When it comes to a great video game setting ripe for horror and action, few can match the heights of gore-filled glory that comes from the cosmic hell of the DOOM series. The iconic shooter has over the decades inspired countless games with its gameplay, world and lore and is still as popular today as it was way back in the '90s. DOOM's massive influence can be felt through the fan games that the series has inspired over the years. From custom maps to highly detailed mods, players have been dedicated and encouraged to use the heavy metal world of DOOM to create new and unique takes on the series.
Now indie developer ChaosForge has taken its love for the DOOM mod community and created a spiritual successor to a unique community-created mod that was itself doomed to copyright law. Originally Kickstarted only to be served a cease and desist from publisher Bethesda, DoomRL was a top-down DOOM-themed roguelike that was canceled before it ever had a chance. However, rather than give up, its creators pivoted and instead created a homage to this idea with the brand new top-down turn-based roguelike Jupiter Hell.
Jupiter Hell is light on setup, preferring to get players right into the action as quickly as possible. Players are a wise-cracking everyman mixture of the Doomslayer and Ash from Evil Dead. His ship is damaged and must crash land on a massive space station in the intro's animated cutscene. The protagonist quickly realizes this particular space station has been taken over by hellish evil, one that has possessed the station's workers into killer demons. Players will have to fight through the massive steel environments and take out dozens of demonic foes if there's any hope of survival.
Jupiter Hell is an old-school-inspired game that presents itself in a dedicated throwback aesthetic as well. The environments of the space station are dank and poorly lit, hiding all manner of evil around each corner. The cramped hallways add to the dread of the otherworldly evil and make the game feel like a mixture of DOOM 3's claustrophobic levels mixed with the industrial aesthetic found in the classic Aliens film. Even the menus in the game are presented in CRT-like text boxes accompanying subtle screen curvature mimicking computers from the '90s era. Environments are randomly generated and take players to space stations, military bases, and even dusty mining colonies on Jupiter's moon.
The game even translates this old-school aesthetic into its controls, eschewing mouse support for keyboard or controller only. This choice immediately makes sense upon the first taste of the grid-based gameplay. After beginning a run by choosing a class, players are immediately thrown into action. Players can only move in the four cardinal directions, and time freezes between moves. As players navigate the environment, enemies will be encountered, and if they are in sight of the player, they can be shot. Attacking takes a turn, and enemies can attack while players move as well.
Every enemy encountered displays stats in the top right of the screen, and players must compare the protagonist's stats with the enemies to see the chance of winning each battle. Defeat an enemy and it will explode into a drop of any combination of weapons, ammo, or other items, much like DOOM Eternal. Players can swap out weapons and pick up much-needed ammunition for the ensuing battles to come. Jupiter Hell also employs a cover system, with players able to peek around corners and deliver a safe shot that kills enemies without much risk.
Jupiter Hell is, at its core, a true roguelike, meaning that upon death, a player must restart the game without any progression remaining intact. Every new run is a fresh start, with players only able to rely on the knowledge learned from mistakes as a way to progress further next time. However, although it is meant to be difficult, this aspect is not one that should scare away any difficulty-averse players as the game provides advantages in other ways. Players can find perks and modifications for weapons throughout the run that greatly empower the character, adding an aim bonus or a better spread on a shotgun. Like any roguelike, randomness can make some runs far more successful than others, but persistence and luck often pays off in dividends.
Ultimately Jupiter Hell is a fantastic translation of throwback shooter gameplay into a well-thought-out turn-based roguelike. DOOM fans cannot afford to miss this thrilling love letter to the series as it is available now on PC and Steam.