- One of the most interesting Doom wads.
- Recommend playing it before knowing anything about it.
- Recommend playing it before knowing anything about it.
it seems like every other day i find a new indie game or analog horror video in my youtube feed using hackneyed "subversions of expectation" or file manipulation or arg elements for spooks. imscared was cool, but imscared came out 12 years ago. so when i heard about myhouse.wad, i brushed it off. it wasn't until last night that i bit the bullet, and let me tell you: i should have done it sooner.
the house of leaves inspiration is blatant enough as to call it an adaptation. there's no point in dissecting it, but i'd like to use it to explain why my house doesn't suffer from the pitfalls you might expect. remember how house of leaves has a bunch of hidden shit inside of it that redditors have been talking to death for years? well, you don't need it to enjoy the book. it's an addendum for people who wanna go crazy over that kind of stuff. my house is the same way with its metahorror. the creepypasta elements are contained in the downloadable journal rather than the game itself. the "deeply emotional" (read: tactless and generic internet psychological horror) themes fans don't shut up about are contained in secret content that you won't find unless you're looking for it. in that case, why should you play the wad?
cuz it's a damn good time! if you liked lost in vivo's combat-heavy take on otherworld from silent hill, you'll like my house. the maps are super pretty and fun to explore. there are cool new enemies too! if nothing else, play it to see a modern action horror doom map with strong atmosphere. it only took me 30 minutes and i'd recommend it even if you already know the "twists".
as much as i still want to mock the fandom and compare it to brutal doom, i do hope this inspires people to take full advantage of gzdoom's special features. maybe someone will make a map that uses similar technical tricks to make something in a genre other than horror. as it stands, i super enjoyed my time in my house and i recommend it to all the skeptics. this one's different.
SOLD
This is a very strange game and I loved the thought put into it. If you haven't, you should read House of Leaves if you like this map.
I can't rate this highly enough. It's not a game, it's an experience. One of the best works of digital art I've ever been able to encounter. Don't let internet fatigue put you off of it. Go in blind, and pay attention.
ong one of my favorite gaming experiences ever please play this yourself with minimal spoilers
Acompanhei com o pessoal do Jogabilidade e a jornada desse jogo, todo o lore e a Creeppasta dele vão ficar nas histórias do game mais hardcore! Da um gostinho maravilhoso ver que ainda existem projetos assim feitos por fãs de games!
This review contains spoilers
I bought Doom 2 for this, thinking I'd need it to play. But nay. Had a wonderful time with it anyhow. The looping mazes and stacked realities can go a lot deeper for my money!
It sure is hot in here, isn't it?
acompanhei uma grande jogatina, é incrível oq esse mod de doom foi capaz de realizar!
crazy that a DOOM MOD has one of the best storytelling to come out of video games in recent memory
what a fucking mod, man
"There's no good outcome from a house fire."
what a fucking mod, man
"There's no good outcome from a house fire."
I really do love horror that focuses on houses! The more ARG/Creepypasta inspired elements were also really, really cool, and I liked how mostly unobtrusive they were. This game (rom hack?) pushes the boundaries of the Doom engine to give you a brilliant experience. The only reason I didn't rate this higher is because there are other pieces of media with similar premises which I felt executed this better, and I felt like the Doom aesthetic shot this in the foot a bit. It didn't quite manage the vibe of liminal spaces for me. But I'm not a Doom person anyways so maybe I just don't have the required context.
If you like Doom, then I strongly recommend giving this a shot. Either way, a neat experience.
If you like Doom, then I strongly recommend giving this a shot. Either way, a neat experience.
this is a perfectly fine map/arg in its own right but it gets an extra star for getting me to read house of leaves
Confusing at first. Absolutely impactful at the end. One of the best video game mods I've played in my life thanks to its gameplay, its story and the author's involvement in its creation. I've never played the base DOOM game and I don't think I'll ever play it since the license doesn't particularly interest me, but this mod still managed to pique my interest and I'm really glad I have been able to play it. One of my greatest FINDINGS of 2023. A must (absolutely) play. (while still having a minimum of context in order to not miss the main story.)
Why did God create a dual universe?
So he might say
'Be not like me. I am alone.'
And it might be heard.
So he might say
'Be not like me. I am alone.'
And it might be heard.
This review contains spoilers
By now, you likely know what My House.wad is. What appears to be a simple recreation of a DOOM modder’s house is actually a slow descent into madness as the house gradually becomes more unsettling and takes you to liminal spaces that seem all but impossible. All you have to guide you is the aid of a haunting journal written by the person who developed the map, someone who was suffering from nightmares that are reflected by the various transformations the house undergoes.
My House.wad does an excellent job unnerving you and making you paranoid. The initial tiny, barely noticeable changes to the House as well as the music from DOOM II’s E1M1 that make you question your surroundings and your memory are extremely effective. It even randomly plays Discord ping sound effects. It’s a great build up for what’s to come and one of the best parts of the experience.
The different versions of the House that you explore, namely the School House, Bath House, Brutalist House, etc, are all beautifully designed. They tap into a sense of ethereal nostalgia in a way reminiscent of vaporwave art and music, one that really appeals to those who grew up in the late 90s and early 2000s. The different Houses have an incredible, unmatched and difficult to describe atmosphere to them. They also manage to tell aspects of a story while never really giving you the complete picture. The story of My House.wad is very much left up to interpretation, one that doesn’t really have any definitive conclusions or answers but gives you enough pieces of the puzzle to form your own.
Figuring out how to progress in My House.wad is very cryptic, too cryptic for its own good. Even with the journal providing you (obtuse) hints, chances are you’re not going to figure out what you need to do without a walkthrough. I don’t think the experience is really hindered for following one either, as long as it's spoiler free.
Despite my love for DOOM, I don’t really have much experience with custom wads, so a lot of My House.wad’s technical achievements with the game’s engine are lost on me. Still, for what it is, I think that it’s a great evolution and interpretation of DOOM’s core design philosophy. You’re still getting into fights with hordes of demons, you’re still hunting down various keys (though in this case, these keys are the different “artifacts” as opposed to DOOM’s traditional keys) and you’re still navigating weird mazes. I think My House.wad a testament to how strong DOOM’s core philosophy is. It can be interpreted in a completely different fashion, yet still be recognizable as DOOM.
My House.wad is complicated in so many different ways. It is, all at once, hair-raising, funny, beautiful, frustrating, and cathartic. It is a true work of art and an experience that definitely sticks with you. It feels like a celebration of the last twenty years of gaming and internet culture with its creepypasta origins in DOOM forums, its use of the character of Shrek (who was once a popular meme) and its own backrooms segment. It accomplishes so much even though it’s a free fangame, and is well deserving of all of its achievements.
My House.wad does an excellent job unnerving you and making you paranoid. The initial tiny, barely noticeable changes to the House as well as the music from DOOM II’s E1M1 that make you question your surroundings and your memory are extremely effective. It even randomly plays Discord ping sound effects. It’s a great build up for what’s to come and one of the best parts of the experience.
The different versions of the House that you explore, namely the School House, Bath House, Brutalist House, etc, are all beautifully designed. They tap into a sense of ethereal nostalgia in a way reminiscent of vaporwave art and music, one that really appeals to those who grew up in the late 90s and early 2000s. The different Houses have an incredible, unmatched and difficult to describe atmosphere to them. They also manage to tell aspects of a story while never really giving you the complete picture. The story of My House.wad is very much left up to interpretation, one that doesn’t really have any definitive conclusions or answers but gives you enough pieces of the puzzle to form your own.
Figuring out how to progress in My House.wad is very cryptic, too cryptic for its own good. Even with the journal providing you (obtuse) hints, chances are you’re not going to figure out what you need to do without a walkthrough. I don’t think the experience is really hindered for following one either, as long as it's spoiler free.
Despite my love for DOOM, I don’t really have much experience with custom wads, so a lot of My House.wad’s technical achievements with the game’s engine are lost on me. Still, for what it is, I think that it’s a great evolution and interpretation of DOOM’s core design philosophy. You’re still getting into fights with hordes of demons, you’re still hunting down various keys (though in this case, these keys are the different “artifacts” as opposed to DOOM’s traditional keys) and you’re still navigating weird mazes. I think My House.wad a testament to how strong DOOM’s core philosophy is. It can be interpreted in a completely different fashion, yet still be recognizable as DOOM.
My House.wad is complicated in so many different ways. It is, all at once, hair-raising, funny, beautiful, frustrating, and cathartic. It is a true work of art and an experience that definitely sticks with you. It feels like a celebration of the last twenty years of gaming and internet culture with its creepypasta origins in DOOM forums, its use of the character of Shrek (who was once a popular meme) and its own backrooms segment. It accomplishes so much even though it’s a free fangame, and is well deserving of all of its achievements.
Happiness has to be fought for
Can't overstate how piercing this is. Sadly it sort of falls off when you need to rigorously follow guides to figure out how to get different endings (at least for me)
Holy shit
ok i have not actually Played this because i get so scared so easily BUT this mod is so fucking insanely good. holy shit man.
Vibes
EITA QUE MOD GOSTOSOOOO
like watching a video game go through an identity crisis in real time
unreal . i hope whoever made this continues to make this kind of thing
don't watch the video essay. just play it.
https://cohost.org/lexyeevee/post/1195766-myhouse-wad-tips
and use this if necessary (it will be)
unreal . i hope whoever made this continues to make this kind of thing
don't watch the video essay. just play it.
https://cohost.org/lexyeevee/post/1195766-myhouse-wad-tips
and use this if necessary (it will be)
myhouse is more of a tourist town than a videogame. it's an art exposition showing first hand internet trends, doom modding, and universally shared childhood experiences from the generation it wants to capture.
more than house of leaves, creepypastas or doom maps of people's own houses, the biggest inspiration to myhouse is actually liminal spaces. some of the areas are direct recreations of iconic sets such as poolroms, backrooms and abandoned daycare facilities. when the topic started exploding in 2020, it wasn't just another horror trend, but a phenomenon and a piece of discussion between older people (i.e. not children). most of us who saw the pictures felt uneasy, but not scared. we felt nostalgic. the word anemoia was commonly tossed around and defined. this is a feeling i'm all too common with but it was the first time i saw more people feeling. and more, it was felt in mass.
myhouse has the upper hand over other "liminal space games" because its narrative is greatly enhanced by it. most of these areas are so simple and mundane that they can resonate with absolutely everyone that was alive during that era. the daycare has a bootleg painting of Shrek on its wall, the airport has that 90s style of carpet and even the gas station/road at night seem to take inspiration from a classic doom map called "doom city". these uneventfully universal scenarios, when put inside the doom engine, with these textures, and that blade runner esque song, become a legend of its own. iconic set pieces that can trick your mind into remembering things that didn't happen or condensing a myriad of recollections into just one area in a videogame.
my favorite of these areas is the airport. it makes me think of Toy Story. it also makes me think of the carpet at my town's mall's arcade. it also reminds me of childhood trips to Rio. the pattern on the bus's carpet and chairs. a middle-of-the-road McDonald's. another bus. another mall. another McDonald's. another memory. another place. places i have never been to. memories i have never had. things i have never lived. all at once.
the storytelling in myhouse is not just to the service of one guy's house catching fire and their fear of a dog. things such as the Shrek mini-boss (which could be interpreted as a joke, but also as a manifestation of 2000s pop culture) and the console in the living room that goes from a PSX to an XBOX tell a story about not one single individual but us as an entire generation. the house changes because we change, we change because of the passage of time, and the passage of time is unbearably, terrifyingly painful. the horror of myhouse is not demons and atmosphere. is the reality of existing. growing up, transforming.
however, the driving factor of myhouse is its architecture. the enemies might as well not even have been there, because the main point of the game is not to kill, not to get to the end, but to experience these places, either for the first time or again. you can watch as many playthroughs as you want but it will not be the same as actually opening the game and walking around for yourself, staring at the skybox and taking the time to absorb the vibe. and the vibe is absolutely there, cogent as fuck. you're left to wander that space alone and as the game changes you change too, thinking about everything, absorbing your own fear and projecting your own memories onto these familiar sceneries.
this game is monumental in the most unassuming way possible, while at the same time being a complete rehash of a bunch of stuff we've seen countless times before. as i said previously, however, its rehashing is its strength, and that's pretty cool.
more than house of leaves, creepypastas or doom maps of people's own houses, the biggest inspiration to myhouse is actually liminal spaces. some of the areas are direct recreations of iconic sets such as poolroms, backrooms and abandoned daycare facilities. when the topic started exploding in 2020, it wasn't just another horror trend, but a phenomenon and a piece of discussion between older people (i.e. not children). most of us who saw the pictures felt uneasy, but not scared. we felt nostalgic. the word anemoia was commonly tossed around and defined. this is a feeling i'm all too common with but it was the first time i saw more people feeling. and more, it was felt in mass.
myhouse has the upper hand over other "liminal space games" because its narrative is greatly enhanced by it. most of these areas are so simple and mundane that they can resonate with absolutely everyone that was alive during that era. the daycare has a bootleg painting of Shrek on its wall, the airport has that 90s style of carpet and even the gas station/road at night seem to take inspiration from a classic doom map called "doom city". these uneventfully universal scenarios, when put inside the doom engine, with these textures, and that blade runner esque song, become a legend of its own. iconic set pieces that can trick your mind into remembering things that didn't happen or condensing a myriad of recollections into just one area in a videogame.
my favorite of these areas is the airport. it makes me think of Toy Story. it also makes me think of the carpet at my town's mall's arcade. it also reminds me of childhood trips to Rio. the pattern on the bus's carpet and chairs. a middle-of-the-road McDonald's. another bus. another mall. another McDonald's. another memory. another place. places i have never been to. memories i have never had. things i have never lived. all at once.
the storytelling in myhouse is not just to the service of one guy's house catching fire and their fear of a dog. things such as the Shrek mini-boss (which could be interpreted as a joke, but also as a manifestation of 2000s pop culture) and the console in the living room that goes from a PSX to an XBOX tell a story about not one single individual but us as an entire generation. the house changes because we change, we change because of the passage of time, and the passage of time is unbearably, terrifyingly painful. the horror of myhouse is not demons and atmosphere. is the reality of existing. growing up, transforming.
however, the driving factor of myhouse is its architecture. the enemies might as well not even have been there, because the main point of the game is not to kill, not to get to the end, but to experience these places, either for the first time or again. you can watch as many playthroughs as you want but it will not be the same as actually opening the game and walking around for yourself, staring at the skybox and taking the time to absorb the vibe. and the vibe is absolutely there, cogent as fuck. you're left to wander that space alone and as the game changes you change too, thinking about everything, absorbing your own fear and projecting your own memories onto these familiar sceneries.
this game is monumental in the most unassuming way possible, while at the same time being a complete rehash of a bunch of stuff we've seen countless times before. as i said previously, however, its rehashing is its strength, and that's pretty cool.
This review contains spoilers
High-effort interactive creepypasta that's clearly (and unashamedly) very inspired by House of Leaves. The packaged writing is unimpressive & uninspired, and its tricks are a bit spoiled if you're aware of other things that use invisible, subtle warps to create the illusion of paradoxical geometry. I don't want to be overly harsh - it's a fun way to spend half an hour, well worth a spin for those intrigued.
how the fuck is this even possible in doom
Me encantó dedicarle una tarde a pasármelo, ver sus secretos, lo que opinaba la gente en youtube... Es un juego muy especial.
One of the coolest uses of GZDoom I've seen. I really enjoyed getting lost in all of the secret twists and turns this map takes and I recommend it to anyone who's in to Doom or reality-bending horror. I also recommend checking out the supplementary material the map comes bundled with. One of these days I've got to get around to reading House of Leaves.
This review contains spoilers
MyHouse.WAD is such a strange horror game, since it doesnt really use alot of classic horror conventions. It doesnt have any jumpscares, it doesnt have mascots you can turn into marketable plushies, hell, outside of being a doom wad, it doesnt really twist some innocent childhood memories at all. Its really the opposite of current horror norms. And I feel thats why its so great.
Instead of these, my house instils a general sense of dread and unease by bringing in subtle changes and abnormalities, like the basement, which should not be possible in dooms engine, and changing certain sprites and sounds permanently without any warning. After all of this, it just gets stranger and stranger. room layouts change, you see non existent secrets, the house breaks the laws of reality, not just doom, and so much more.
It also uses the sense of familiarity to disarm you, with the house's layout being constantly repeated, be it in the brutalitarian maze, the airport, gas station, hospital, or the bathhouse. Its such a subtle thing you wouldnt notice at first, but it makes the game so much creepier as a result, knowing that no matter what, you are still in this god forsaken house.
Not only that, but the secrets you can find continue to confuse and perplex, with a literal backrooms, a never ending maze that leads nowhere, a mirrored version of underhalls, and random rooms in the brutalitarian maze which do seemingly nothing, all continuing to feed into the idea that this is far larger than what we can see.
This is not even getting into the story, the themes of trauma, grief, and nostalgia, the music, the usage of the medium of a DOOM WAD OF ALL THINGS, and so much more. For a '10 minute map where you go through a dudes friends house', this wad does so much that i havent even scratched the surface
TL:DR, If you love horror, doom wads, fighting shrek, and a game that surprises you at every chance, play this.
9.5/10
Instead of these, my house instils a general sense of dread and unease by bringing in subtle changes and abnormalities, like the basement, which should not be possible in dooms engine, and changing certain sprites and sounds permanently without any warning. After all of this, it just gets stranger and stranger. room layouts change, you see non existent secrets, the house breaks the laws of reality, not just doom, and so much more.
It also uses the sense of familiarity to disarm you, with the house's layout being constantly repeated, be it in the brutalitarian maze, the airport, gas station, hospital, or the bathhouse. Its such a subtle thing you wouldnt notice at first, but it makes the game so much creepier as a result, knowing that no matter what, you are still in this god forsaken house.
Not only that, but the secrets you can find continue to confuse and perplex, with a literal backrooms, a never ending maze that leads nowhere, a mirrored version of underhalls, and random rooms in the brutalitarian maze which do seemingly nothing, all continuing to feed into the idea that this is far larger than what we can see.
This is not even getting into the story, the themes of trauma, grief, and nostalgia, the music, the usage of the medium of a DOOM WAD OF ALL THINGS, and so much more. For a '10 minute map where you go through a dudes friends house', this wad does so much that i havent even scratched the surface
TL:DR, If you love horror, doom wads, fighting shrek, and a game that surprises you at every chance, play this.
9.5/10
one of my favorite doom wads of all time. this whole map is heavily inspired by the book "house of leaves", which i haven't read so i can't give my piece on that. myhouse is a creepy and liminal subversion of the "myhouse" wad concept, where you descend deeper and deeper through twisted versions of the titular house. the music is amazing, starting off with the track "running from evil" from the first level of doom II, and slowly distorting it with key changes and missed notes as you progress through the first couple parts of this map. eventually, when you start on one of several paths, the music abruptly turns into a beautiful ambient track that fits perfectly with the unfolding world inside of this house. the textures and doomcute looks very nice, not the best i've seen in a wad but still it's obvious there was effort put into even the normal parts of this map. there's not much here in terms of gameplay, other than the big final fight which is a relatively manageable slaughtermap style confrontation, which can mostly be taken care of by forcing enemies to infight. still, the point of this map is clearly not to set new standards in terms of gameplay. this map is incredible and absolutely deserved the cacoward. go play it for yourself.
Unironically one of my favorite games from 2023