Realm of Chaos: 25th Anniversary Edition (Second Playthrough)
By Cammy and The Macintosh Team - 33 Maps
Format: Vanilla
[Download]
Started: July 30th 2026
Finished: August 1st 2026
Status: Completed
[STARCANNON399'S DEAN OF DOOM SEASON 4 WAD REVIEWS: PART 3 - REALM OF CHAOS: 25th ANNIVERSARY EDITION]
Finally, something properly enjoyable! I'd actually played this wad semi-recently already, so at first I didn't really have the interest to do a second playthrough, but i ended up finding a great way to spice things up for this playthrough by doing something I almost never do: gameplay mods! Mengo's ABSOLUTELY incredible Mega Man ZDoom made tearing through RoC 25th a second time into an absolute blast, and giving this wad a second tour (plus the infectious energy from that dean of doom episode), made me enjoy it even more. RoC 25th is a fantastic fusion of classic megawad level design and modern megawad combat design, retaining most of the original RoC's level layouts and texturing while overhauling the combat to preserve a more enjoyable flow. Cammy did an incredible job remastering the entire experience from front to back, and his new midis elevate the experience even higher. Dawnriot, Deep Alone, Sharks Are Different, Machine Of My Memories, What Do We Do with the Moonshine Man?, Dead Prominence, Outback Splinter River, Iconoclastic Flow, this is an entire megawads worth of fantastic music, and it's worth playing just for that alone. There's still a handful of low points during the hell episode, but it coasts to the finish line fairly gracefully, and those first two thirds are full of consistent fun and charm. RoC 25th is a sleeper hit of a megawad, and I'd encourage everyone to give it a look someday.
After the unconquerable pain gauntlet that was Sunder, and the very conquerable boredom gauntlet that was Hellbound, seeing this wad come up as episode 3 was a breath of fresh air, and seeing the Dean get all excited over it made for one of the most fun episodes of the show yet. It's quite the oddball pick that I never would've expected, but I'm glad RoC 25th got some time in the spotlight. A very interesting hint towards a future wad from this season was dropped during the episode too, and I'm intrigued to see how it gets covered considering the unique circumstances that wad is in. Despite being pretty much confirmed, I won't actually play it until then though, and there's no guarantee that'll be the next wad, so I'll see everyone then for another special feature review next week!
Rating - ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
Favorite Map - Map 20: "Teleporter Central"
Least Favorite Map - Map 23: "Ancalagon"