGing tho. B-

MAP10

0 Deaths. But I got real close to the jump scare Revenant/BFG drop near the end. This map really tested my ammo saving skills, I never got to using fists but I got pretty close in the middle. Really fun adrenaline rush kind of map.

A-

MAP11

6 Deaths. Fun combat puzzle level right from the start. Once I got the groove of where things were it wasn’t too overwhelming. On my successful run I totally missed the backpack just sitting out in the open O_O. The two Archviles in the map were really threatening at first but eventually when I knew they were coming I just blasted them semi-easily. The ending with the first Cyberdemon of the WAD was easy but visually fun, giving you lots of Hell Knights to infight/use as shields, and at that point you have a BFG and cells in the room so it’s not as threatening as it looks. Fun fun.

B+

MAP12

2 Deaths. City style map. Took me a quick minute to find out the correct routing, mostly caused by me not realizing there’s a door with an SSG RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY FACE when you go down to the street. Getting the yellow key first proved to be the right way to go, but it feels like every key had its own rocket launcher with it. The level is pretty close combat most for most of it, so I had a lot of rockets at the end for the final baron.

B

MAP13

0 Deaths. Funky tune sewer map, but surprisingly not a lot of nukage. A lot of the fights can be cheesed a bit by running back and using rockets or plasma from afar. Getting the plasma secret was a bit obtuse the intended way, but I was able to get it from running from the stairs near it. Really well designed sewer level, and I don’t say that lightly.

B

MAP14

3 Deaths. Level based around subways/stations, fun idea. I more took deaths on this one until I knew the layout/order of things. The archvile scare was really good, but if you have the plasma rifle he’s not a huge threat if you know he’s there. I had to look up where the red key/final enemies were and I felt stupid for not noticing a certain wall. Not sure if there’s anywhere in the level where you NEED the BFG.

B

MAP15

1 Death. Doom cute house to the max level. Fun neighbourhood level with really detailed houses, for Doom. I feel like once you find the secret BFG, the rest of the level is a pushover, and the creator gives you a LOT of cells and shells to work with. Still the close quarters of ’earth houses’ give some really tense moments. Secret exit was easy to find too.

B+

MAP31

Too many deaths to count. Combat puzzle chaos map. Finding the right routing to kill everything while staying alive in this map was the toughest part of the WAD yet. The ending with the Cyberdemon in the tunnels and the surprise gauntlet of enemies and 2 archviles made you optimize everything before it so you would have enough health and armor to get through it. Is it still not a cakewalk with the BFG. Really well designed/great challenge to UVMAX.

A-

MAP32

5 Deaths. The cyberdemon at the start was the biggest threat. Mostly because of the auto-weapon switching wouldn’t let me keep using the BFG automatically. I eventually got him distratcted enough by spawning the Cacos behind him and then slowly picking off the wolfenstein guards. The 2nd part is intimidating at first, but if you BFG the 3(?) Archviles the rest (including a Spider Mastermind) are whatever. The last fight with the Revenants at the top with archviles was a very good design with the Cyberdemon, I left the fight with very little ammo and health. I didn’t even know there was a Invuln powerup until after everything was killed :(

B+

MAP16

1 Death. Graveyard themed with a neat effect of enemies “rising” from graves. This map is INCREDBLY EASY compared to the secret levels. A nice break you could say. The archvile in the church with a bunch of hitscanners was fun.

B

MAP17

6 Deaths. First map that I thought was a tad unfair. Mostly because it made you conserve as much ammo as you could, but also I feel like the secrets are MANDATORY on UV. I used saves to get a feel for the layout before doing it all in one go. Maybe I just hate hidden wall secrets, as well as secrets that give you other secrets without doing anything. I think the routing for the first half is fun, and keeping all the cells you can for the Pain Elementals is satisfying, but the part with the “intersection” with the Cyberdemon and the hidden BFG seems a bit lazy.

C

MAP18

3 Deaths. Hot start with dropping into a trap of enemies, I never died on that part. I mostly died on the 2 Archvile encounters. Once I found the BFG (which is mostly out in the open) they were no big deal. I initially missed the cell pack secret in the blood pools, that would have been a lot easier to kill the second Archvile with. Didn’t get a lot of use of the rocket launcher, level was almost too big for it in some cases. Still the blood pools were designed well, and added nice verticality I wasn’t expecting.

B

MAP19

0 Deaths. Fun combat puzzle map around a garden/hedge block. I liked the little side adventure going up an elevator into a building. The Cyberdemon is a complete joke, he will (probably) be the last enemy on the map and you have a BFG. Go to town on him. A nice change of pace compared to the previous 2 maps.

B+

MAP20

2 Deaths. Fun gimmicks in an office with Archviles, if you find those fun. This feels like another ammo conservation map, but the map gives you just a little bit more every time you think you’re running out. Lots of Doom-cute too everywhere. I think the 3rd Archvile did me in the most. Really small map but well designed in a way where you don’t feel like you’re backtracking too much.

B

MAP21

3 Deaths. Rushing towards the SSG was pretty key here, kind of hard to have things infight in the first half of the map, but the second half was a combat puzzle infight extravaganza that was satisfying. Obligatory Archvile spawn trying to resurrect everything near the end but I ended up having enough rockets to just blast him quickly.

B

MAP22

1 Death. Spin on the Perfect Hatred map from OG Doom, a lot easier and less “tricks and traps”. The ‘way back up’ was very similar, only with Cacodemons instead of Shotgunners. If anything I would say there was enough Revenants, usually only in groups of two, and the Pain Elemental near the end seemed like an afterthought (I was able to just rush it with an SSG and be done with it)

B-

MAP23

Too many deaths. You really have to rush to get weapons right at the start because everything is so cramped. Having some hidden Pain Elementals slowly seep in and make things noisey didn’t help either. The fight in the middle against towers of demons wasn’t hard with the hidden BFG. What really got me was the Cyberdemon near the end spawning in with a bunch of Cacodemons. Not a great spot to hit him without getting super close.

B+

MAP24

Too many deaths. Fun map where you hit switches early and make everything in fight… until the last part. I ended up using saves at the second to last fight. The one with all the Revenants and the two Archviles. It was just a LITTLE too RNG heavy on when the Archviles would notice me, and sometimes they would infight immediately with the Revs. Couldn’t really get a good grasp on it. Finally got it though.

B

MAP25

4 Deaths. 1 Save. My save was right before the first round of Archviles. This map has a fun close quarters design but it’s actually not too bad. I found that if you just try and funnel everything back towards the first door, the Archviles just kind of come around back to you. Funnily enough on the second round, one of them got stuck in the center room and didn’t resurrect almost anything. The arena with the Mancubi and Revenants seemed like an afterthought, plus it just gives you a BFG right in the open. The Cyberdemon at the end seemed uninspired too.

B

MAP26

3 Deaths. 2 Saves. Excellent combat puzzle map. The routing was super fun to figure out. First I did the inital wave to clear everything, then the Revanents/Spider Mastermind to get the Plasma. Then the Cyberdemon fight to get the rocket launcher, and then the Imps/Archviles to get the SSG (blasting through them with rockets). Honestly I didn’t even notice the key doors in the middle of the map till the very end. There’s 3 BFGs just sitting there! Ahhh!!

A-

MAP27

2 Deaths. 1 Save (more because I was at 3 health), before getting the red key. Light combat puzzles. Started with a lone Pain Elemental in front of you that you could kill before anything else, /shrug. The hidden BFG made the Archvile surprises a joke, and the secret soul sphere was a bit obtuse with having to run towards a lowered teleporter really far away. Clean combat fun though, just not super hard compared to some previous maps.

B+

MAP28

2 Deaths. 1 Save right before getting the yellow key. DKC Mine cart music! Another smallish combat puzzle map. Getting that Archvile at the end behind 2 Mancubi was tricky, but this is another map where they give you a BFG right in the open. Great infighting map too, coralling everything in the first big scrap was really fun. Still seems like the map was meant for more enemies, but /shrug B

MAP29

2 Deaths. 1 save before the hidden Archvile. The best part of the map is the satisfying 2 Cyberdemons on one side, a horde of Hell Knights on the other, and random cacos/Pain Elementals in between. Absolutely glorious infighting. The first Cyberdemon near the start was a fun too, but the end is just explosive as all hell.

A

MAP30

3 Deaths. Icon of Sin map. Cyberdemons guarding both a switch and a red key that guards the spot to shoot John Romero’s head. Just running fast and dodging everything was all I needed to do, even the Cyberdemons weren’t too much of a pain. I didn’t even find the Invuln till I was already done.

B-