Episode 63: DOOM II

Retro Spectives

Doom II came hot on the coattails of Doom, releasing just 10 months after the first game took the world by storm. Billed as a sequel, it resembled an expansion pack far more, introducing only a handful of enemies and one new weapon. Despite this, Doom II was massively successful at launch, and introduced all the pieces for the enormous Doom modding community that continues to thrive to this day.

But is it enough to introduce so little and still expect the gameplay experience to be fresh? Could a game only in development for such a short time deliver consistently good level design? Or will Doom II end up being remembered more for what it introduced than the substantial experience of actually playing it?

On this episode, we discuss:

• What does the addition of the Super Shotgun do to change the essential Doom experience? Can a weapon that's fundamentally overpowered actually be a good thing?
• What is it exactly that makes a good Doom level? We talk about teleporters, verticality and the scale of the encounters you have to face.
• How do the new monsters change how you play the game? Do all the monsters in Doom II have a role to play, or are some more interesting than others?

We answer these questions and many more on the 63rd episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Doom II OST: Bobby Prince

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Did you enjoy Doom II more than Doom I? Are we over rating The Plutonia Experiment? Do you have any custom WADS to suggest? Come and join the discussion on our community discord server!