As we approach Doom’s 30th anniversary (yes, we’re getting older), it’s amazing how much life and variety remains in id Software’s classic first-person shooter. Three decades after its release, passionate gamers continue to tweak, refine and completely transform the ultimate PC shooter, making it look like a completely modern FPS or, in some cases, an all-new game. Available now and Totally free, a recent Doom mod accomplishes the latter, turning id’s 1993 masterpiece into a supremely hardcore random roguelike, akin to contemporary hits like Dead Cells, Darkest Dungeon, and Into the Breach.

Developed by ‘difficultoldstuff’, aka ‘DOS’, Doom Infinite rebuilds the classic shooter with all the fundamental elements of a roguelike. The appearances of enemies, weapons and power-ups are random. Levels are dynamically generated. You can even modify your weapons. The idea is to create a whole new Doom experience, in which you are faced with a completely unpredictable challenge that gets harder and harder with each step.

In addition to random spawns, enemies now receive traits, curses, and stat changes to make them more challenging and varied. Although the skins remain the same, their behavior changes from level to level – you might see a baron from hell and think “oh yeah, I know what to do here”, only to have him come charging at you at twice the speed and kill you with one hit. There are hidden areas, procedurally generated traps, and levels can even be changed and redesigned, just like the best roguelikes, as you play.

“Dramatically expanding upon the mechanics of the original, Infinite allows for a fun, dynamic, and unique experience as well as permanent, unlockable achievements,” explains difficultoldstuff. “Dynamic generators, balanced gamemaster, visual and audio upgrades, three new weapons, music mixer and even a simple yet expressive emote system – these are just some of the additional components built into this mod, all to improve the extraction and the pause. hordes of demons are chasing you.

The longer you survive, the higher your “Curse Level” will be, forcing tougher enemies to appear alongside more complicated traps. In response, you can customize your stats, modify your weapons, or rely more on randomly generated bonuses.

If Doom roguelike sounds like your bag, you can get Doom Infinite here. Although the mod is available for free, you can also support its development on the proudoldstuff Patreon.

Take a look at some of the other best old games you can still play in 2023. Otherwise, keep an eye on the present with the best new games, or look ahead and see the best games coming to your PC next.

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