Bedlam 1.0

DOOM is one of the oldest FPSes in existence, and its engine is famously so robust that it can run on pretty much anything and also create pretty much anything.  People have been creating maps for it for years, but there has been a surprising amount of community episodes, where people band together and create an episode as opposed to a giant megaWAD. One of them is Bedlam.

To install Bedlam, you need to have ZDoom and move the WAD file into the GZDoom folder, which is pretty par for the course for DOOM maps.

There's no real story with this episode, which is fine, as it opens up each author to create their own levels with no limitations. The combat is pure DOOM. The pacing is very similar to regular DOOM - calm, easy moments interspersed with swarms of enemies that are tossed at you one at a time. The later levels in particular get really thick with enemies, although it never feels unfair. The Barons in this game are used in a way that you can always shoot them with a rocket launcher rather than whittle away at their health with worse guns. There is one event in particular that stands out, where you have to retreat down a narrow tunnel with a chainsaw - that is the only time where you won't be using the rocket launched against the Barons in these maps.

Overall, if you want a short but sweet breath of fresh air in DOOM, then you should give Bedlam a download.