Now that I have mostly finished the original Doom, I am playing Doom II on the easy level. With Doom, it is a good idea to play all the difficulty levels as you learn the game.
My problem with Doom II is that the levels feel uninspired compared to the original Doom. Many of the designs are boxy, relying heavily on right-angle walls, and they lack visual appeal. I found the early levels especially dull. The game could have benefited from more variety in both textures and gameplay.
The level design seems to focus on two main goals:
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Pushing the graphics engine to its limits with larger maps, some featuring incredibly tall structures.
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Increasing the overall difficulty.
I remember beating the game 30 years ago, but there's a reason I haven't gone back to it since. Back then it felt novel, but the experience doesn't hold up as well today.
I get what you mean. Doom II feels less tight and polished than the first game, more like a mod than a true sequel. The original had this perfect mix of atmosphere, music, and level flow, whereas Doom II often just throws bigger maps and harder fights at you. Some of the levels really are just giant rectangles with monster closets.
ReplyDeleteThat said, a lot of people look back on Doom II more for its individual moments—the Super Shotgun debut, the Icon of Sin, or certain standout maps—rather than the overall design. It also became the backbone for the modding scene, since those larger, simpler maps were easier to build off of.
It’s definitely harder to go back to than the first Doom, but it paved the way for custom WADs and megawads, which arguably gave it a longer legacy than Doom itself.
Cheers!,
-Jeff