Doom 2: Realm of Chaos 2 - Map 25: Hell Is Where The Heart Is (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  
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IWAD: Doom 2
Port: DSDA-doom 29.3
Compatibility: Boom (comp level 9)
Mapper(s): Rob Berkowitz, dobu gabu maru, and Steve Duff
MIDIs: Syn - Senseless
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Realm of Chaos 2 (RC3ex): https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic...

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

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This map kicks off the first of two Hell-esque episodes with a bang. We’re figuratively and literally thrown into the fire right away and expected to survive and scramble for the keys needed to exit and the ammo needed to survive the onslaught. I love the pacing of the action here because it’s just non-stop combat from start to finish.

The opening minutes of frantic action really set the tone for what’s going to be a fast-paced playthrough. You don’t want to stop for even a second as you’re going to get slammed by projectiles and shot in the back by hitscanners. A lot of the pressure here comes from the enemies in the circular platforms on high, they have a commanding presence even though at the moment it’s just basic fodder enemies.

Later on you have Cacodemons that come in that always have the upper hand in a map like this that has so much damaging floor. Later on once you start exploring the outer walls of this place, nastier things start spawning in the center, including a mixture of mid-tiers that make life in the center a lot more stressful. The secret invulnerability can help a little bit in this regard, but I still struggle to find a solid use for it. This part is maybe the hardest part of the map as it’s nothing but Revenant rockets, Mancubi projectiles, and long streams of plasma to watch out for. This map thrives on this chaotic spread of enemies, and what makes all of this better is jamming out to Syn’s MIDI at the same time. The final thing of note is the finale, but at the same time it’s not too worthy of mention because you can just get the Cyberdemon to infight while you continue to stir the pot.

This map is a nice change of pace and great introduction to the Hell episodes.

#doom