Goetia 1

3.5/5

A small bundle of classical goodness, Goetia takes a lot of the Ultimate Doom's appeal and bakes it into a rotted husk that lied under a hellish sky too long. It is decrepit and creepy -- in a good way. It has no shortage of architectural creativity, in the wilder, skewed shapes that often accompany detail-sparse design. Abundant are ledges, gaps, windows, bridges, platforms, gratings, streams, and secrets in shadows. 

Only two maps break 50 monsters, and I plowed through the set with carryovers in 30 minutes. (Pistol starts are supported too.) Power ammo is doled out carefully; finding a lone rocket box in a secret is a delight. 

Deliberately loose alignment and texturing can still be judged on its visual appeal, which is one way Goetia disappointed me. Sometimes it felt NEIS/DTWID "good ugly," but often I thought it was messy in a much less artful way. 

I really enjoyed the design and the atmosphere, cool enemy placement but not at its best use. Short maps and not challenging at all. But sometimes it's just good to enjoy some claustrophobia and let it kill you instead. So good job!

The level design in this one is something that you don't see everyday. Triangular architecture, full of spikes and spirals, somewhat orthogonal in some places and/or vertical in others. Lots of interconnections, windows, different angles from where the enemies can shoot you.

That said the maps are very short and the WAD can be beaten in less than 30 - 45 minutes. It also would've been easy, but there's really not much health pickups provided so the enemies will eventually drain you.