The Darkening Episode 2

The Darkening episodes are an interesting look back at the turning point in the Doom community. Episode 1 represented a swan song for the classic era, while Episode 2 ushered in a brand new era of meticulously-detailed maps. Darkening E2 is certainly a huge step up from E1 in terms of visuals, and you'd be hard pressed to find a better-looking singleplayer map made prior to its release.

 

However, this high detail comes at the price of the gameplay. It's obvious the team hit the wall with the vanilla engine, and the result are 12 extremely claustrophobic and tedious maps. The first 6 maps are a slog to play through, as the monster counts are low and the only challenge comes from the utter lack of health pickups. The episode picks up considerably in the 2nd half when maps are allowed to have greater opposition than just 3 Revenants, but the core loop never goes beyond the most basic, predictable ambushes and tedious switch hunts. Not helping matters is the soundtrack, which might just be the worst original MIDIs I've heard in any Doom WAD. There's a piano solo in the MAP09 track that's so horrible, I thought my MIDI player actually broke!

 

The Darkening E2's importance in Doom modding history can't be overlooked, but there were far better levels in earlier WADs like "Icarus" and "Dystopia 3". In other words, Darkening E2 is exactly as good as you'd expect a product derivative of Quake II to be.

Epic wad in the style of Quake 2 (whereas Darkening I was in the style of Quake), with lots of fresh new textures, new music and complex techbase design, and headed by an author who's online even today.

Quite an improvement from the first episode, thats for sure.
Ukiro brings us here a magnificent set of new textures that, along with some of the best mappers of the moment, contributed to make and incredible wad full of details and incredible challenging.

Its pretty clear the influence of this mapset on later mapsets like Suspended in Dusk by Espi, and Back to Saturn X by Esselfortium et all.
Not only this maps are organic and fluid, they were made in a way that you revisit previous areas while opening new ones, as much of the best mapsets of the modern standar did on this times.
The new way of mapping to come shows its roots on this mapset as no other from the 90's did.

Its amazing how new textures might open the mind to new way of using them, creating new possibilities on the creative flux of the mappers, and invigorates the community to always move forward.

I really want to thanks 

-Ola Björling

-Nick Baker

-Ben Davies

-Derek MacDonald (Afterglow)

-Jan Van der Veken

-Anthony Soto

-Lee Szymanski

-Richard Wiles

-Adam Windsor
for making this amazing and influential mapset.

Only thing i could name as a drawback is the music. It didn't fit the maps most of the times.

Great mapset! Loved the atmosphere and architecture and details that were achieved with the unique texture set. Gameplay's got its ups and downs (one instance of a bunch of barons 😠), but it's still got a good challenge and fun stuff in it. Music is kinda eh, but there's some tracks in here that are pretty good.

Overall, a nice megawad with nice and entertaining maps, nice design and architecture/geometry placing, it completes with the nice futuristic new textures that gives it nice future look and the feel you're on a different game and story

Very nice textures 10/10 Flammable4444 17.09.2015

It's like Quake 2, but fun. Looks good and plays good. When you're lost, try looking for a small crate to hop on, or hit use on some of the wall computers.

Music is kinda grating on some levels. And sometimes the path to progress isn't too obvious. Looks nice, and some decent moments, but Darkening 1 is far better.

No good at all. Progression in every map is terrible. Given the size of the maps, having no indication at all of what switches do gets very tedious and frustrating. Keys are often put in completely random, nonsensical locations. Every map has the same issue. Don't bother playing it.

Not bad.

Terrible music, also plays bad, cookiecutter texture scheme that simply doesn't look good in Doom - keep that realistic stuff in other games. How the author went from the masterpiece that was the first darkening to this, I can't fathom.

Most of the visuals haven't aged very well (the new textures are a mixed bag, ranging from "Photoshop beginner" to "stolen from Quake 2") and there are some questionable design decisions in the maps, but it's still a pretty good time, though not nearly as much so as the reviews here would have you believe.

Superlative level set in design, flow and architecture. Only slight gripe is some of the music is really quite bad. Still 5/5

Oh, that's right. Some music in the game really sucks a**. Definetely not the best music I ever heard in a Doom wad. The gameplay is pretty good for a modern wad. It can definetely improve so not legendary.

is it smashing or is it smashing very msashing

Solid mapset based on custom textures. Levels have varying sizes, and overall good layout. Texture use and decoration are as-is quite nice, but do imo not vary enough for 12 maps - it feels like it is one large level. Gameplay @ UV has its fine moments, but is overall a bit too easy: I used a few rockets and cells in map 12 only. Overall: not legendary, but solid 4/5. BTW I don't like the music at all, but that can be switched off - therefore no minus points.

This washed the horrible taste of UACMN out of my system. Thank you, Ola Björling, for a fantastic wad. 5/5

OMFG OMFG, finally, a good wad... wait not good, best, awesome, greatest, omfg, this wad owns, 5/5, alot of effort put into this and im only on map01, VERY nice

Wow. After being quite disappointed with Darkening 1, I was blown away by this. The levels are gorgeous, sprawling, and entertaining almost all the way through. Really, the only complaints I can level are questionable midis and horrible baron usage, but this is a top-tier mapset.

Forget about playing this in Ultra-violence, there's not enough health packs to go around. Fatal mistake. 1/5

i like this game so much

^ I finish in UV with those packs. Maybe you are a bad player. This is not HR2. 5/5 for one of the best wads ever

Wow! Even ever better then the one before!

Extremely well made set of levels. Real 3D feeling, so beautifully textured and layouted! I never saw so wonderful architecture with the DOOM engine before, really, and I've played lots of levels. Only the new music is lame and anoying.

the most awesome textures i've seen used in doom!!!!! 5/1 ;)