The Plutonia Experiment

I am going to attempt to give some mini-review-ish opinions per level of wads that I will be playing.
Currently I am playing The Plutonia Experiment (While writing this). So this will be the first post of a Doom wad.

Next up will be the wads i've already done, such as the normal Doom and Doom II, TNT Evilution, Nerve.wad and any other wad I will finish.


Over all, Plutonia starts off very hard, and has a real "swampy" feel to it.
*I feel as if Shrek is watching me...*


*Please note that I play these wads with Project Brutality/Brutal Doom mods, which makes these maps significantly harder, especially in crowded zones and cramped spaces. Also, I play on the hardest difficulty (Black Metal on Brutal Doom, Last Man On Earth on Project Brutality.)*

To get The Plutonia Experiment, please visit the Steam page.

MAP01 to MAP06; initial Earth levels:
Level 1: Congo

A rough and unexpected start.
Like I said, it really gives you a preview of how this wad is gonna be. Tough as hell.
Mancubi, Revenants, and even Arch-Viles...
I did not expect that on the first map.
Also, the map was fairly lengthy for a first map. I usually expect them to be a bit shorter.. But then again, my own first level of my own wad isn't short at all either.

Level 2: Well of Souls

Another "Swampy Temple-Ish" level.
I'm not sure if I like or dislike these swampy temple maps. I probably do, but I prefer the space base maps the most. Probably because of my Episode 1 nostalgia.
First time seeing an invisible bridge though, pretty cool, reminds me of a certain map in Duke Nukem 3D, except there was no bridge there.

Level 3: Aztec

Lots of little corridors. Can feel pretty cramped, so facing off against Revenants (Or pretty much anything else) can be a lot of pain.
Still got the swampy temple theme going on. Not enjoying the lack of open strafing room. But that's probably on purpose, since this wad was made especially harder to challenge players.

Level 4: Caged

This map really reminds me of  Level 26: The Abandoned Mines of Doom II.
The main problem is that you start in the middle, and get surrounded right away. Very difficult to survive. But over all, I like the style of this map. Really liking the maps more from this map on.

Level 5: Ghost Town

Pretty fun map. More open areas, and even a Spider Mastermind!
This map likes to lock you up in a room full of enemies sometimes though, and it has some pretty nasty traps you want to watch out for.

Level 6: Baron's Lair

Another map I really enjoyed. I guess I just like the design of spwaning in the middle, having to explore every corner of the map one after another. Non-linear level design at it´s simplest.

MAP07 to MAP11; later Earth levels:
Level 7: Caughtyard

Very hard start, since you get surrounded right away. Never good when playing a Brutal Doom mod.
But I like the simple design. Pretty fun, but also pretty hard because of the ton of Revenants on the walls.

Level 8: Realm

Pretty hard map as well, due to the lack of strafing space and big rooms filled with enemies.
They just love putting a big acid pit in the middle of a bigass room, don't they?
But also a corridor with Barons is included. Yeah, they also don't like giving you strafing space...

Level 9: Abattoire

One of the way harder maps in Plutonia imo.
And with hard, I really mean balls-hard.
The start of the map isn't too bad, just some demons. but all the sub areas? Entering and exiting them is just signing your death. Tons of Mancubi and Revenants ready to screw up your day. Imps and an Arch-Vile waiting for you when you come back. And after you open the three-color-key door you expect the exit? Hell no. There's even more! A shit ton of Barons ready to F you up in a small room. Took me like a million retries. And then yet another big open room with a circle path in the middle, filled with a ton of enemies. Holy crap this map is hard.

Level 10: Onslaught

A very nicely designed level with lots of variety. Has some open outdoor areas, some underground dungeon rooms and some spacebase-style buildings. It's hard to get lost. But be on the lookout for some nasty traps and Arch-Viles.

Level 11: Hunted

Probably the most unique level in Plutonia.
Basically a big maze, filled with Arch-Viles placed in random locations because of the random chance of teleports the Arch-Viles will enter. The maze also is filled with floors that activate doors, which can just so happen to hold an Arch-Vile behind it.
All in all, a unique map with some fun temptation.

MAP12 to MAP20; hellish levels:
Level 12: Speed

I really liked this map. At the beginning, how the imps appear is pretty cool. The rest of the map is pretty fun to explore, yet pretty challenging. Also a Cyberdemon.
I'm not really sure why, but I really like maps designed with a lot of multi-story rooms. Really gives you a feeling of exploration. A nice memorable map.

Level 13: The Crypt

A nice map where you can't really get lost. I'd say the start with the Lost Souls is pretty annoying, but the rest is nice. I like the eastern outside area. The rest are just a couple of big rooms connected by some hallways. Simple enough, nothing to get you confusing, but pretty fun.

Level 14: Genesis

Pretty neat map with lots of outside areas and walls to walk across. Nice non linear design, feels like all areas are connected. I like it.

Level 15: The Twilight (Exit to secret level)

In this map you'll basically be spending time walking on three long corridors, getting shots from enemies all around you. Cover is hard to get here, so if you don't watch out, you'll die pretty easily.
At the end is a Spider Mastermind. Behind it is the exit, with also a teleporter leading to the secret exit, which I had no trouble with finding. I even forgot this map was leading to the secret exit before finding it.

Level 16: The Omen

A chaotic little map filled with plenty of Revenant, some Mancubi and even Arch-Viles.
There's also this big room filled with Chaingunners and Zombiemen ready to fill you up with holes.

Level 17: Compound

This map isn't too complicated, just grab the key on one side of the map, go to the other side and get the other key.
Plenty of damaging slime on the floor, so make good use of the HEV Suit.
I specially like the way how you have to get the yellow key.

Level 18: Neurosphere

This map kinda reminds me of  Level 14: The Inmost Dens of Doom II.
The start is pretty rough, as you are instantly surrounded, but it's pretty doable to run towards a safe spot at the start. Had some trouble finding the red switch, but that was most likely because of my own stupidity.

Level 19: NME

NME, as in "Enemy" I assume. I see what you did there.
The first two areas kinda remind me of E2M1: Deimos Anomaly of Doom.
After that, the map gets pretty hard and chaotic. The map isn't that big, but it has plenty of enemies and a narrow corridor with a trap inside. And then there's also a Cyberdemon cramped up in the little bit of space that's left.

Level 20: The Death Domain

Finally a map that feels somewhat bigger. The start actually made my game crash, due to memory loss, which required me to enter the level with notarget enabled to allow me to load the map without any crash. (Most likely because I was running the Project Brutality mod) The start was pretty rough, as you're surrounded by some Revenants, Arachnotrons and Chaingunners, but there's a nice safe spot across the spot where you spawn. I liked this map, and some parts reminded me of some parts in Doom II.

MAP21 to MAP30; devil-hive levels:
Level 21: Slayer

Totally reminds me of Level 11: 'O' of Destruction! (Aka "Circle of Death" of Doom II.
But it's a bit smaller than that map. But still as chaotic, if not, even more chaotic. The start was a nightmare for me, as I kept getting instakilled, and a safespot was very hard to find. A small, but challenging map.

Level 22: Impossible Mission

My favorite map of Plutonia! Has some awesome space-base designs, with nukage pools and plenty of other designs that reminded me greatly of the first episodes of Doom. What can I say? I'm just a sucker for designs that trigger my nostalgia. There's not a single area I really disliked, it has it all, from mazes and open reas, to pathways across nukage. Just play this map, and see for yourself how fun it is.

Level 23: Tombstone

My second favorite map of Plutonia. Reminding me somewhat of the original Doom episodes as well. You can get kinda lost in this map sometimes, but in the end, it's a very satisfying experience, and the map feels pretty big as well.

Level 24: The Final Frontier

Right away getting greeted by 2 Flesh-Wizards (Arch-Vile variants from Project Brutality mod) isn't very nice...!
The starting area also really reminds me of Doom II's Level 29: The Living End.
A pretty short level in my opinion though. But there is a Cyberdemon to kill near the end, and it looks pretty cool and hellish.

Level 25: The Temple of Darkness

AKA: "The Temple That Was Hard As F*ck!"
The starting area wasn't too hard, but after one certain teleport it just gets insane, you barely get any cover, thus, instakilling me the whole time. First by Barons, then by chaingunners and more!
Over all, I really liked the starting area the most.

Level 26: Bunker

Luckily enough you don't start with a bunch of enemies surrounding you like what happens in a lot of other maps.
Unluckily enough you need to start shooting downstairs in a big open room swarmed with enemies.
Overall, the map feels a bit mazy at certain moments, but nothing too extreme.
What I do say is that there's something that wants to kill you around literally every corner. (Not literally, but yes, literally.)

Level 27: Anti-Christ

A nice hellish-themed map, really giving the feeling that I am getting close to the end. Pretty challenging, but nothing impossible, just make sure to get to a safe spot after grabbing the soulsphere at the start.
There's also a Spider Mastermind, but there are some nice spheres to find around the map to help against that.
I do notice that the makers of Plutonia just love putting sniping Revenants in this wad...

Level 28: The Sewers

Finally a nice big map! Took me about 30 minutes. Some parts reminded me of Level 27: Monster Condo of Doom II. But most of the map consists of some sewers, and big areas with monsters.
I actually enjoyed this map quite a lot, and it gave me a lot ot explore, which is one of my favorite things to do. One of my favorites of Plutonia.

Level 29: Odyssey of Noises

Wow! What can I say? A very nice city-style map that reminds me of Level 13: Downtown of Doom II. I really just love all the exploration! A bummer that after killing pretty much everything, I had no idea where to go, and was wandering for quite some time to find the remaining keys and stuff.
Also, some enemies on top of buildings couldn't be hit with projectiles because of the way the sky-ceilings work. So that was kind of a bummer at times. But in the end, a very nice enjoyable map! One of my favorites of Plutonia.

Level 30: The Gateway of Hell

Finally here! The final map! Where you have to defeat the Icon of Sin! Guarded by a Cyberdemon, and a whole ton of spwaning monsters, which were impossible to defeat all at once. So basically just had to focus on the Icon Of Sin. I like the design a lot. But it's very hard due to it being a bit more cramped than a usual Icon Of Sin map.

MAP31 and MAP32; secret levels:
Level 31: Cyberden (Exit to super secret level)

The first secret map. Pretty crazy, filled with a few Cyberdemons that will get released one after another as you progress the map.

Level 32: Go 2 It

The definition of crazy. (Maybe a little bit crazy than one of my own maps, but I'm not very sure)
It's basically a heavily altered version of Level 1: Entryway from Doom II... Filled with a ton of deadly enemies. To be precise: 1 Spider Mastermind, 13, yes, THIRTEEN Cyberdemons, 19 Arch-Viles and 49 Revenants. And obviously a ton of other deadly enemies. This is bascially as crazy as it gets, be sure to save plenty, I myself spent more than an hour to complete this map, and that's not including the time I spent inbetween saving and dying.




Over all, this was a great wad, with a rough start to get me going.
For me, Plutonia gets more fun, the further into the wad you get, since the maps keep getting better and better. Though I do notice most of the maps in Plutonia don't give you a lot of strafing space, which is probably done on purpose to make this wad super challenging.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!