myhouse.wad is a doom ii mod built for the gzdoom source port that masquerades as if it were simply a recreation of someones real life house (which was all the rage in the early 2000s doom map community). of course, the aforementioned masquerade is just a barrier between the player and the actual game. in actuality, the mod is a psychological horror game utilizing non-euclidian geometry courtesy of well-placed teleports combined with proprietary udmf features that creates impossible geometry and subtly changes scenery as the game progresses

the map editor trickery going on here is nothing short of absolute genius. everything is so seamless and well thought out that, without firsthand mapping knowledge, you would genuinely never know how the game works until watching a video about it. i love that its so easy to run and play on just about any platform but the intricacies here, particularly in terms of sheer game design and layout, run deep. i think that, aside from the obvious psychological toying, my favorite aspect of the entire game is just that its so easy to overlook the depth of the game. one facet i have not read much emphasis on outside my own playthrough is how simple yet genius the idea of putting a generic wad with just the house in the game directory is; i thought that was the entire game. had i somehow downloaded the mod not having watched a video about it, i wouldve finished the first loop-around and quit after the blue gate.

in terms of narrative, the only qualms i had were the incorporation of over-done, over-safe possession tropes; the idea of someones soul inhabiting a computer or a game is tried. now, of course, it makes perfect sense to employ in this narrative, but everything about this game is so unique and presented in a genius way that it feels silly to turn to the journal entries and read about spooky dreams mirroring reality and such.

one thing i immediately thought i would dislike about myhouse.wad was the incorporation of the liminal spaces trope, particularly using viral examples as actual scenery in the game. the backrooms and hotel courtyard are actual playable parts of this game. while i thought it seemed kitschy at first, it really does fit the narrative quite well and only the backrooms feels out of place (which is really fine because you have to cheat to get there anyway)

my last comment is the picture of the author of the map and his late friend is so obviously edited (ai?) it hurts. this isnt serious criticism (look at the set dressing in modern resident evil titles) but its hilarious nonetheless

i am the first person to denounce low effort creepypasta, but really, myhouse.wad is the most refreshing internet horror story in recent memory and i doubt one this interesting will crop up again for the rest of the decade