Review - DOOM + THE GOLDEN SOULS v1.4 - Plumber with a shotgun

After decades of jumping over your enemies, haven't you ever wanted to explore the Mario levels in a first person view, annihilating your enemies with deadly weapons? Well, look no further, as The Golden Souls (made by Batandy) has been made just for YOU! 

Today, we'll review the "Even More Definitive Edition v1.4" of Golden Souls!

(this is the link to Doom II, which is necessary to run this mod!)

FIRST THINGS FIRST

The Golden Souls(made by Batandy) is a megawad containing twenty-or-so levels for Doom II, a VERY old FPS from 1994!
In case you're not used to installing mods for Doom, here's a little guide!


 - 1) Create a folder. Name it however you want, but personally, I named it simply "Doom Golden Souls".
 - 2) Download the latest version of Gzdoom here. (x86 or x64)
 - 3) Extract Gzdoom archive in the folder you just created.
 - 4 - MOST IMPORTANT PART) You need the file "DOOM2.WAD" and put it in the main folder. There are MANY ways to get this file, one of them is simply to buy the game on GOG => Doom II - Final Doom
Nowadays, it's easy to find it online though.😉
 - 5) Create a "mods" folder inside "Doom - Golden Souls" folder.
 - 6) Download Golden Souls mod v1.4 here.(the mediafire link)
 - 7) Drop "GoldenSouls_Full_1.4.pk3" inside the mods folder.
 - 8 - OPTIONAL BUT HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) Download "Beautiful Doom v6.3.2" here and do the same, drop the file "BDoom632.pk3" in the mods folder.
 - 9) Open the "gzdoom.ini"(for me, it's "gzdoom-Lily.ini") file in the main folder and add these two lines after [Global.Autoload] (easy to find, no need to scroll down!) =>

Path=mods/BDoom632.pk3
Path=mods/GoldenSouls_Full_1.4.pk3

The order is VERY important! If you loaded Golden Souls first and then Beautiful Doom, you would get Beautiful Doom HUD!

 - 10) Launch the game with gzdoom.exe!
 - 11) Contact me or leave a comment if it doesn't work!😁

This is how your folder should look like(except the .zds save files, don't mind them! lol)

⬇

 

Some Gzdoom Options I recommend(most are completely optional):

- Player setup => Always Run => ON
It seems very fast at first compared to modern sluggish FPS, but you get used to it.
- Mouse Controls => Always Mouselook => ON
Personally, I ALWAYS have this on in every mod. 😉
- Display Options => OpenGL Renderer => Textures Options => Texture Filter Mode => NONE
Okay, this one depends on your taste though. I just hate anything trying to smooth roughly my beloved pixels! lol
- Display Options => OpenGL Renderer => Lens Distortion Effect => ON
Again, a matter of taste. Personally, I'm addicted.
- Display Options => OpenGL Renderer => Sector Light Mode => Doom
I keep changing this all the time, because every mod seems to work better with a different setting.

Inside the mansion! Kinda creepy... Stay close to me, Scooby!

THE STORY: WHAT IF MARIO HAD A GUN

There's no real story in Golden Souls.(unless I missed something? There's not even a .txt file bundled with the mod.😅)
You're just being thrown in a charming luxurious estate, which reminds you a bit of the huge mansion in Super Mario 64.
This mansion feels quite empty and lifeless - except the item shop clerk, the only npc in the hub - , and it contains lots of locked rooms all filled with one painting teleporting to its corresponding level.

TIP!

Don't choose "baby difficulty", it's REALLY for babies and you'll be bored!

At first, only one room is unlocked (go to the right after entering the mansion), teleporting you to the first level.
But in order to unlock all of the other rooms, you'll have to get lots of "golden souls", and each level contains one golden soul! Again, Super Mario 64!

Aaaaand of course, every level if filled to the brim with evil demons.😝

This is where the game begins, the main "hub". There are no enemies there. You'll explore this huge mansion and find dozens of rooms which will teleport you to the different levels!

It has to be noted that these "souls" don't appear right away when you load a level.
It's actually part of what makes this mod so enjoyable.
You'll have first to get red coins, which are scattered in - almost - every level, which you'll have to explore thoroughly, which will require you to backtrack a lot, and in some cases, even go back to previous levels.

Once you get all of the red coins of a level (8 in each level in which they're present), the golden soul finally appears!
And nope, it's usually not right under your nose. lol
It can appear far from you at the opposite side of the map, and sometimes, it involves lots of platforming, so good luck!😅

Edit: I forgot to mention something! Once you've cleared a level, it's cleared for good!
Enemies will NOT respawn. You can still revisit them at will though.😊

A Golden Soul!

 

GAMEPLAY - SERIOUS SAM IN MARIO WORLD

TIP! You can "climb" the rainbow waterfall on the right!😉

It's Doom. Do I need to say something else? lol
Maybe the most satisfying gunplay in the history of games.
No wonder this game released in 1993 (Doom II: 1994)  still gets countless mods every year.
And like most good mods, The Golden Souls modifies a bit the weapons, the enemies, maps might be scratch-made, but the original gameplay is STILL THE SAME. And it's GOOD.

You recognize these plumber-crushing monstrosities, eh?😁 I always wondered what they were made of... Looks like a mix of flan and century-old French cheese.

Batandy has modified all weapons to a point that they're barely recognizable, and they all feel great!
Although I find it a bit surprising that he went for something a bit "traditional", except the laser rifle gun thing.
Yep, most of these weapons actually sound and feel like they would belong in a WWII mod like "Blade of Agony".  
For such a fun-looking mod, you would expect some childish colorful weapons with funny sounds...
On the other hand, it creates a funny contrast, which you realize when you splatter enemies brains all over the cute colorful walls. 
First impressions: GREAT.

YOUR PLUMBER TOOLS
REVOLVER - 6 shots only - It's like a very weak version of Dirty Harry's magnum 44... It feels good but it's way too weak against most enemies.	SHOTGUN - 2 shots only - VERY powerful - VERY accurate (as much as a sniper rifle!)  - I used this gun 95% of the time. lol - The best gun to use to introduce yourself	ASSAULT RIFLE - 50 shots - Not very accurate - Good for packs of enemies - I used it against bosses, mainly.	AUTOMATIC SHOTGUN - 8 shots - fast fire rate - Does less damage than regular shotgun, but larger spread - Supposed to be great, but it's actually the only weapon I didn't use.
SPIKE GUN - No Reload - Low ammo - Shoots spikes which bounce off walls, great for hitting enemies behind corners, or hitting multiple enemies at once. - Again, great against bosses	RAILGUN(Rainbow Gun) - Kills instantly - Overpowered - Slowish reloading - Meh...	PORTABLE CANNON - Extremely deadly, even for you! - One of the many inspirations coming from Serious Sam! - Very useful to unclog toilets

 
Like with the weapons, I'm a bit conflicted about the enemies.
The vast majority of them are just regular Doom monsters.
Only a few are inspired by the Mario games.
You have for example the "evil plants", which act as turrets, locking down an area as soon as they spot you. 
You also have some big scary statue looking guy in the pyramid levels...
But, again, I feel like it could have been way more interesting and funny to try to make mario-"lore"-friendly enemies.

Note!

There IS a mod, Super Mario Doom, which is supposed to add monsters from Mario World, but it didn't work on my side. The mods seemed to conflict with each other.
Also, it seems that this mod has been banned from most places... 
Finally, I saw a video of it and it looked so bad that I decided at the last minute to not add it to this review. 

Sorry, that was rude of me. You were saying?

One of the most annoying enemies are the flying skulls in the creepy mansion levels.
You have to turn away from them for a second to make them momentarily vulnerable, leading to a slowish gameplay at times.

lol look at the bastard playing "peek-a-boo" with me, hiding in his fake painting frame! In a second, my cannon of ultimate revenge will blow it to smithereens.

There are also weird robe-wearing meowing cultists.
Yep, they meow. One of the funniest sounds I ever heard in any Doom wad.
I don't know all the Mario games... Are these mages from a specific game?

Anyway, these too are responsible for making the gameplay a bit slow because they vanish into thin air and reappear under your nose suddenly, laughing like sick creeps!
Just stay calm, don't waste your ammo and wait for them to reappear to stun-lock them with your rifle!

"he he he... He can't see me, I'm well hidden behind this huge palm tree!"... I know somebody who is going to lose his head in 3...2..1...

There's another "enemy" which is very annoying, but for different reasons...
The cannons are LOUD.
Although a nice addition to make the platforming areas "spicier", they shoot continuously and FAST and make an infernal noise.

The pirate level is one of the cutest of the game!

Then again, I realize how difficult and time-consuming it can be to make new enemies.
The modder already accomplished something magnificent, and anyway, it seems that he intends to do MUCH better in the sequel, which is supposed to be released in summer 2018!

Believe it or not, these tiny crabs (see the little red critter?) were the most annoying enemies to me. They're hidden in the few places you go underwater, and move VERY fast so you'll have trouble shooting them.

The Golden Souls feature very few bosses fights, and they felt quite casual and underwhelming, but they're perfect for noob players like me!😁

Another addition which will help you sometimes is the two item shops in the hub area, which sell mainly armors and ammo. 
And believe me, you'll collect SO many coins in every level that you'll never have to worry about running out of ammo!

The underwhelming sky level... I think the natural Doom character inertia mechanic doesn't go well with the very precise platforming skills required in this level...

Finally, there are some nice Easter eggs here and there, like the bananas in the barrels of "Jolly Jungle" or Serious Sam himself!

Sam! Help me! I'm stuck in the pyramid!

Anyway, this mod sure brought its share of novelties, and features lots of different gameplay styles.
Some are pretty straight-forward and you simply have to reach the golden soul...
Others are pure platforming and avoiding obstacles and pitfalls will put your nerves to the test.
(By the way, I'm reading on the official page: "you may have to help some NPCs in order to reach your goal", but I completed the game and it never happened. Did I miss a secret level?)

Also, levels aren't played in order of difficulty.
Some of the last levels I played were actually much easier than the first ones.

Aaaand one more reference to Serious Sam! That wall texture on the right is from Serious Sam: Second Encounter!😅

GRAPHICS - A RETRO ADVENTURE IN 90s NINTENDO GAMES

Random joke: A pirate walks into a bar with a steering wheel on his pants. The bartender says, "Hey, you've got a steering wheel on your pants." The pirate says, "Arrrr, I know. It's driving me nuts."

A word about the "geometry" of the maps.
Overall, the maps do feel pretty simple, and too often, even a bit flat.
Architecture is also quite basic and relies more on very intelligent use of texturing.
Again, I understand that Batandy now focuses on the seemingly already superior sequel (at least in terms of geometry, according to what I saw in screenshots), but some map updates would have been nice. 
(Good news: the mod IS still being worked on. We can hope for the best! 😊)

You understand now why I use Beautiful Doom in EVERY mod? 😉

Still, the lovely color themes and overall layout make the whole "retro" experience very pleasant and smooth. 
I took lots of pictures for this one because I consider that this is one of the most aesthetically pleasing Doom mods I ever played.(and the sequel seems to look even better!)
On a side note, I insist on comparing this game to the old Mario games, but more than once, we're being transported to other popular Nintendo franchises, like Donkey Kong Country, Castlevania, or Ducktales! 

Now it feels like being in Nam again...

 

MUSIC & SOUNDS - THANKS TO 90s NINTENDO JAPANESE COMPOSERS

Shame on me, I recognized only a tiny fraction of the numerous tracks used in this mod, but I know that most of the tracks come from 90s games released on Super Nes and Nintendo 64! 
You'll recognize among others Castlevania, Mario 64, Yoshi's Island, Secret of Mana, etc!
Here's a nice remix coming from Yoshi's island OST, by Toby Fox! =>

This album is NOT related to the mod whatsoever though, and only one track was used.
(Right? I listened to the whole thing but I didn't find any other track used in this mod.)
You can buy it here if you like it!🤗

THE END? NOT YET...

 😉

RATING BOX

	VERSION TESTED: 1.4 Publisher: id Software Developer: id Software Mod developer: Batandy Release Date: Doom II: 5 May, 1994 The Golden Souls: 22 August, 2014 Genre: FPS 1 PLAYER  Difficulty: Easy DOWNLOAD THE MOD HERE
GRAPHICS: 86%
Certainly the most friendly-looking maps ever made for Doom. Saturated colors, bright environments, intelligent level design despite the simple architecture, it's a real piece of love.
MUSIC: 95%
Maybe the best part of the game, but we owe it to 90s Japanese music composers who made the greatest OSTs on Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64!
SOUNDS: 84%
Most come from the original Doom game. The new additions are very nicely done though, and some monsters voices are hilarious.(or very creepy...😝)
GAMEPLAY: 90%
Lots of levels with unique gameplay guarantee you a very decent and fun gameplay time. The old Doom formula isn't changed and works perfectly, once again!
OVERALL RATING: 87%
A must-have, simply put. Every doom fan should try it! If it wasn't for the underwhelming basic geometry, it would have been a megahit! Can't wait to review The Golden Souls 2 this summer!

HOME

REVIEWS