Doom 2: Realm of Chaos 2 - Map 26: Acidosis (UV Max)

Realm of Chaos 2 is a large 40-map megawad made in part by the mapping group The Macintosh Team. As the number in the title reveals, Realm of Chaos 2 (or RoC 2, as I might call it) is a sequel to The Macintosh Team’s own Realm of Chaos from 1996. Surprisingly, two of the mapping team’s OG members, Rob Berkowitz and Steve Duff, brought together an absolutely star-studded cast of mappers and musicians to make the sequel. That cast of mappers and musicians should be enough for anyone to dive in and see what RoC 2 offers.

To get straight to the point, RoC 2 strikes a really nice balance between vintage and modern sensibilities. It has elements of TNT and Plutonia while also picking and choosing influences from some of the best PWADs the Doom community has produced. The combat is scrappy and ferocious at times, the levels are large and expansive, the concepts and themes are fantastic, and the music is outstanding.

Overall, I’m surprised this WAD doesn’t have as much recognition on YouTube, because it more than deserves it. As such, I hope you all enjoy the play-through!

Realm of Chaos 2 PLAYLIST:    • Realm of Chaos 2  
====================
IWAD: Doom 2
Port: DSDA-doom 29.3
Compatibility: Boom (comp level 9)
Mapper(s): Lee Szymanski
MIDIs: AD_79 - Determinator
====================

Realm of Chaos 2 (RC3ex): https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic...

DSDA-doom: https://github.com/kraflab/dsda-doom

====================
Acidosis is definitely my favorite of Szymanski’s two contributions to RoC 2. It plays as if it’s a cut map from Alien Vendetta where the mapper was trying to evoke Thy Flesh Consumed and its aesthetics. It has that signature green marble, wood, and metal aesthetic that defines a lot of Doom’s fourth episode, yet has monster placement that brings to mind Plutonia and Alien Vendetta’s best.

Lee Szymanski seems to be the right man for the job in this case, because once again he nailed this refreshing balance of styles. Its another distinctly vintage map uplifted considerably by another incredible AD_79 track. It brings the already interesting texturing / aesthetics to life and adds a sense of urgency and adventure to the entire experience.

Szymanski’s maps really do seem to resemble Alien Vendetta maps to a tee. Like that WAD, Acidosis brings great, effective combat, aesthetic beauty through the lighting and architecture, and a superb level flow that’s super easy to engage with. The combat plays into this as well. You often encounter Chaingunners, Archviles, Revenants, and more, yet everything still plays smoothly and without many hiccups quality-wise.

You even have a bit of freedom with the routing, allowing you to either go for the blue or red key first. I went down the blue key route first and I think it made the map easier for me but I’m not sure. The map is designed really well in that one path isn’t any more dangerous than the other, so it’s just up to how you like to play and which path seems the least dangerous to you. Each path has some interesting encounters, like the Plasma Rifle ambush in slime on the blue key path and the string of smaller encounters that lead to the red key. The finale caps the map off great with an up close Cyberdemon and some Pinkies. Overall, this is a fun Alien Vendetta-esque map that breaks up the more modern maps surrounding it.

#doom