Although it isn't perfect, Struggle is one of the most significant and impactful Doom megawads ever crafted. Antares is in many ways a mapmaker in a category of his own, as every level here sports astounding attention to detail. There are a lot of reasons for this. Every map has a palpable atmosphere that feels tangible and lived-in. Though the settings are fantastical, they feel real, and that isn’t an easy feat in classic Doom. On top of that, Antares' liberal use of one-way doors allows sections of each map to link together surprisingly naturally. If you're ever looking to backtrack, Antares has your back.
But where Struggle really shines, of course, is the combat. The megawad's beefed up weapon set features a replacement for every weapon, with the sole exception of the super shotgun (you can't improve perfection). These new weapons are on the whole much more dangerous than the old arsenal, particularly the guns akimbo, a lightning fast chaingun replacement that stunlocks most enemies. The grenade launcher, which fittingly replaces the rocket launcher, isn't quite as good at crowd control as its predecessor, though the absolutely meteoric Leichenfaust, the BFG9000 replacement, more than makes up for this. Also, the melee weapon being a hammer is a very cool nod to Oldboy, a favorite film of both Antares and myself.
Antares throws in a few custom monsters and provides some well-rounded buffs to the returning bestiary, making seemingly familiar encounters more dangerous than players might expect. Combat encounters don't particularly lean into slaughter-esque high monster counts until the end, though don't take that to mean that this game is easy. Antares' masterfully unique flavor of classic Doom combat is delightfully strategic, with arenas and monster placement rewarding quick thinking and mastery of your new arsenal.
I would highly recommend playing Struggle with a pistol start each map. Antares practically litters the floor with ammo, so you'll never be short on that. Each map's pacing of finding its weapons is deliberate and progressively brisk. Each instance of finding the Leichenfaust feels like an event unto itself.
Unfortunately, Struggle isn't perfect. While it is doubtlessly a gorgeous game to look at, these environments tend to blend together. Most Struggle maps can be sorted into one of two visual categories: techbase or primary color demon domain. The latter category is almost entirely blue, though there is at least one red map and one green map. Again, it's not that the maps look bad, just that many of them look the same. This monotony is a difficult issue to completely ignore; especially early on, where techbases reign supreme. That so many of the levels look so similar visually feels like a disservice to the undeniable love and care that each one was crafted with.
There's also the final boss, which is unsurprisingly also a disappointment. Classic Doom megawads have been known to fumble the bag at the last moment, but Struggle's final map is a rather egregious case. Thankfully, this is mostly made up for by a legendary preceding duology of maps. Map30 notwithstanding, Antares doesn't seem to know how to make a bad map, but maps 28 and 29 are on another level entirely.
I apologize if this review seems overly long, but I suppose, in a way, I'm just astonished by how much a Doom megawad can make me feel. Struggle is perfectly named not just for its difficulty, but also for its creation. Playing through this game, you can't help but stop and admire how tirelessly Antares must have worked to make everything fit so perfectly. The effort that this one-man project evidently took is equal parts overwhelming and inspiring. I'm beyond grateful not just for Antares, but also for all the modders and coders who came before him, who laid the groundwork for this masterpiece.
Struggle is the story of one man pursuing what is clearly his passion, endeavoring to create a Doom megawad that is fast-paced, carefully rebalanced, and immaculately detailed both visually and in terms of its progression. While there are a few issues here and there, namely the monotony of the environments and the disappointing final boss, I think there's no doubt that Antares succeeded in his goal.
But where Struggle really shines, of course, is the combat. The megawad's beefed up weapon set features a replacement for every weapon, with the sole exception of the super shotgun (you can't improve perfection). These new weapons are on the whole much more dangerous than the old arsenal, particularly the guns akimbo, a lightning fast chaingun replacement that stunlocks most enemies. The grenade launcher, which fittingly replaces the rocket launcher, isn't quite as good at crowd control as its predecessor, though the absolutely meteoric Leichenfaust, the BFG9000 replacement, more than makes up for this. Also, the melee weapon being a hammer is a very cool nod to Oldboy, a favorite film of both Antares and myself.
Antares throws in a few custom monsters and provides some well-rounded buffs to the returning bestiary, making seemingly familiar encounters more dangerous than players might expect. Combat encounters don't particularly lean into slaughter-esque high monster counts until the end, though don't take that to mean that this game is easy. Antares' masterfully unique flavor of classic Doom combat is delightfully strategic, with arenas and monster placement rewarding quick thinking and mastery of your new arsenal.
I would highly recommend playing Struggle with a pistol start each map. Antares practically litters the floor with ammo, so you'll never be short on that. Each map's pacing of finding its weapons is deliberate and progressively brisk. Each instance of finding the Leichenfaust feels like an event unto itself.
Unfortunately, Struggle isn't perfect. While it is doubtlessly a gorgeous game to look at, these environments tend to blend together. Most Struggle maps can be sorted into one of two visual categories: techbase or primary color demon domain. The latter category is almost entirely blue, though there is at least one red map and one green map. Again, it's not that the maps look bad, just that many of them look the same. This monotony is a difficult issue to completely ignore; especially early on, where techbases reign supreme. That so many of the levels look so similar visually feels like a disservice to the undeniable love and care that each one was crafted with.
There's also the final boss, which is unsurprisingly also a disappointment. Classic Doom megawads have been known to fumble the bag at the last moment, but Struggle's final map is a rather egregious case. Thankfully, this is mostly made up for by a legendary preceding duology of maps. Map30 notwithstanding, Antares doesn't seem to know how to make a bad map, but maps 28 and 29 are on another level entirely.
I apologize if this review seems overly long, but I suppose, in a way, I'm just astonished by how much a Doom megawad can make me feel. Struggle is perfectly named not just for its difficulty, but also for its creation. Playing through this game, you can't help but stop and admire how tirelessly Antares must have worked to make everything fit so perfectly. The effort that this one-man project evidently took is equal parts overwhelming and inspiring. I'm beyond grateful not just for Antares, but also for all the modders and coders who came before him, who laid the groundwork for this masterpiece.
Struggle is the story of one man pursuing what is clearly his passion, endeavoring to create a Doom megawad that is fast-paced, carefully rebalanced, and immaculately detailed both visually and in terms of its progression. While there are a few issues here and there, namely the monotony of the environments and the disappointing final boss, I think there's no doubt that Antares succeeded in his goal.