Doom + Doom II

🎮 Steam ⏳ 80 hours ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)

Introduction #

This title is a collection of all official available content for the classical Doom games, as re-releases of old content, such as Doom, Doom II, Final Doom, and also some new content releases by the same creators of the original campaigns. I separated this review in sections regarding each individual title, so I can detail as much as possible what I think about all the available games on this bundle. Each individual title is unique enough, and finally, this is one of the most important games of my life since it was one of the first ones I remember playing and creating memories as a kid, and also on my teens.

Definitive Modernization #

It is important to mention that, up until now, this is the most modernized version of these titles, with support for mods, multiplayer, almost every setting you could imagine, and much more. One of my favorite features is the soundtrack option of the original and the remixed versions, which I forced myself to listen to both of them, and it was a blast to listen to old songs with a new perspective. Other options range from almost every resolution you could think of, screen size, fine-tune enemy AI and difficulty level, up to modding and cheats support. This is nothing new to this game’s community, but it is a bonus for convenience since this is now built-in, and not just an engine trait which you need to deal with via external tools.

Doom #

The original Doom remains one of the most important and enjoyable first-person shooters ever made. Its simplicity is part of what makes it so enjoyable, you move quickly, shoot demons, find keys, discover secrets, and constantly manage your position in increasingly dangerous arenas. The weapons feel powerful, even thought their animations were very limited, while the enemy encounters reward movement and situational awareness. I feel like this is one of the most balanced titles on this regard, not forcing you to memorize surprises and traps as much as the subsequent entries. Despite its age, it still feels remarkably responsive, its level design, and iconic sound effects gives it a personality that many modern titles have a hard time to achieve.

The three original episodes are also a great demonstration of how the game evolved throughout its campaign. Knee-Deep in the Dead is particularly strong, gradually introducing the game’s mechanics. Every shooter fan should have the maps from this campaign tattooed into their brains. Later episodes become more surreal, pushing you into more challenging (almost unfair) situations. It isn’t perfect, the later levels can become confusing and occasionally frustrating. Even decades later, the atmosphere this title managed to achieve still holds up, and it is one of the best games of all time, even for non-shooter fans. I recommend experiencing it even if you need to choose the lowest difficulty level and abuse the save state feature. Particularly I played it in the hard difficulty level, and I used save states, without abusing and without shame.

Doom II #

This direct sequel takes the foundation of the original and expands it considerably. The addition of the Super Shotgun is immediately impactful, providing one of the most satisfying weapons in the entire genre. I’m not kidding when I say you can play the entire game using this weapon alone. While new enemies such as the Revenant, Mancubus, Arch-vile, and Pain Elemental add considerably more variety to combat. The levels are generally larger and more ambitious than those in the first game, and the increased enemy variety allows encounters to become much more complex. Though it sometimes misses the mark with challenges that heavily relies on memorization (or simply on save state abuse). At its best, it feels like a natural evolution of the original rather than simply a sequel with more content.

Unfortunately, the game’s larger scale also exposes some weaknesses. Several maps are confusing, overly sprawling, or simply less enjoyable than the tighter designs found in the first entry. I almost gave up on trying to finish this in the hard difficulty level because it was forcing me to abuse the save state feature for some situations. Regardless, there are plenty of outstanding levels, and the combat remains excellent throughout most of the campaign. It is ultimately a bigger and more mechanically interesting game than its predecessor, even if it isn’t quite as consistently polished. This sequel was also the responsible for the modding community to skyrocket since it was a much more mature implementation of the ideas of the first entry. Arguably this makes it the most influential version of classic Doom for the community.

Master Levels for Doom II #

The Master Levels are an unusual part of the collection because they don’t form a traditional campaign. Instead, they consist of a large selection of individual maps created by different designers. The quality varies considerably, but that variety is part of the appeal. Some maps provide clever combat situations, interesting layouts, and creative uses of the original game’s mechanics, while others can feel awkward, overly difficult, or poorly balanced. They are best approached as a collection of experiments rather than as a single cohesive adventure. Despite all that, it is completely possible to simply face this as a regular campaign and play them from start to finish, just like I did. Though keep in mind this is one of those that is very hard to beat without a guide for some specific levels, and I hardly feel any regret in doing so.

For modern standards, the Master Levels are probably more interesting as a historical artifact than as essential Doom content. They show the creativity of the early Doom mapping community and provide plenty of material for players who have already exhausted the main campaigns. However, the inconsistent quality means newcomers should probably play the original games first. For dedicated fans, the collection is still worth exploring, especially because discovering a surprisingly good map among the weaker ones can be rewarding in itself. This is also the title that forced me to use a cheat in order to be able to finish a level due to some random bug, which was the wall clip one, so I could get past a wall that simply refused to open. Fortunately cheat documentation and support is built-in, so it was a no-brainer, plus it was also fun to find secret unreachable rooms with this.

Final Doom #

This entry is effectively a collection of two large expansions, TNT: Evilution and The Plutonia Experiment, developed by different teams within the classic Doom community. TNT generally focuses on larger environments and more elaborate layouts, sometimes giving the you considerably more space to explore than in the original games. And this makes up for a nice contrast of the more moody, almost survival horror, vibes of the first titles, focusing more in the action and the spectacle potential. It has plenty of memorable ideas and interesting locations, but its pacing can be inconsistent, and some maps feel unnecessarily large or confusing. I barely managed to beat this episode in the hard difficulty level, and almost switched to the normal one. This also has to do with the fact that these episodes really focused on being hard levels to beat, so I feel no shame at all.

The Plutonia Experiment is the more immediately impressive half of Final Doom. Its maps are tighter and more combat-focused, with encounters designed to put serious pressure on you. Ambushes, monster placement, limited resources, and dangerous combinations of enemies makes this episode substantially more difficult than the original campaigns. And I got to admit, this was the title that made me switch from hard to normal. That difficulty won’t appeal to everyone, especially if you play one title after the other, like I did, it quickly becomes very tiresome. But for experienced players it provides some of the most demanding classic Doom gameplay available. This episode might be uneven, but its two campaigns offer a significant amount of additional content and demonstrate just how flexible the original engine could be.

No Rest for the Living #

Originally released as an expansion for Doom II, No Rest for the Living is a much smaller campaign but one of the stronger pieces of additional content in the bundle. Its maps were designed with the experience of later Doom level design in mind, resulting in levels that are much more polished than many of the original game’s less successful stages. And level design is definitely at its peak when compared to all the other titles, simply because it is the most fun, engaging and balanced experienced. This says a lot about how difficult it is to make challenging games be fun at the same time, and in my opinion, this is the best classical Doom title on this regard. The campaign introduces familiar enemies and weapons rather than trying to reinvent the formula, so no surprises up until now.

Its relatively short length is both a strength and a weakness, No Rest for the Living doesn’t overstay its welcome, but players may finish it wishing there were more maps. The campaign is nevertheless an excellent companion to Doom II, particularly for those who want something that feels like classic Doom while benefiting from a more mature and polished game’s design. It may not be as historically important as the original campaigns, but it is one of the more consistently enjoyable additions in the collection. This is by far the title that feels the most modern, almost making it feel like a modern re-implementation of the original ideas of the 1993 first title. This is for sure the most approachable title of the entire bundle, when it comes to modern standards and newcommers.

Sigil #

Created by legendary designer John Romero, this title is essentially a modern love letter to the original game. Rather than attempting to modernize Doom, it deliberately embraces the limitations and aesthetics of the original 1993 experience. The result is a campaign that feels authentic while offering considerably more sophisticated design. The maps are often dark, strange, and deliberately hostile, making extensive use of secrets, traps, verticality, and carefully placed enemies. It is challenging, but the difficulty generally feels intentional rather than arbitrary. This makes up for a very balanced experience when it comes to difficulty and level design, when we compare this to the overall roaster of the bundle. This is the one that mostly feels like a survival horror due to the much more limited resources you have, and also due to how smaller and more confined the levels are.

This is particularly appealing to those fans who want to see what an experienced designer can do with the classic Doom formula decades later. Its atmosphere is excellent, it is the darkest one out of all. And its level design frequently produces moments that feel surprising even to veterans such as myself, that has a lot of levels, secrets and traps tattooed on my brain. I don’t recommend this as the first experience of the bundle because of its reliance on familiarity with classic mechanics. Both episodes of the Sigil title proves that the original engine still had plenty of life left in it, even when old timers, decades later, decide to give it another shot and not just the amazingly talented community.

Legacy of Rust #

The last title of the list is the most modern piece of content in the collection and perhaps the most interesting from a historical perspective. Developed specifically for the modern release, it uses the classic Doom formula while introducing new enemies, weapons, environments, and gameplay ideas. The campaign demonstrates that the basic principles of classic Doom can still support fresh ideas without turning the game into something fundamentally different. I won’t spoil much but I can safely say that the new weapons and enemies are not just quirks, they really feel like they have a place in the Doom universe in general. Not to mention it has one of the most advanced level design of all titles, though it leans toward a more challenging approach, rather than a polished one compared to No Rest for The Living, for example.

The result is a campaign that feels contemporary while remaining like something that can blend in as a title that was released back in the day. The soundtrack also deserves some special praise, with a completely new set of songs that can match, or even surpass, the level of quality of the all time greatest from the entire franchise. Though some of the levels are more demanding than those found in the original games, so I don’t recommend rushing to this one if you are a newcommer. For veterans, however, Legacy of Rust is arguably the highest point of all the titles on this bundle. This title is a genuine new chapter that demonstrates how much potential remains in the classic formula. I can safely say that this is a new level of classic, even when compared to decades old classical Doom levels of quality, without a doubt, another peak has been reached with this new release.

Conclusion #

After going through every campaign included in Doom + Doom II, I can safely say that this is a snapshot of how one of the most influential first-person shooters in history evolved. From the raw and focused design of the original Doom, through the expanded but sometimes uneven direct sequel, the experimental and brutally difficult Final Doom episodes. And finally into modern interpretations such as Sigil and Legacy of Rust. Though not every campaign is equally polished, and some of them can be frustrating enough to test even the patience of experienced players. Each release represents a different approach to the same fundamental formula, demonstrating just how much can be achieved with level design, and such a simple engine.

And lastly, this release makes experiencing all of that legacy significantly easier. The modern conveniences turn what could have been a collection of outdated games into an accessible, almost flawless, modernized bundle. Whether you are interested in Doom as a piece of gaming history, an old time fan, or even a newcommer, this is without a doubt the definitive way to experience classic Doom franchise. It is a reminder that great game design can survive decades of technological change, and that sometimes the best way to prove that a formula still works is simply to give it another new monster to shoot, with some new ways of doing so too.