Just one year after the release of the original DOOM, id Software followed it up with DOOM II. While more akin to a standalone expansion by modern standards, DOOM II was immensely successful and popular. The title continued the series' reputation for high-quality entries.
Among DOOM II's thirty-two level campaign are some truly iconic and impressive stages. Many are still beloved to this day. Selecting just five that stand above the rest is a daunting prospect, but here are the five best maps from DOOM II.
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5: MAP07: Dead Simple
Dead Simple is exactly as the name implies. This map consists of a single arena, with four central pillars topped by Mancubi in the center. MAP07 tasks the player with killing every Mancubus in the level before the walls lower and the arena expands to reveal an army of Arachnotrons. Killing every monster reveals the exit switch in the very center, completing the stage.
Dead Simple is a truly iconic map. It has been re-made and referenced in many other shooters, perhaps most notably within DOOM 2016's Necropolis. The level is a perfect palette cleanser after some of the more dark and maze-like stages that have come previously, such as The Waste Tunnels. Dead Simple is a cathartic celebration of DOOM's core tenets through uninterrupted combat. Notably, Dead Simple has also become one of the most popular levels for Deathmatch players within DOOM II.
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4: MAP08: Tricks and Traps
Tricks and Traps is one of DOOM's most memorable levels. The stage begins with the player in a small room surrounded by doors. Each contains a unique gauntlet, including a rather iconic combat encounter that requires the player to cause a Cyberdemon to begin battling an army of Barons of Hell. Much of this map is entirely optional, and it is up to the player if they wish to take up the challenges of every room.
If MAP07 celebrated DOOM's essence through unrelenting combat, then MAP08 champions its other aspects such as monster infighting, demon ambushes and cruel tricks. This map feels like a DOOM haunted house, with each room specifically cultivated to present something special. The one downside of this map is its ending, in which platforms that lead to the exit begin sinking into lava. If the player is too slow they can fall into an inescapable pit.
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3: MAP18: The Courtyard
The Courtyard is a map revolving around the titular area of the central courtyard. This memorable landmark anchors the rest of the stage, preventing players from getting too lost. The large arena creates a perfect opportunity to spark some monster infighting, one of DOOM's most enjoyable mechanics.
The rooms and corridors situated next to the courtyard contain some rather memorable traps, including several instances of being sealed inside rooms and some particularly nasty teleports into peril. MAP18 even rather amusingly disguises the blue key in a dark room full of health bonuses. The Courtyard is a great example of DOOM II's level design at its best, and some of the most fun a player can have within the game. It is also one of the few Earth-based levels that isn't painful to look at, as the simple colors create a pleasing picture.
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2: MAP28: The Spirit World
The Spirit World is one of the best examples of a Hell level within DOOM. From the beginning of the stage, the player follows a river of blood through a jagged looking cave filled with demons, before discovering a colossal cave filled with blood, swarming with Arachnotrons and two Spider Masterminds. The level features some revolting imagery, with rooms filled with stretched skin, contorted bodies and floors of intestines.
MAP28 uses the music track Getting Too Tense, a dark and climactic track that helps set the mood and tone of the level. The Spirit World is dark, dangerous and uncomfortable. It truly feels as though the player is so close to the source of the invasion, to the home of whatever great evil lurks further within. It is also home to fun combat encounters, such as the two Masterminds that can be made to infight.
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1: MAP29: The Living End
The Living End is the final level of DOOM II, just before the final battle with the Icon of Sin. It feels like the perfect way to follow up The Spirit World, and is a fitting challenge for the player prior to the end of the game. The player must make their way through Hell's final blockade and traverse the large fortress seen at the beginning of the stage.
MAP29 is very difficult and puts everything players have learned thus far to the test. Just as this map feels like the culmination of a long journey, the level creates a feeling of progression by having the player make their way closer and closer to the structure seen at the start of the stage, ending in the player ascending to the top to face a Cyberdemon who guards the exit to the ultimate foe.
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