Skulltiverse II
By ViolentBeetle et al. - 35 Maps
Format: MBF21
[Download]
Started: June 23rd 2026
Finished: June 30th 2026
Status: Shelved
Custom enemies are a dangerous thing when it comes to doom wads. Done well, they can really enhance the experience (Valiant and Eviternity 2 are notable examples that come to mind), but done wrong they can massively derail the usual gameplay, and Skulltiverse 2 is one of the latter. Skulltiverse and it's spiritual predecessor Hellevator were never quite the strongest when it came to raw level design but succeeded with pure variety thanks to their community project status. Skulltiverse 2's truckload of new enemies is already a bit much even if they were used intelligently by someone who knew them inside and out, but with so many people working on this project, the 22 new enemies are just kinda used everywhere, with minimal care given to interesting placement beyond just wanting to mess around with the new guys. It creates some really awkward encounters thanks to how they're implemented, and the fact that many feel redundant doesn't help make them fit in with the regular roster of demons. Skulltiverse 2's weapon balancing is also a bit off, placing a weird amount of emphasis on its new pistol and chaingun replacements (both of which kinda suck, since the new pistol is only a minor damage increase, and the new chaingun's increased damage doesn't make up for now having 50% of the usual firerate). The cavalcade of way too damn many custom guys makes the inconsistent map quality a lot harder to stomach, and honestly I think this series' gimmick has kinda started to overstay its welcome. Maybe I'll come back to this one later but for now I'm content to just leave it behind.
Rating - ⭐⭐⭐
Favorite/Least Favorite Map skipped because the WAD wasn't completed.