Doom 2 Mod Hits Steam as Standalone Game
By Cody Gravelle 03 October 2016
In what has been a long time coming for the game’s creater, Doom 2 modder Paul Schneider is bringing Unloved onto Steam as a standalone horror shooter.
While many gamers associate Bethesda’s other series – The Elder Scrolls and Fallout – with having burgeoning modding communities, its a well-kept secret for many that the DOOM series of survival horror shooters has a group of dedicated modders just as passionate about improving the game in various ways. In fact, despite being over twenty years old, fans are still modding DOOM 2 to recreate Seinfeld’s apartment in 2016.
Whether due to its ground-breaking gameplay and presentation at the time or the nostalgia it has created in a generation of early-adopter PC gamers, DOOM 2 has spawned some exceptional mods. However, Paul Schneider’s 2010 mod, called Unloved, stood out as an exceptionally crafted mod that felt less like DOOM 2 and more like a new IP, and it seems he agreed. Unloved has now emerged from Steam’s Early Access as a fully-fledged horror shooter in its own right, and is available now in full.
While it’s unlikely to make the list of most controversial video games these days, Unloved looks like an unsettling trip through dimly lit hallways littered with gore on every wall and floor. The above trailer showcases the procedurally-generated levels that are a major part of the appeal to Unloved, alongside the omnipresent horror tropes that, while stereotypical, have made games like DOOM and now Unloved popular for years.
It will be interesting to see how Unloved stacks up to the series that inspired its existence, especially in a year that saw the release of a rebooted DOOM that was critically hailed as a turning point for the ailing franchise. Fans expecting a similar experience from Unloved aren’t likely to be satisfied, but the game lovingly recreates many of the elements that have made DOOM 2 such an enduring presence in the PC gaming community. Given that DOOM 2 is now old enough to have its own spooky occult house and demonic family, a potential spiritual successor becoming available on Steam could move copies quickly.
Those looking to pile up monstrous bodies quickly and with great, visceral detail can pick up Unloved at $8.99 USD thanks to a 40% off launch discount. It might not be a Game of the Year contender, but it’s a bloody romp through rooms filled with grotesque creatures waiting to kill players, and sometimes that’s more than enough.
Unloved is available now on PC through Steam.
Source: Steam (via Rock Paper Shotgun)
