Heartland
By skillsaw - 8 Maps
Format: Eternity
[Download]
Started: March 3rd 2025
Finished: March 5th 2025
Status: Completed
Heartland is fantastic. In just 7 maps skillsaw manages to create one of the best doom experiences of all time. Every map is so well crafted and unique, the custom weapons are maybe my favorite weapon set in all of classic doom modding, and stewboy's music is absolutely perfect. However, much like the human body relies on it's heart to function, Heartland doesn't work right without something specific to power it either. And that thing is kinda terrible. Heartland exclusively runs with the Eternity Engine sourceport, which just does not feel good to play with. Getting the settings right in a way that makes it feel comparable to how I usually have my settings in GZDoom was a pain, getting it to fullscreen is weird, the perspective looks a bit too zoomed in, and while it does thankfully still have freelook and a crosshair, freelook is extremely jank looking here. The only reason I can't give this a 5/5 is specifically because of the eternity engine. But don't let that discourage you from playing it. Once you're used to the Eternity Engine's quirks, heartland is an incredible experience, and absolutely worth slogging through the setup process and awkward gamefeel to play. It's one of the highest quality doom wads out there, and an absolute must play no matter what.
Rating - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Favorite Map - Map 6: "Get Shafted"
Least Favorite Map - N/A. Everything here is fantastic, giving any map the least favorite award just wouldn't feel right.