Speed of Doom is a pretty great wad. It’s challenging from the start with its tricky monster encounters but this early part of the wad allows it to show off its snappy level design. The level use vanilla sets but are evocative. They find the balance between simplicity and detail.
It doesn’t take long for the wad to pick up with higher enemy counts and larger monster closets. The secret levels halfway through the wad, one of those levels sporting 1000+ enemies on the UV difficulty, are an omen for the wad’s final leg. By the last “episode”, the wad has evolved into a slaughterfest, but there are few combat arenas that aren’t bespoke.
The climax of the wad is an ultra-hard sortie into seas of monsters, with Twilight Massacre being a hellish field of unrelenting BFG fire. I have played this wad before but I wasn’t able to finish the final level because my gameplay mod and the 2000+ enemies made the game stall. I played vanilla this time so there was no slowdown even as I dashed through the black abyss of the game’s final level.
I get why this is regarded as a classic megawad although I think the years have dulled its sheen though. Newer, flashier megawads have come in its wake. I prefer the humble chaos of Speed of Doom, though, and by finishing this megawad again, I can see the influence that this wad had over the mapping community years after.
It doesn’t take long for the wad to pick up with higher enemy counts and larger monster closets. The secret levels halfway through the wad, one of those levels sporting 1000+ enemies on the UV difficulty, are an omen for the wad’s final leg. By the last “episode”, the wad has evolved into a slaughterfest, but there are few combat arenas that aren’t bespoke.
The climax of the wad is an ultra-hard sortie into seas of monsters, with Twilight Massacre being a hellish field of unrelenting BFG fire. I have played this wad before but I wasn’t able to finish the final level because my gameplay mod and the 2000+ enemies made the game stall. I played vanilla this time so there was no slowdown even as I dashed through the black abyss of the game’s final level.
I get why this is regarded as a classic megawad although I think the years have dulled its sheen though. Newer, flashier megawads have come in its wake. I prefer the humble chaos of Speed of Doom, though, and by finishing this megawad again, I can see the influence that this wad had over the mapping community years after.
Speed of Doom is probably the most conflicted I've been on a Doom megawad, and the reason why is abundantly obvious to me. The essence of this megawad is its unique synthesis of classical inspirations with forward-thinking originality. It is a game of balances, and nowhere is that clearer than its authorship. Speed of Doom features the work of two mappers, Joshy and Darkwave, who split the 32 map load into an even 16 each. The game continuously alternates between each mapper, with Joshy handling the odd-numbered maps and Darkwave handling the even-numbered maps (with the exception of the two secret maps).
There's no nice way to say this, so I'll be blunt. If this mapset were entirely Darkwave's work, I'd be inclined to bump it up a point. If it were entirely Joshy's, I'd be inclined to bump it down one. On the whole, I find Darkwave to be a much more engaging and fair mapmaker than Joshy. Darkwave's work fluctuates between pensive and explosive, atmospheric and dramatic. There is a strong sense of momentum in each of Darkwave's maps, which makes them highly rewarding to pistol start.
Joshy, on the other hand, has a frustrating penchant for cramped spaces and awkward weapon progression from pistol start. Speaking of pistol start, I should probably mention that I beat every map pistol start with the exception of one: Poison Ivy II. This map is everything wrong with Joshy's style in a nutshell. I beat it, of course, but only after a swift "get weapons" input into the console. Now, all of this is not to say that I think Joshy's maps are all bad. In fact, there are few that I quite enjoy. But the simple matter is that I find his maps generally much less engaging than Darkwave's.
Speed of Doom's back and forth between its two co-authors is what defines its unique progression, but the difference in quality between its two co-authors' styles is ultimately what keeps me from calling it a new favorite. It's absolutely worth playing for any classic Doom fan, just know that, for some, Joshy's style might be a more acquired taste than Darkwave's. Then again, who's to say the opposite isn't also true?
There's no nice way to say this, so I'll be blunt. If this mapset were entirely Darkwave's work, I'd be inclined to bump it up a point. If it were entirely Joshy's, I'd be inclined to bump it down one. On the whole, I find Darkwave to be a much more engaging and fair mapmaker than Joshy. Darkwave's work fluctuates between pensive and explosive, atmospheric and dramatic. There is a strong sense of momentum in each of Darkwave's maps, which makes them highly rewarding to pistol start.
Joshy, on the other hand, has a frustrating penchant for cramped spaces and awkward weapon progression from pistol start. Speaking of pistol start, I should probably mention that I beat every map pistol start with the exception of one: Poison Ivy II. This map is everything wrong with Joshy's style in a nutshell. I beat it, of course, but only after a swift "get weapons" input into the console. Now, all of this is not to say that I think Joshy's maps are all bad. In fact, there are few that I quite enjoy. But the simple matter is that I find his maps generally much less engaging than Darkwave's.
Speed of Doom's back and forth between its two co-authors is what defines its unique progression, but the difference in quality between its two co-authors' styles is ultimately what keeps me from calling it a new favorite. It's absolutely worth playing for any classic Doom fan, just know that, for some, Joshy's style might be a more acquired taste than Darkwave's. Then again, who's to say the opposite isn't also true?