Gameplay itself is nice, clean fun. Super Shotgun is OP, I love it, and I liked the new enemies that were introduced as well (hearing an idle Archvile (or even worse, an alert one) definitely had me going "!!!!"). I went back to Doom 1 to trawl through the secret levels, which I'd missed on my first playthrough, and found myself missing the Super Shotty and the monster variety. Doom 2's worth it for that alone.

My favourite vanilla levels were probably MAP08 (Tricks and Traps) and MAP23 (Barrels O' Fun), oh and MAP31+MAP32, the Wolfenstein easter egg secret levels. But for the most part I actually do agree with a lot of gripes expressed in other reviews regarding the level design, which is where it loses half a star for me compared to Doom 1. As most of us know the development of this game was a little rushed - and it shows in places. I felt myself getting a little burnt out towards the end - not that I wanted to stop playing the game necessarily, more that I was wanting Doom 2's vanilla campaign specifically to just end soon. I think the lack of actual episodes like there were in Doom 1, rather just one big protracted thing with small intermissions but no explicit delineation between "episodes", also didn't help.

I like a good modding scene, and Classic Doom (1 and 2)'s is still going strong 30+ years on. I'm probably still gonna play Doom 2 to delve into some mods I have lined up and am excited to explore.

My favourite game ever for a long time, only competing with Dark Souls.
It has everything that made the original Doom great but with a new weapon (the double barreled shotgun, the greatest invention of mankind) new enemies, and new levels based on innovative themes, like the city levels (even if they're not my favourite type of levels, i appreciate the variety).
There's not much to say about this game, it's just great and paved the way for many actual games. Must play.

Oh, and the music is great.

Maliciously designed to kill you.
It's banking on you to beat it out of spite. "Oh you just teleported chaingunners behind me after picking up this inconspicuous gun? Well now I'm ready next time, asshole!" It really wants to make you hate these demons with a burning passion. If Doom II was built any easier or laxer then these enemies wouldn't be much of a threat alone, and therefore less memorable. The level design accentuates the demons as scheming yet merciless. This isn't some honorable battle between warriors, this is a hunt for flesh. And there can only be one winner here.

More than many action games is Doom II a test on your memory, reactivity, and resource management. This game is straight up unfair, so you need to keep in mind what gun your currently holding before triggering the trap that killed you earlier. Demons have various levels of health, damage, and mobility; thus misusing and wasting your more powerful weapons will leave you vulnerable for when you really need that rocket launcher or B.F.G. against that Archvile. Sound cues are vital to knowing if a enemy has spotted you, or if a off-screen projectile is flying towards you. The player at least has the newly added super shotgun, though while a extremely powerful gun with good ammo efficiency, can be easy to over rely on. Definitely had times where the intervals between reloading the shotgun got me killed, when I should've attacked more from a distance with the chaingun or stunlocked with the plasma rifle.

But even with the generous usage of quicksaves, this game can get exhausting for a new player. Sometimes you get tired of being made a fool of yourself when the game teleports you into a tiny room with four imps on every side, which then proceed to tear you to shreds. Literally no way to know that was going to happen. The more bullshit people will encounter, the less willing they'll be able to continue with your game. Of course that isn't a universal rule, but there's a fine line between "Fck you, let's try that again!" and "Fck you, I quit!" For better or worse, games just don't do this kind of evil, unscrupulous design anymore.
Like Doom Eternal, I had to take breaks in the middle of levels. But unlike Eternal, it was because I couldn't be bothered at points to drudge through yet another elevator that takes me right into a horde of chaingunners that eat away at my health before I can even see where they are. It's funny how some of the earliest demons, the chaingunners, I find to be more annoying then even the Pain Elementals or Archviles.

Though with that in mind, playing Doom II showed me why this game has remained popular to this day. The enemies with their particular and variable roles, and the weapons with their satisfying designs and function, makes for near-infinite mod level packs with fresh feeling gameplay. Whether you want to have the player cleave through hordes of fodder demons with the B.F.G., or starve them for ammo as they have to whittle down a towering Cyberdemon, modding Doom II levels will live on well-passed any live service game that shuts down (six months after release).

Don't know if I played a good version of Doom II though. I'll be honest when I look up stuff for classic Doom, I get pretty intimidated by the number of ports and re-releases of the game, plus all the hard-core fans mentioning which ports are better then others. I played the standalone release from Steam on my Steam Deck, not sure what people in the community would call that port. I just took the path of least resistance to play the game, so hopefully that version won't make a Doom fan too upset at me. Did come across a few bugs, namely to do with a elevator not triggering and I had to reload my save to get it working again. Also I don't know if this is just a normal Doom thing, but sometimes it can feel pretty stingy when auto-aim will work if you're trying to hit a demon from a large elevation difference. Hard to get into a precise location to hit them when they can attack with their hitscans from wherever they want off-screen. This version of Doom 2 at least had that reticle to light up red if the next shot will hit a target, but it still doesn't change the fact how awkward "aiming" can be in this game.

And lastly, why did 'Into Sandy's City' only play in one level when it's easily the best song in the entire game?

what do i do?
6,5/10 - Length
5,0/10 - Enjoyment
9,5/10 - Perfomance/Bugs
6,0/10 - Story/Experience
5,5/10 - Gameplay

Score = 6,5/10

An interesting spin on the original Doom formula. This game is more unforgiving and in some levels even unfair. It is a lengthy game with weird design choices. The design (for some people) can be frustrating, at some points in the game you can be teleported to a tiny room filled with demons that decrease your hardly found health. Despite this, the game is fun, and the game loop just shouts early FPS level design.
For me, the levels are more fun to explore than the ones in the original Doom. Backtracking is not tedious and in fact, it's challenging, since many enemies may emerge from hidden rooms that are in previously cleared areas. Most levels are well distributed between fierce action and quick exploration. Sometimes you may see very obvious secrets, other times you will be punching or shooting the walls in every level.
Sound design and music are not my cup of tea. However, I understand the hardware it was developed on, and also the influence of metal and 90's rock music. The variety of demons makes this game more dynamic. You are forced to play the game differently compared to the original game.
In the end, this game improves on the formula of the original Doom. This game is proof that a simple game loop is sometimes better than a game with complex mechanics.

Throughout the 30 years of its entire lifespan, it was always clear why the original Doom was not only a phenomenal game in its own right, but why it is now considered a bona fide classic to this day. There were aspects about it that future games would manage to refine and execute better, but even with that in mind, the game was still fast-paced, action-filled, immensely satisfying, rewarding for those who took the time to really look around for secrets, and it created a type of game that not too many others could properly replicate, in terms of both quality and feel. It also helped that the game was immensely successful, and is now considered to be the father of FPS games to come out from that point onward, so naturally, given the game’s immense success, a sequel was developed right away to continue this game’s legacy and to refine a lot of the elements present within the game. This game would come out not too long after the original, and it would be known as Doom II: Hell on Earth.

Making a sequel to the original Doom and releasing it so soon was kind of a risk for id Software, when you think about it. The original game already had plenty of things that people absolutely loved, and plenty of different reasons to play it over and over again, whether it be through playing through single-player mode to see what secrets you missed, or even through multiplayer mode with your friends. So, how the hell (Ha Haaaaaaaa) were they going to top the original game in such a short time? Well, that, my friends, was simple: by making Doom again, but better. This development choice would pay off for them, not only going on to also sell very well, but it would also receive just as much praise as the original game, if not more. In my opinion, it absolutely deserves that recognition and success it got, because I not only think this game is better than the original Doom in just about every way, but I also consider to be fantastic, providing yet another round of non-stop, blood-pumping action with just enough change to make it wonderful to revisit time and time again.

The story picks up right from where the original game left off, where after defeating the Spider Mastermind from the previous games, Doomguy finds his way back to Earth, where he finds that it has been completely overrun by demons, slaughtering innocent lives and taking over the planet as their own, so naturally, it is up to him to single-handedly take them all down and stop this demonic invasion once and for all, which is a simple enough set-up that both feels satisfactory enough for a natural continuation, while also being just enough to get the player right into the meat of things. The graphics are……. literally the exact same as the previous game, but hey, that’s fine, as the game still looks great either way, the music is also just as wonderful, having plenty more kick-ass tunes to jam out to while shoving the barrel of your gun in some poor demon’s face and blowing it clean off, the control is… also the exact same, so nothing more to touch on there, and the gameplay is very similar to the original game, to the point where you could call it a direct copy with nothing else going on, but there is more to it then you realize.

The game is still a first-person shooter, where you take control of Doomguy once again, go through many different levels, now all bunched together rather then being split up into multiple episodes (which is a better choice, if you ask me), take down any demonic scumbag that stands in your way as you find your way through these facilities and hellish landscapes, gather plenty of different health and ammo pickups, power ups, and additional weapons to make your slaughter all the sweeter, and take on plenty of big and bad forces of hell that will fuck you up if you aren’t ready and quick on your feet. In many ways, it is almost identical to that of the original Doom, which is a good thing, considering that this style of gameplay was already fun enough to begin with, so you can jump in right away and have a blast, but underneath the similar coat of paint, there is a little more going on here.

When I say this game is identical to the original Doom, I mean that in almost every way possible. The graphics, gameplay, general feel, and means of progression are the exact same, which may make you question why this was made as a sequel in the first place, instead of say, an expansion of the previous game. However, when you look deeper into it, you’ll then notice some key differences that make it stand out. If I were to describe the game in one sentence, I would say it is “Doom for Super Players” (but not that kind of super), as while it may be incredibly similar, the gameplay is much faster, more difficult, more reactionary in plenty of scenarios, and all the more invigorating. Even from the first couple of levels, you notice a lot more going on in them then the first batch of levels in the original game, which does make this feel more like a natural progression for the Doom series, for if you have played the original game, you should be experienced enough to handle whatever this game can throw at you.

What also helps with this is that, while most of the game remains relatively the same, there were some key elements that do spice things up. There are new enemies to be found here, each packing their own new means of challenging the player, and not only do they have great designs, but they can be pretty tough to take down if you aren’t careful, forcing you to learn different ways to approach a foe, and thus, improving your skills as a player as a result. In addition, there are new goodies that can be found throughout the levels, such as the Megasphere, which fills up both your health and armor all the way to 200, which is pretty damn helpful, and the Super Shotgun, a new weapon that is pretty much just a better version of the shotgun. That may make you question why they even bothered to make this weapon in the first place, but if you do bother questioning that at all, I will kindly ask you to get the fuck out of here and rethink everything, because the Super Shotgun is AWESOME. Sure, it may use more ammo then its counterpart, but it does more damage, covers a wider range of fire, and can kill multiple targets if used effectively, not only making the original shotgun obsolete in just about every way, but also becoming my new go-to weapon for any situation in this game.

Not only that, but the levels themselves also just FEEL different, still keeping the same general flow of progression familiar for those experienced with the original Doom, while also giving you more to do. You could focus on the goal at hand and just try to find your way to the exit so you can get a move on, but you can also look around in various places that don’t necessarily help you reach the end quicker, but they can reward you handsomely if you go out of your way, encouraging exploration more than ever before. Not to mention, this game still does have plenty of secrets for you to find, and just like with the original game, they can be quite hard to find, so those who enjoy looking for secrets and other means of reaching that glorious 100% mark, Doom II has plenty of that for you in spades.

However, at the end of the day, if you are not a huge fan of what the original Doom gave you, then you definitely won’t be able to get into this title, as it is essentially just Doom 1, but with more stuff. Yeah, it does have new features that can be fun to mess around with, but it has you doing the exact same stuff that you did in the last game with no major changes to be seen, which can definitely turn people away who weren’t able to get into this type of gameplay in the first place. Thankfully though, that is really the only complaint that I can think of for this title, because for those of us who are big fans of this game, it still manages to provide plenty for us to do, see, and kill all the same, and there is nothing more that a Doom Slayer like myself could ask for.

Overall, despite a huge lack of change, Doom II surpasses the original almost flawlessly, and it is a fantastic game as a whole, being even more fun, fast, satisfying, and gruesome as ever, while refining everything about the original game to the point where it could be hard to go back to after this… even though plenty will still go back to it. I highly recommend it for those who were big fans of the original game, as well as those of you who are into classic FPS games in general, because if you somehow haven’t played this game at this point, then… what the HELL are you waiting for?...... alright, you know what, I think that is one too many hell puns for a Doom review. Don’t wanna make reading this feel like you are actually being tortured in Hell, because trust me, there is already plenty about real life that could do that instead.

Game #496