You can format the video into chapters so you can easily skip to by including something like 1:43 - Review 2:11 - Map 3: Up and around etc in the description, Idk if you already knew also I love the series
This review made me feel old. I remember being around and talking to Erik Alm when he was actually making Scythe. I also remember helping out for the demopack for this, too, when it came out. Map28 was a cool concept back then and we were all impressed but we all also realized how awful it was to get a UV-Max on that one. I think Adam Hegyi gave it a thorough verbal trashing after getting a run on it. I wish I could remember what it was but it was definitely ended with, "never again." This is still one of my personal favorite Megawads to date.
@@tivvy2vs21 I also happen to be a walking Doom encyclopedia that used to be heavily involved in the speedrunning community for the game back during the early 2000s
Altima! Long time no see! I really miss seeing your UA-cam content. I am glad though that you were able to inspire other youtubers to make content, like Decino.
One of my all time favorites. I actually love that it covers (almost) the entire skill spectrum - most wads pick a lane and stay in it, which I find repetitive. I feel like you were really fair to it, but for nostalgia/love of vanilla textures, I personally rate it an A overall. Your grade seems less skewed by nostalgia than mine though. Great video as always!
I honestly have weird respect for "Run From It". There's something brilliantly trollish about its finetuning: being beatable enough to motivate the player to try again, but stingy enough to consistently make them fail right in front of the finish line. I also like teleporting gibs as a setpiece - they add a sinister flair to the time trial, as if you're trying to outrun your own demise.
As soon as I saw this in my feed, I thought "Map 28 is the dunce." Scythe was the first PWAD I ever played, and honestly I've encountered very few maps since that I like as much as Fire and Ice. It's epic, non-linear, oppressive, and makes you feel like a god when you complete it. The Dark Souls of Doom maps, lol. Maybe it's just nostalgia, who knows.
@@MtPain27 How are you doing seasons for this show? Will there be a break between them, or is it just kinda arbitrary? Like, say this one was the season finale. Would next week still have a new ep, or would you take a bigger break?
@@tjg121389 Good question: I'll have to take a break at some point to concentrate on playing new Doom, so when the 'season' ends, expect videos to cease for a month or so before resuming. The whole point of the break would be to prevent burnout.
I think that Archviles fit so well into Unholy Church settings because their imposing frame and primary gesture, especially up on the alter, is reminiscent of a priest or a preacher during a some sort of intense or crazed sermon. It's actually quite fitting that their same aesthetics were brought back for Doom Eternal, considering the plot revolving around demanding humanity submit to the powers that be.
Not to mention how their color scheme kind of looks almost "angelic", and how they're healers for the unholy, really suggesting they're basically fallen angels.
I'm playing through Scythe right now. The first couple of maps were the opposite of memorable, but I remember having fun. I don't mind easy maps when they flow quickly. Some of the episode 2 maps feel oh so very right to me. I think I just like maps that feel like Doom2. I haven't finished episode 3 yet, but I'm also liking it so far (have just finished Map23). The ramp up in difficulty is hard to swallow, though. Feels like two different map packs with different themes and difficulties were mashed together. I'm probably benefitting from not having played too many PWADs yet, but all in all Scythe feels fresh and exciting to me. Not a timeless classic, but even a mapping illiterate like me can tell this was made by someone with talent.
The shift to episode 3 I can only compare it with overall Scythe 1 to Scythe 2. I'm no expert on the PWAD subject, much less considering that I only play with PB, but Scythe 2 leans a "bit" more towards the Sunlust side of the yard.
MAP30 took me ~150 attempts, ~16h across two days, to beat pistol start without saves on UV. The successful attempt took 1.5h in total. It is *by far* one of the most grueling and painful things I've achieved in gaming. I fucking love that map. Somehow, despite how it repeatedly clobbers you, it's never really dull, just infuriatingly oppressive. Technically I didn't solo it. During the successful attempt my spouse finished off a stray Lost Soul for me while I stole away for a toilet break. 😅
Personally, I’ve always liked maps 1 through 15 for their digestibility. If I’m having a bad day it feels great to set aside an hour to just run through them on UV and feel powerful. Individually they may be mediocre, but for single segment it becomes more than the sum of its parts.
I like how this WAD's maps are straightforward and simple. You are never stuck with ridiculous puzzles, levels are never mazy and never too long, you always know where to go, the design is on point. Each map has it's own gimmick. Also, the difficulty comes from strategically placed enemies, quality over quantity type of thing, and from again strategically not giving you needed resources like no shotgun for the first two maps, no supershotgun and BFG in first 15-ish maps, no armor for the first 5 maps in episode 3. Oh, and no Icon of Sin fight, thank God. Very high replay value and always fun to revisit. Definitely my favourite mega WAD.
This was the first custom wad I ever played and it set a huge impression on me. Had a great time blasting through all the levels, and I intend to try all the maps on nightmare soon :)
@@nbrocx4216 yep, I intend to upload doom 2, plutonia, and scythe nightmare all secrets after finishing what I have going currently. Glad to hear you're looking forward to it :)
@@Starduster oooh. That's a lot of nightmare runs. XD This is great news. I've been looking forward to most of your uploads since the day you recommended the channels of guitardz, coincident, Arbys550, and A1s in that one memorable decino post. It's tough to keep track of all of these channels, including yours, but, I am trying my best. Thank you, starduster. Don't forget to take breaks in between. :)
I continue to be impressed by your excellent scripts and editing to keep it all lean no filler. I also continue to hope for your channel to continue to grow, you deserve it. Thank you for the hard work :)
I remember playing this wad for the first time while I waited to take my A+ cert in highschool. Maps 1-15 definitely weren't too notable. Map 21-30 was definitely the highlight of the pack and brutally hard for me at the time! It actually took me like a day to beat Fire and Ice even while save scumming!
"Scythe is like the ACT test, but for Doom" That's a perfect summary! Those last few levels really shook me grievously. I still remember playing through them in the middle of winter and it took me days!
Does anyone know what wad and map is one with lots of monsters I remember one section with red themed textures with a linear path with some curves on it with tons of monsters and archviles among them you can fall on the sides then you have to take an elevator near you to get back on the linear path. I swear, that map is really hard only dark tartarus beats it.
- 'Walk in the Park' titled unironically... it's actually funny as 4shockblast made a "stroller" speedrun on this one to make the pun complete. :) - 'M/S Futura' time shenanigans plot and font name came back in an episode of Stargate Universe where they discovers the survivors of an interplanetary expedition who claim their civilization was founded two thousand years earlier by ship's crew and one of leading nations was named Futura.
Thanks dude this is the perfect channel for me. I am just getting into classic doom wads after playing the entirety of DOOM 1 and DOOM 2 inside of the computer on Doom Eternal and now I'm hooked
And now, we found out just how much Scythe 2 outclassed it. It's kind of strange to look at in comparison, but pretty amazing level-wise to go from having some incredible standouts among mostly standard maps to mostly consistent masterpiece after masterpiece. Congratulations on beating Death.
YEEE, I PASSED THE DOOM SAT! Otherwise, great review would have to agree with pretty much every grade. My biggest issue with Shythe is the abundance of skips, this makes it really easy for inexperienced players, to just skip a lot of the wad, anger can be finished in 10 seconds if you just do an archvile jump to the exit. and for map 30, you only need to get the yellow key, making players miss out on the rest of my personal favorite level. Once again, Dean of doom, you have made a masterpiece video, and I am very excited for any video you make in the future! Also yes, sythe 2 map 26, fun
I personally loved "Run From It". The first time I played it, it freaked me the fuck out because I didn't know what was going on, or how voodoo dolls worked in DOOM. Yeah you can't get 100% kills and stuff but it was a good mix up late in the wad. Anyways, keep up the good work man.
It'd be interesting some time to see some sort of potpourri episode where a collection of wads with only like 1-3 maps each get reviewed back-to-back. There's a lot of interesting Doom experiences out there too short to talk about in a dedicated video of this format. Excellent work again, Dean - hope you're taking care of yourself.
Great review as always. I always get sad that extermination day will never get played or reviewed by most doom youtubers because it is made with brutal doom, but it is still probably the greatest looking and most detailed megawad I have ever played.
Oh Scythe, the very 1st community-made mapset that I've ever played and the mapset that holds my personal crown achievement - 100%-ing M28. Starts easy and ends on a difficult note, last 10 maps (mainly M21-25) were pretty hard for 1 reason - *ABSOLUTE 0 ARMOR* and M22 was pretty frustrating to me. The rest of the final 3rd was managable (even M26 if you know what you're doing) and in M30 infighting is your best friend. Shoutouts to BigMacDavis for introducing me to this mapset.
2:48 "This map introduces the chain gun to your arsenal" 6:39 "No, we still have not seen a super shotgun in this megawad" Played Scythe for the first time last week and this is one of the things that stuck with me. For the first chapter and a half, it's very cautious with the weapons it gives you. Almost reminiscent of modern AAA games where the player is slowly eased into the full arsenal. Definitely a unique take when most WADs take it for granted that you're familiar with all of Doom's iconic weapons.
I really appreciate your ability to recognize Scythe's shortcomings which are obviously present if you don't have nostalgia goggles permanently affixed to your head. A lot of people even today think Scythe is just so outstanding, but the fact of the matter is that the combat is really sluggish, the levels often times don't look good, and the overall difficulty is lacking. Scythe 2 is leaps and bounds ahead of the original in every conceivable fashion and in my opinion is what cements Erik Alm's legacy as one of the all time greats in Doom mapping. In this day and age, there are dozens and dozens of community projects that are far superior to Scythe, and yet this wad constantly gets recommended to first timers as a great introductory PWAD. I think something like Valiant or even Going Down is a way better introduction even for more casual players than Scythe, but because of the legacy is has in the Doom community, it is often upheld regardless. I hope one day people can look at the original Scythe as more of a novelty to give context to the immense progress made with Doom community projects rather than an absolute must play. Just my two cents.
I don't think I can get behind this at all. I think scythe is an awesome megawad for people just getting into custom doom. It's so fast and lean, but more than that, the enemy encounters are pretty easy to comprehend. I think going down and valiant are both terrible choices for new players because going down is extremely idiosyncratic and cramped, and valiant is throwing maps like 14 angrier archviles and candlecove at you before the second half. I would have been extremely overwhelmed if i had started on either of those, so I'm really thankful for scythe being the way that it is
Honestly, that's kind of why I would personally recommend playing Scythe 1 first, since starting with that and then going to Scythe 2, you can see how Erik grew as a level developer. Basically, Scythe 1 is "From Humble Beginnings", and Scythe 2 is "When shit gets serious".
Scythe is the first wad I learned the speedrun routing for and I fell in love with it. The short levels have such good speedrunning tricks it's like it was built for it.
One thing I actually liked about Scythe was how it started slow but had a MASSIVE difficulty spike in the 3rd episode. Granted, that's just because I like when anything has a slow but sure progression that starts off from nothing but goes INSANE by the end. Scythe 2 was a little different in that it didn't start off *as* easy, but since I played it after Scythe 1, then I went in with the prior knowledge of how Scythe 1 played out. And seeing how it had 6 distinct episodes and a much faster (and arguably MUCH more potent) difficulty spike, it felt like it upped the ante even past the level of the end of Scythe 1. Edit: As of very early December 21st, 2023, I can safely say I have also beat Scythe 1 while pistol starting each level.
Scythe will always hold a special place in my heart as it was the first ever mega wad I ever beat on uv pistol starts. I started scythe around the beginning of 8th and played on a school chrome book via some website. I would normally stay in the classroom during lunch and play scythe. Map 30 was completed on the last day of school and I was goddamn proud of myself for getting all the revenants to imp fight the cybers. I will forever hold this wad in high regards. Dean you also helped when I could not complete some of the maps cause my small brain can’t always finish a map.
Map 12 (5:45)- I found that this map's aesthetics works really well with SoftFX by Muusi which is a hacky "brightmap" for vanilla Doom. Despite it being a hacky alternative to brightmaps (it edits the colormap to achieve the effect) it works well on WADs with vanilla textures/monsters. Even though I think glowing eyes and such can be a too much for brightmaps, I really liked how this dark and gloomy map looked with it enabled.
'Scythe' was one of the first PWADs I tried when I started to explore the Doom community's output. I rather enjoyed the quick & easy pace of the early maps & hope to make maps of a similar style one day. Whilst I did notice the significant difficulty spikes of the final episode initially, Map 26 still took me by surprise & it took me a few attempts since at the time, I didn't have much experience with such large combat encounters. Then there's Map 30. I was playing on 'Hurt Me Plenty' as usual and I still spent over an hour slowly picking my way through the hordes of that insane map. Overall I found it a bit of a slog (the music, whilst fitting, did not help matters) but 'Fire & Ice' is definitely something that will stick in my memory for a long time. Hearing that 'Scythe 2' is even harder in it's later maps has me wary of trying it.
Map 12 music is from Descent 2, such a great soundtrack in that game! Love your channel btw. Been looking for a WAD reviewer on UA-cam and your reviews are so well made.
Honestly run from it seems like a super cool concept that i'd like to see redone. (Reminds me of doom eternal's super gore nest ending). But 30 seconds is way to little time. If the was like 3-5 mins and involved killings monsters in a rush rather than running past everything i would have loved it.
I had a hard time trying to understand the difficulty ratings for the first two episodes. Then I remembered that the .txt file recommended playing them with fast monsters on. I remember dying a lot, but it makes it way more fun, especially on the first map. Great work on this first season by the way, looking forward to season 2 and Scythe 2 "Death" 100% UV pistol start no saves =)
"you can avoid landing on a berserk pack but this is scythe and i don't wanna take my time" 9:10 this part killed me even tho I saw this video like 3 times and i didn't notice what you said that xD
In my opinion, Scythe is the best map pack to hand to someone who wants to start getting into custom wads. The first episode is simple but fast paced, the second episode will offer a bit more of a challenge than whats offered in vanilla doom, and the third episode will be a wake up call to anyone who hasn't seen a slaughter map before. Map 26 was my introduction to the slaughter genre, as i'm sure it was to many people. All in all, Scythe ain't the best but it's a classic and a damn good starting point.
14:54- you can also simply strafe-run over the gap you start next to, which takes you directly to the cyberdemon fight. this may have been intended considering m29's bfg secret also requiring a strafe-run.
Scythe basically got me back into classic doom about a year ago, and by large extension is what brought me to find decino's channel and yours. I always felt like it was meant to create an experience similar to doom 1 but with doom 2 assets. It starts small, plays around with limited weapons and mosters and gradually expands its arsenal and challenge. The first half could be tackled by someone who's new to doom, and i think you judged it by the standars of a veteran. Your critics are absolutely valid, but i think the wad achieves what it sets out to. Still, since i played Scythe as a semi-beginner i might be biased on this aspect. I actually found the third episode more frustrating than fun and it made me hate cyberdemons with a passion. Fire and ice is a genius map but I can't bring myself to beating it even with savescumming, and i applaud you for doing it.
I will give map 28 credit for being an entirely unique gimmick. Too bad it's a terrible gimmick, bringing to mind the old adage of "just because you can, doesn't mean you should." Great review, and I look forward to Scythe II in the near-future!
Oh Sycthe... its bigger ♫♪ Love this wad, bc it have maps for all type of players. and that brootal map 30 bring me nigghtmares xd Keep going i love this series so much!
It may be sort of baffling to understand why scythe is put on such a high pedestal by the community, but there's a simple reason: This is the most popular speedrunning PWAD in history, outclassing even the Compet-N selection. Even with the gradual difficulty creep, the maps are short enough to allow for extreme optimization you rarely see outside of IWAD runs. Episode runs or even a full movie run aren't unreasonably long and grindy either. Alm also sprinkles the wad with speedrunning tricks, making it an immensely popular parkour race track. This couldn't have been Erik's plan all along, of course, but in ironic reverse logic, scythe appeals to that upper 1% more than to the casual player seeking reasonable challenge without, you know, providing it for yourself. What's your tongue-only uv-max personal best of Walk in the Park, I ask?
Well you made me curious about it so I went to doom speed demos archive to check how many where there compared to other wads and... the page is down, what the hell happen?
Hmm. Episode runs certainly seem possible. But, is a d2all of this wad possible? I've been a part of a few livestreams where speedrunners were saying that map 28 ruins the likelihood of a d2all of this wad. Single map speedruns are certainly possible though. Outside speedrunning, does the wad appeal to people because of map design or monster placements, or is it nostalgia? Asking this because, for me, I've had a lot more fun playing Sunlust and Ancient Aliens than I did while playing Scythe. After having played those wads, I just cannot find the motivation to play Scythe 1 again. Scythe 2 though, is a different story all together.
@@nbrocx4216 I wouldn't recommend Scythe to players who can tango with Sunlust or AA if they're not interested in speedrunning, no. It is a speedmapping experiment (before those became cool), completed in just a few weeks, that's why there's very little "quality control" and even stinkers like 07 or 25 got in. It is pretty good at testing your current skill level, however. As for 28, it is certainly a potential showstopper, and doubly annoying since it comes so late in a d2all. The shameless trolling is why the map has an entry in Doomworld's Top 100 Memorable Maps after all, heh. It can be beaten however, for example eLim's clearance (notice he starts taking damage near the exit already): ua-cam.com/video/gpWe2bs_mgo/v-deo.htmlm47s
@@dewsey Hmm. True. Personally speaking, I didn't enjoy the first half of Scythe. But, I can see why it's a speed mapping experiment. My opinion will be biased on this, but, I think the classic doom wads (on nightmare) do a pretty good job of testing one's skill level. On UV, yeah, scythe is the way to go. I'd probably give my preference towards Ribbiks' works, but, I'm not a speedrunner. So, dont take my view on this too seriously. That run is insane. Idk why it doesnt show up when I search for it on YT.
I personally didn't mind Run From It when I played, but then again, I wasn't playing on UV, trying to get 100% kills or secrets, or going from a pistol start, so I can see why it would get aggravating.
I’d be very curious to see you try the bleed out mod I made videos/semi put together (idea wise from a previous Hexen mod) with this. Scythe is nuts with it!
If you're not a great player, I must be terrible :P the early maps of this wad kicked my arse a bunch. Glad I started here, not with a really hard wad Thanks for inspiring me to actually try some custom map packs
Scythe 1 is actually one of my favorite WADs. Its short, to the point, and towards the end, can kick your ass. I like it a bit more than scythe 2, which gets away from the shorter layouts a bit faster than I would like. This is probably the WAD that inspired my Doom mapping the most in terms of layout, most of them are really interconnected and reuse space in such a way that the starting room IS the map. Also, Erik Alm is a master level designer because he said "fuck it" and just made the simplest Dead Simple clone you can make. Did I mention most of these are speed maps as well?
I think this is the first unofficial megawad I played after seeing it in a speedrun. I quite liked it after only playing the base game, Plutonia and TNT. Back then, the concept of slaughtermaps was unknown to me and I found the last episode overwhelming and somewhat unfun, though I beat it with abusive safe scumming and a badge of Fire and Ice. I picked it up again years later with the addition of complex doom and with epic enemies, the first two episodes were a lot more interesting and challenging, though I don't remember playing the 3rd episode again. Overall, I do have fond memories of it with less "ewww" moments than Plutonia, though it definitly can't compete with newer wads.
SCYTHE difficulty very smoothly and with no rush goes higher and higher, until out of nowhere jumped in to space!! I remember to don't have any major problems until map 26 just smosh me, and I admit it make this MegaWad very memorable. And i have opposite feelings about map 28, i think it's very unique and cool, but it was frustrate how perfect you have to be. Some small space for mistake would help
Fuck yes, this WAD is absolutely fantastic. I can see some of the valid criticism for the simplistic structure, but I feel that bolsters the design. Having maps that don't hammer you for half an hour is enough to stay engaged, no matter how hard this WAD gets. The simplicity might not win any visual awards, but it does enough to make flow that feels great. It's not trying to be an artistic piece, and I think that's one of its strengths. I fucking love Run From It. I've never been as engaged and determined to beat a map in Doom as Run From It. It's uses the shortened length of Scythe maps to its advantage, as having a Run From It that lasts for minutes would be abrasive. The monsters in it are not really a threat to you aside from being obstacles, and there's clear indication in the form of teleport fogs as to whether or not you're making good time. In fact, I feel like a lot of the technical guts of this map were overlooked, such as the fact that some of the decorations don't show up on lower difficulties in order to make the path shorter. I would much rather have an engagement like it than another Hell on Earth in the 28 slot. One of my favorite things about Scythe is that there's a whole bunch of skips found by speedrunners, like how you mentioned that you could straferun to the exit in Envy. It makes the levels feel less like rigid paths and more like places to explore. It's very to easy to be bored by the simplicity, but Scythe is immortalized by the inability for simplicity to age. Only on this channel can I think that every opinion is wrong and still thoroughly enjoy it.
Tell you what, I'll be the first to admit that Scythe's shorter maps are a breath of fresh air after playing countless wads where every level is a 20-30 minute slugfest that prioritizes looking pretty over playing well. However, when I want to blaze through Doom maps that I know like the back of my hand, I play id's stuff. I didn't dock those early maps for being ugly so much as...forgettable. As for Run From It, I grant that it's an easy map to hate, and it was a fresh idea for its time, but there's such a thing as a clever idea that completely sucks in execution. You're right, Alm went nuts calibrating that map, and his use of decorations blocking your path on UV is inspired, but at the end of the day, I deeply hate playing it. I (along with most people who play it, it seems) have a hard time getting psyched for its challenge the way I would for a super secret level a la SOD's Pyramid of Death. I mean, it's essentially a movement test; again, like much of Scythe, the pros won't be fazed by this but the newbies will cry foul. I won't fault Alm for his creativity or originality, but it's hard to enjoy Run From It since it tries so hard to be so unlike your typical Doom experience. To each their own. In any case, thank you for your comment, I consistently appreciate your insights and feedback.
@@MtPain27 I'd say the trade off for that thirty second joke was that it left a lot less room for a descriptive explanation about the reasoning of why it doesn't work, because this makes a lot more sense as to why it's not a good map for everybody, and I can agree with that. I still stand by Run From It being placed right as "blowing through Cyberdemons in hell crags with a BFG" was starting to get boring, but some people are completely ok with that, and that's fine. It is incredibly hard to take off the nostalgia goggles, but I have enough room to agree with that map's shortcomings. I do appreciate you sticking with the discussion in the comments. I completely understand the feeling of making a video, watching it back and thinking "shit that is not what I meant at all", so it's good to see you capitalizing on the ability to clarify. Also it's just fun as hell yelling at people on the internet. I did see the Going Down upload, but I haven't finished it yet and can't be spoiled for anything else. Thanks for your time.
I knew Scythe II's Map 26 Death was gonna give you problems. I can't beat it myself can't wait to see how you rank that one. Map 26 Fear of Scythe is my all time favorite map in the megawad. When I managed to win from a pistol start I felt so unbelievably satisfied and proud of myself because that was the hardest map I have ever beat at the time so it holds special value to me. Edit: Fear is no longer the hardest Doom map I have ever beat. My new best is Plutonia 2's Go 4 It from a Pistol start on UV. I became a broken man that day it was deflating to play from my skill level.
It's interesting that you were able to do maps 20-25 comfortably, which I seriously struggled at, but, you had a hard time with map 26, which went a lot smoother for me. I know you are a better doom player than me (I mean, you cleared the last 7 maps of Alien Vendetta which I still havent been able to do properly), so, I thought map 26 would be easier for you. XD Yeah, I dont like map 28 either. I still havent been able to clear it without using cheats. Absolutely do not like this map. I also appreciate that the mapmaker didn't go for the icon of sin in map 30, both in Scythe and Scythe 2. Good luck on your future Dean of doom episodes. Ribbiks' wads are gonna be difficult, but you will also enjoy them a lot, whenever you get to try out his wads. Thanks for this episode. Have a nice day.
Thanks for your thoughts. I wouldn't say I struggled in MAP 26, if things go well I don't die more than twice, but it's empirically a hectic and difficulty map. I actually tend to have a harder time with 24-25 for some reason, even though they are easier.
@@MtPain27 Oh. Okay. Maybe I misunderstood. Sorry about that. Yeah. Map 25 is a tough one. Ider if I actually completed that map saveless. Not a fan of it either way.
Scythe isn't too bad, until you get to the final 3rd of the wad, where all the hard stuff is. Scythe 2, this happens about half way into the WAD. I do like how all the maps have a general theme with the textures and even if you don't Pistol Start, the game makes sure you arent too OP doing it in sequence with death warps.
Don't cry because (the video) it's over, smile because (The new episode is out after 11 days man you have no idea how much i have been waiting for a new episode since the last one, i never waited for new uploads of any (lmao i accidentaly wrote anime instead of any) youtuber like his :) ) it happened
That final map.. i do appreciate it's not an icon of sin map, but holy hell did me and my friend started to hate it when we got to it in crispy doom. We absolutely were not prepared for it and it took us around 2 hours to finish it. Fear was fun but this one was traumatizing and agonizing. I suppose it's a memorable way to end the wad.
I played Scythe like 4 times (one with vainilla and the other with mods, and I normally play on ultra-violence). And I only managed to pass Map 30 playing with Doom exp that is a gameplay mod kinda op for slaughtermaps that allow you to get some extra resources. The last map is definitely insane even if you're not playing with pistol start, I don't even imagine play foward without saving alone.
To skip to the reviews: 1:43
Link to the wad is in the description!
You can format the video into chapters so you can easily skip to by including something like
1:43 - Review
2:11 - Map 3: Up and around
etc
in the description, Idk if you already knew also I love the series
at map25 Envy you said you dont get it.. isnt mapnames 21-27 something about dantes inferno or such
This review made me feel old. I remember being around and talking to Erik Alm when he was actually making Scythe. I also remember helping out for the demopack for this, too, when it came out. Map28 was a cool concept back then and we were all impressed but we all also realized how awful it was to get a UV-Max on that one. I think Adam Hegyi gave it a thorough verbal trashing after getting a run on it. I wish I could remember what it was but it was definitely ended with, "never again." This is still one of my personal favorite Megawads to date.
Oh hey, you're from snupster
@@tivvy2vs21 I also happen to be a walking Doom encyclopedia that used to be heavily involved in the speedrunning community for the game back during the early 2000s
@@tivvy2vs21 Doom + Mega Man are the best combo in life
Altima! Long time no see! I really miss seeing your UA-cam content. I am glad though that you were able to inspire other youtubers to make content, like Decino.
One of my all time favorites. I actually love that it covers (almost) the entire skill spectrum - most wads pick a lane and stay in it, which I find repetitive. I feel like you were really fair to it, but for nostalgia/love of vanilla textures, I personally rate it an A overall. Your grade seems less skewed by nostalgia than mine though. Great video as always!
Thanks! I'm that way with TNT: Evilution. Probably ought to be rated lower than the B I gave it but w/e.
Hi Doomkid! :D
SOSU hi Sosu!
How are you doomkid?
@@sunvieightmaster88 Man, YT is so picky with notifications. 2 months late, but I'm doing well!
I honestly have weird respect for "Run From It". There's something brilliantly trollish about its finetuning: being beatable enough to motivate the player to try again, but stingy enough to consistently make them fail right in front of the finish line. I also like teleporting gibs as a setpiece - they add a sinister flair to the time trial, as if you're trying to outrun your own demise.
Fire & Ice! AKA, the decino Dutch language april fools playthrough that everybody watched despite not speaking Dutch.
I sure did.
the subtitles are comical
As soon as I saw this in my feed, I thought "Map 28 is the dunce."
Scythe was the first PWAD I ever played, and honestly I've encountered very few maps since that I like as much as Fire and Ice. It's epic, non-linear, oppressive, and makes you feel like a god when you complete it. The Dark Souls of Doom maps, lol. Maybe it's just nostalgia, who knows.
"The dark souls of doom maps" oh god no...
@@AntonisVaik Pog meatball
@@AntonisVaik *That* title probably belongs to God Machine or something
Since TNT is pretty important for you, ever heard of TNT Revilution, a sequel to the og the same way Plutonia 2 is
Yep, that's on the list. I may cover it by the end of this season.
@@MtPain27 How are you doing seasons for this show? Will there be a break between them, or is it just kinda arbitrary? Like, say this one was the season finale. Would next week still have a new ep, or would you take a bigger break?
@@tjg121389 Good question: I'll have to take a break at some point to concentrate on playing new Doom, so when the 'season' ends, expect videos to cease for a month or so before resuming. The whole point of the break would be to prevent burnout.
@@MtPain27 makes sense!
I think that Archviles fit so well into Unholy Church settings because their imposing frame and primary gesture, especially up on the alter, is reminiscent of a priest or a preacher during a some sort of intense or crazed sermon. It's actually quite fitting that their same aesthetics were brought back for Doom Eternal, considering the plot revolving around demanding humanity submit to the powers that be.
Not to mention how their color scheme kind of looks almost "angelic", and how they're healers for the unholy, really suggesting they're basically fallen angels.
I'm playing through Scythe right now. The first couple of maps were the opposite of memorable, but I remember having fun. I don't mind easy maps when they flow quickly.
Some of the episode 2 maps feel oh so very right to me. I think I just like maps that feel like Doom2.
I haven't finished episode 3 yet, but I'm also liking it so far (have just finished Map23). The ramp up in difficulty is hard to swallow, though. Feels like two different map packs with different themes and difficulties were mashed together.
I'm probably benefitting from not having played too many PWADs yet, but all in all Scythe feels fresh and exciting to me. Not a timeless classic, but even a mapping illiterate like me can tell this was made by someone with talent.
The shift to episode 3 I can only compare it with overall Scythe 1 to Scythe 2.
I'm no expert on the PWAD subject, much less considering that I only play with PB, but Scythe 2 leans a "bit" more towards the Sunlust side of the yard.
MAP30 took me ~150 attempts, ~16h across two days, to beat pistol start without saves on UV. The successful attempt took 1.5h in total. It is *by far* one of the most grueling and painful things I've achieved in gaming. I fucking love that map. Somehow, despite how it repeatedly clobbers you, it's never really dull, just infuriatingly oppressive.
Technically I didn't solo it. During the successful attempt my spouse finished off a stray Lost Soul for me while I stole away for a toilet break. 😅
Run from it.
*brings down command console*
nextmap
Or just IDDQD it.
A straight trash level.
Personally, I’ve always liked maps 1 through 15 for their digestibility. If I’m having a bad day it feels great to set aside an hour to just run through them on UV and feel powerful. Individually they may be mediocre, but for single segment it becomes more than the sum of its parts.
I like those maps for that reason too, but specifically in the context of knowing that the mod goes BALLISTIC down the line.
I like how this WAD's maps are straightforward and simple. You are never stuck with ridiculous puzzles, levels are never mazy and never too long, you always know where to go, the design is on point. Each map has it's own gimmick. Also, the difficulty comes from strategically placed enemies, quality over quantity type of thing, and from again strategically not giving you needed resources like no shotgun for the first two maps, no supershotgun and BFG in first 15-ish maps, no armor for the first 5 maps in episode 3. Oh, and no Icon of Sin fight, thank God.
Very high replay value and always fun to revisit. Definitely my favourite mega WAD.
This was the first custom wad I ever played and it set a huge impression on me. Had a great time blasting through all the levels, and I intend to try all the maps on nightmare soon :)
All the best, Starduster. Looking forward to those Nightmare runs. :)
@@nbrocx4216 yep, I intend to upload doom 2, plutonia, and scythe nightmare all secrets after finishing what I have going currently. Glad to hear you're looking forward to it :)
@@Starduster oooh. That's a lot of nightmare runs. XD
This is great news.
I've been looking forward to most of your uploads since the day you recommended the channels of guitardz, coincident, Arbys550, and A1s in that one memorable decino post. It's tough to keep track of all of these channels, including yours, but, I am trying my best.
Thank you, starduster. Don't forget to take breaks in between. :)
Nightmare!?! Okay you are the DEFINITION of a masochist!
You Suck is one of my all time favorite midi tracks.
The usage is amazing to be honest
I’m very pleased that this wad is being reviewed by you. Scythe and Scythe 2 are some of my favorite megawads and I’ve been looking forward to this.
The fact that you play each WAD twice is quite crazy. Respects man.
Hope burnout doens't get you tho.
Plan is to take a brief break at the end of this season to avoid burnout
I continue to be impressed by your excellent scripts and editing to keep it all lean no filler. I also continue to hope for your channel to continue to grow, you deserve it. Thank you for the hard work :)
I remember playing this wad for the first time while I waited to take my A+ cert in highschool. Maps 1-15 definitely weren't too notable. Map 21-30 was definitely the highlight of the pack and brutally hard for me at the time! It actually took me like a day to beat Fire and Ice even while save scumming!
"Scythe is like the ACT test, but for Doom"
That's a perfect summary! Those last few levels really shook me grievously. I still remember playing through them in the middle of winter and it took me days!
Scythe remains my favorite wad of all time and something I recommend to everyone who wants to dip their toes into doom wads
18:40 You should do a top 10 hardest levels you've played on Dean's Series. That would an interesting video.👍
Besides that, love your channel🙌
Good idea, I'll think about it
this but you have to give Alien Vendetta map 25 a fair shake
A Class President Pantheon would rock.
Does anyone know what wad and map is one with lots of monsters I remember one section with red themed textures with a linear path with some curves on it with tons of monsters and archviles among them you can fall on the sides then you have to take an elevator near you to get back on the linear path.
I swear, that map is really hard only dark tartarus beats it.
@@goSuOtarU No Chance?
I like when Doomguy is your reaction face.
- 'Walk in the Park' titled unironically... it's actually funny as 4shockblast made a "stroller" speedrun on this one to make the pun complete. :)
- 'M/S Futura' time shenanigans plot and font name came back in an episode of Stargate Universe where they discovers the survivors of an interplanetary expedition who claim their civilization was founded two thousand years earlier by ship's crew and one of leading nations was named Futura.
The song you mentioned at 18:18 is from Rise Of The Triad (1995)'s "Game Over" Screen
I'm aware!
Thanks dude this is the perfect channel for me. I am just getting into classic doom wads after playing the entirety of DOOM 1 and DOOM 2 inside of the computer on Doom Eternal and now I'm hooked
And now, we found out just how much Scythe 2 outclassed it. It's kind of strange to look at in comparison, but pretty amazing level-wise to go from having some incredible standouts among mostly standard maps to mostly consistent masterpiece after masterpiece. Congratulations on beating Death.
I am astounded by why you don't have more subscribers, since your content is genuinely entertaining and informative.
YEEE, I PASSED THE DOOM SAT!
Otherwise, great review would have to agree with pretty much every grade.
My biggest issue with Shythe is the abundance of skips, this makes it really easy for inexperienced players, to just skip a lot of the wad, anger can be finished in 10 seconds if you just do an archvile jump to the exit.
and for map 30, you only need to get the yellow key, making players miss out on the rest of my personal favorite level.
Once again, Dean of doom, you have made a masterpiece video, and I am very excited for any video you make in the future!
Also yes, sythe 2 map 26, fun
I've finished sunlust and I'm currently on map 29 of scythe, yet your description of map 30 along with the midi gave me chills. Amazing content
I personally loved "Run From It". The first time I played it, it freaked me the fuck out because I didn't know what was going on, or how voodoo dolls worked in DOOM. Yeah you can't get 100% kills and stuff but it was a good mix up late in the wad. Anyways, keep up the good work man.
It'd be interesting some time to see some sort of potpourri episode where a collection of wads with only like 1-3 maps each get reviewed back-to-back. There's a lot of interesting Doom experiences out there too short to talk about in a dedicated video of this format. Excellent work again, Dean - hope you're taking care of yourself.
Great review as always. I always get sad that extermination day will never get played or reviewed by most doom youtubers because it is made with brutal doom, but it is still probably the greatest looking and most detailed megawad I have ever played.
Is Extermination Day finished? I thought the end still had some work to do. I was waiting for it to be completely finished before playing it.
@@tjg121389 I’m reasonably sure it’s done, though a few of the wads are called test or wip
I can't wait for Valiant to be featured in the show.
This. I'm very curious to see what he says about it. But I understand if he doesn't want to do too much work by one creator at a time.
The Valiant episode is imminent
@@MtPain27
Dat omen 😍
Awesome reviews! I've really been enjoying your videos. I'm looking forward to Scythe 2 whenever you can beat map26!
16:24 You dont like that? You should see dimensions map 32 Loooll
5:23 That's what I call a signature Dean of Doom moment
Oh Scythe, the very 1st community-made mapset that I've ever played and the mapset that holds my personal crown achievement - 100%-ing M28. Starts easy and ends on a difficult note, last 10 maps (mainly M21-25) were pretty hard for 1 reason - *ABSOLUTE 0 ARMOR* and M22 was pretty frustrating to me. The rest of the final 3rd was managable (even M26 if you know what you're doing) and in M30 infighting is your best friend. Shoutouts to BigMacDavis for introducing me to this mapset.
2:48 "This map introduces the chain gun to your arsenal" 6:39 "No, we still have not seen a super shotgun in this megawad"
Played Scythe for the first time last week and this is one of the things that stuck with me. For the first chapter and a half, it's very cautious with the weapons it gives you. Almost reminiscent of modern AAA games where the player is slowly eased into the full arsenal. Definitely a unique take when most WADs take it for granted that you're familiar with all of Doom's iconic weapons.
I really appreciate your ability to recognize Scythe's shortcomings which are obviously present if you don't have nostalgia goggles permanently affixed to your head. A lot of people even today think Scythe is just so outstanding, but the fact of the matter is that the combat is really sluggish, the levels often times don't look good, and the overall difficulty is lacking. Scythe 2 is leaps and bounds ahead of the original in every conceivable fashion and in my opinion is what cements Erik Alm's legacy as one of the all time greats in Doom mapping. In this day and age, there are dozens and dozens of community projects that are far superior to Scythe, and yet this wad constantly gets recommended to first timers as a great introductory PWAD. I think something like Valiant or even Going Down is a way better introduction even for more casual players than Scythe, but because of the legacy is has in the Doom community, it is often upheld regardless. I hope one day people can look at the original Scythe as more of a novelty to give context to the immense progress made with Doom community projects rather than an absolute must play. Just my two cents.
I don't think I can get behind this at all. I think scythe is an awesome megawad for people just getting into custom doom. It's so fast and lean, but more than that, the enemy encounters are pretty easy to comprehend. I think going down and valiant are both terrible choices for new players because going down is extremely idiosyncratic and cramped, and valiant is throwing maps like 14 angrier archviles and candlecove at you before the second half. I would have been extremely overwhelmed if i had started on either of those, so I'm really thankful for scythe being the way that it is
Honestly, that's kind of why I would personally recommend playing Scythe 1 first, since starting with that and then going to Scythe 2, you can see how Erik grew as a level developer. Basically, Scythe 1 is "From Humble Beginnings", and Scythe 2 is "When shit gets serious".
Scythe is the first wad I learned the speedrun routing for and I fell in love with it. The short levels have such good speedrunning tricks it's like it was built for it.
I cannot tell right away what has changed, but your reviews became way more solid. Love em all, keep going with the great content!
One thing I actually liked about Scythe was how it started slow but had a MASSIVE difficulty spike in the 3rd episode. Granted, that's just because I like when anything has a slow but sure progression that starts off from nothing but goes INSANE by the end.
Scythe 2 was a little different in that it didn't start off *as* easy, but since I played it after Scythe 1, then I went in with the prior knowledge of how Scythe 1 played out. And seeing how it had 6 distinct episodes and a much faster (and arguably MUCH more potent) difficulty spike, it felt like it upped the ante even past the level of the end of Scythe 1.
Edit: As of very early December 21st, 2023, I can safely say I have also beat Scythe 1 while pistol starting each level.
Glad I stumbled upon your channel!
Introduction to your grading is good and straitforward
DOOMWiki is always the best for secerts!
Cheers to Xymph for keeping them clean and well-formatted!
I love how Scythe is pretty easy throughout the whole wad and then map30 just kicks ass without even expecting it. Great video =)
Scythe will always hold a special place in my heart as it was the first ever mega wad I ever beat on uv pistol starts. I started scythe around the beginning of 8th and played on a school chrome book via some website. I would normally stay in the classroom during lunch and play scythe. Map 30 was completed on the last day of school and I was goddamn proud of myself for getting all the revenants to imp fight the cybers. I will forever hold this wad in high regards. Dean you also helped when I could not complete some of the maps cause my small brain can’t always finish a map.
Map 12 (5:45)- I found that this map's aesthetics works really well with SoftFX by Muusi which is a hacky "brightmap" for vanilla Doom. Despite it being a hacky alternative to brightmaps (it edits the colormap to achieve the effect) it works well on WADs with vanilla textures/monsters. Even though I think glowing eyes and such can be a too much for brightmaps, I really liked how this dark and gloomy map looked with it enabled.
Discovered your channel by total chance, glad I did, after watching the Going Down episode I binge watched all of them.
Great job!
'Scythe' was one of the first PWADs I tried when I started to explore the Doom community's output. I rather enjoyed the quick & easy pace of the early maps & hope to make maps of a similar style one day.
Whilst I did notice the significant difficulty spikes of the final episode initially, Map 26 still took me by surprise & it took me a few attempts since at the time, I didn't have much experience with such large combat encounters.
Then there's Map 30.
I was playing on 'Hurt Me Plenty' as usual and I still spent over an hour slowly picking my way through the hordes of that insane map. Overall I found it a bit of a slog (the music, whilst fitting, did not help matters) but 'Fire & Ice' is definitely something that will stick in my memory for a long time.
Hearing that 'Scythe 2' is even harder in it's later maps has me wary of trying it.
Mt pain you deserve more views and sub you put a lot of effort into your videos 😃
I dig the Heretic and Hexen music used for the secret levels in this wad, surprised it isn't done more often in wads
Not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but the map 18 midi is Those Chosen by the Planet from FF7.
Map 12 music is from Descent 2, such a great soundtrack in that game!
Love your channel btw. Been looking for a WAD reviewer on UA-cam and your reviews are so well made.
A good way to slowly end the day. Thanks for putting out high-quality content!
Honestly run from it seems like a super cool concept that i'd like to see redone.
(Reminds me of doom eternal's super gore nest ending). But 30 seconds is way to little time. If the was like 3-5 mins and involved killings monsters in a rush rather than running past everything i would have loved it.
I had a hard time trying to understand the difficulty ratings for the first two episodes. Then I remembered that the .txt file recommended playing them with fast monsters on. I remember dying a lot, but it makes it way more fun, especially on the first map. Great work on this first season by the way, looking forward to season 2 and Scythe 2 "Death" 100% UV pistol start no saves =)
What a day - decino's analysis video, mt. pain's scythe video and karls's doom speedrunning video! keep it coming : )
I came here from Decino! I love your style and layout. 👍 subscribed.
I've just savescumed my way trough Fire and Ice UV...
I will never recover from the emotional damage that has been brought upon me.
Sure you will
2:47.
The more important part is that you admit to your mistakes.
Fear 😳 or how I learned to stop worrying and love the BFG 😁 very nice set, you really have to hang on for some challenges !
"you can avoid landing on a berserk pack but this is scythe and i don't wanna take my time" 9:10
this part killed me even tho I saw this video like 3 times and i didn't notice what you said that xD
In my opinion, Scythe is the best map pack to hand to someone who wants to start getting into custom wads. The first episode is simple but fast paced, the second episode will offer a bit more of a challenge than whats offered in vanilla doom, and the third episode will be a wake up call to anyone who hasn't seen a slaughter map before. Map 26 was my introduction to the slaughter genre, as i'm sure it was to many people. All in all, Scythe ain't the best but it's a classic and a damn good starting point.
14:54- you can also simply strafe-run over the gap you start next to, which takes you directly to the cyberdemon fight. this may have been intended considering m29's bfg secret also requiring a strafe-run.
"I usually dislike Slaughter Maps" oh just wait until you play Sunlust son
Sunlust has very few, if any, slaughter maps. Big fights, sure, but highly calculated and sophisticated ones
This is the best new Doom channel. I hope you'll do Sunlust and Hell Revealed !
This feels like deja vu for no reason.
Heck yea !!!! I’ve been waiting for this video...thanks for the content..keep up the great work
soo right now you're fighting through last five Scythe 2's maps for the first time?? HAVE A GREAT DAY
Scythe basically got me back into classic doom about a year ago, and by large extension is what brought me to find decino's channel and yours.
I always felt like it was meant to create an experience similar to doom 1 but with doom 2 assets. It starts small, plays around with limited weapons and mosters and gradually expands its arsenal and challenge. The first half could be tackled by someone who's new to doom, and i think you judged it by the standars of a veteran. Your critics are absolutely valid, but i think the wad achieves what it sets out to. Still, since i played Scythe as a semi-beginner i might be biased on this aspect. I actually found the third episode more frustrating than fun and it made me hate cyberdemons with a passion.
Fire and ice is a genius map but I can't bring myself to beating it even with savescumming, and i applaud you for doing it.
I will give map 28 credit for being an entirely unique gimmick. Too bad it's a terrible gimmick, bringing to mind the old adage of "just because you can, doesn't mean you should." Great review, and I look forward to Scythe II in the near-future!
Oh Sycthe... its bigger ♫♪
Love this wad, bc it have maps for all type of players. and that brootal map 30 bring me nigghtmares xd
Keep going i love this series so much!
They really got everyone until MAP30.
That was a great flip to the things.
I never care about 100% kills on this wad, but I had a lot of fun with it.
If you want to do speedruns this wad is perfect to practice.
It may be sort of baffling to understand why scythe is put on such a high pedestal by the community, but there's a simple reason: This is the most popular speedrunning PWAD in history, outclassing even the Compet-N selection. Even with the gradual difficulty creep, the maps are short enough to allow for extreme optimization you rarely see outside of IWAD runs. Episode runs or even a full movie run aren't unreasonably long and grindy either. Alm also sprinkles the wad with speedrunning tricks, making it an immensely popular parkour race track.
This couldn't have been Erik's plan all along, of course, but in ironic reverse logic, scythe appeals to that upper 1% more than to the casual player seeking reasonable challenge without, you know, providing it for yourself. What's your tongue-only uv-max personal best of Walk in the Park, I ask?
Well you made me curious about it so I went to doom speed demos archive to check how many where there compared to other wads and... the page is down, what the hell happen?
Hmm. Episode runs certainly seem possible.
But, is a d2all of this wad possible? I've been a part of a few livestreams where speedrunners were saying that map 28 ruins the likelihood of a d2all of this wad. Single map speedruns are certainly possible though.
Outside speedrunning, does the wad appeal to people because of map design or monster placements, or is it nostalgia? Asking this because, for me, I've had a lot more fun playing Sunlust and Ancient Aliens than I did while playing Scythe. After having played those wads, I just cannot find the motivation to play Scythe 1 again. Scythe 2 though, is a different story all together.
@@nbrocx4216 I wouldn't recommend Scythe to players who can tango with Sunlust or AA if they're not interested in speedrunning, no. It is a speedmapping experiment (before those became cool), completed in just a few weeks, that's why there's very little "quality control" and even stinkers like 07 or 25 got in. It is pretty good at testing your current skill level, however.
As for 28, it is certainly a potential showstopper, and doubly annoying since it comes so late in a d2all. The shameless trolling is why the map has an entry in Doomworld's Top 100 Memorable Maps after all, heh. It can be beaten however, for example eLim's clearance (notice he starts taking damage near the exit already): ua-cam.com/video/gpWe2bs_mgo/v-deo.htmlm47s
@@dewsey Hmm. True. Personally speaking, I didn't enjoy the first half of Scythe. But, I can see why it's a speed mapping experiment.
My opinion will be biased on this, but, I think the classic doom wads (on nightmare) do a pretty good job of testing one's skill level. On UV, yeah, scythe is the way to go. I'd probably give my preference towards Ribbiks' works, but, I'm not a speedrunner. So, dont take my view on this too seriously.
That run is insane. Idk why it doesnt show up when I search for it on YT.
I personally didn't mind Run From It when I played, but then again, I wasn't playing on UV, trying to get 100% kills or secrets, or going from a pistol start, so I can see why it would get aggravating.
I’d be very curious to see you try the bleed out mod I made videos/semi put together (idea wise from a previous Hexen mod) with this. Scythe is nuts with it!
If you're not a great player, I must be terrible :P the early maps of this wad kicked my arse a bunch. Glad I started here, not with a really hard wad
Thanks for inspiring me to actually try some custom map packs
Scythe 1 is actually one of my favorite WADs. Its short, to the point, and towards the end, can kick your ass. I like it a bit more than scythe 2, which gets away from the shorter layouts a bit faster than I would like. This is probably the WAD that inspired my Doom mapping the most in terms of layout, most of them are really interconnected and reuse space in such a way that the starting room IS the map. Also, Erik Alm is a master level designer because he said "fuck it" and just made the simplest Dead Simple clone you can make. Did I mention most of these are speed maps as well?
I think this is the first unofficial megawad I played after seeing it in a speedrun. I quite liked it after only playing the base game, Plutonia and TNT. Back then, the concept of slaughtermaps was unknown to me and I found the last episode overwhelming and somewhat unfun, though I beat it with abusive safe scumming and a badge of Fire and Ice.
I picked it up again years later with the addition of complex doom and with epic enemies, the first two episodes were a lot more interesting and challenging, though I don't remember playing the 3rd episode again.
Overall, I do have fond memories of it with less "ewww" moments than Plutonia, though it definitly can't compete with newer wads.
SCYTHE difficulty very smoothly and with no rush goes higher and higher, until out of nowhere jumped in to space!! I remember to don't have any major problems until map 26 just smosh me, and I admit it make this MegaWad very memorable. And i have opposite feelings about map 28, i think it's very unique and cool, but it was frustrate how perfect you have to be. Some small space for mistake would help
Fuck yes, this WAD is absolutely fantastic. I can see some of the valid criticism for the simplistic structure, but I feel that bolsters the design. Having maps that don't hammer you for half an hour is enough to stay engaged, no matter how hard this WAD gets. The simplicity might not win any visual awards, but it does enough to make flow that feels great. It's not trying to be an artistic piece, and I think that's one of its strengths.
I fucking love Run From It. I've never been as engaged and determined to beat a map in Doom as Run From It. It's uses the shortened length of Scythe maps to its advantage, as having a Run From It that lasts for minutes would be abrasive. The monsters in it are not really a threat to you aside from being obstacles, and there's clear indication in the form of teleport fogs as to whether or not you're making good time. In fact, I feel like a lot of the technical guts of this map were overlooked, such as the fact that some of the decorations don't show up on lower difficulties in order to make the path shorter. I would much rather have an engagement like it than another Hell on Earth in the 28 slot.
One of my favorite things about Scythe is that there's a whole bunch of skips found by speedrunners, like how you mentioned that you could straferun to the exit in Envy. It makes the levels feel less like rigid paths and more like places to explore. It's very to easy to be bored by the simplicity, but Scythe is immortalized by the inability for simplicity to age.
Only on this channel can I think that every opinion is wrong and still thoroughly enjoy it.
Tell you what, I'll be the first to admit that Scythe's shorter maps are a breath of fresh air after playing countless wads where every level is a 20-30 minute slugfest that prioritizes looking pretty over playing well. However, when I want to blaze through Doom maps that I know like the back of my hand, I play id's stuff. I didn't dock those early maps for being ugly so much as...forgettable. As for Run From It, I grant that it's an easy map to hate, and it was a fresh idea for its time, but there's such a thing as a clever idea that completely sucks in execution. You're right, Alm went nuts calibrating that map, and his use of decorations blocking your path on UV is inspired, but at the end of the day, I deeply hate playing it. I (along with most people who play it, it seems) have a hard time getting psyched for its challenge the way I would for a super secret level a la SOD's Pyramid of Death. I mean, it's essentially a movement test; again, like much of Scythe, the pros won't be fazed by this but the newbies will cry foul. I won't fault Alm for his creativity or originality, but it's hard to enjoy Run From It since it tries so hard to be so unlike your typical Doom experience. To each their own. In any case, thank you for your comment, I consistently appreciate your insights and feedback.
@@MtPain27 I'd say the trade off for that thirty second joke was that it left a lot less room for a descriptive explanation about the reasoning of why it doesn't work, because this makes a lot more sense as to why it's not a good map for everybody, and I can agree with that. I still stand by Run From It being placed right as "blowing through Cyberdemons in hell crags with a BFG" was starting to get boring, but some people are completely ok with that, and that's fine. It is incredibly hard to take off the nostalgia goggles, but I have enough room to agree with that map's shortcomings.
I do appreciate you sticking with the discussion in the comments. I completely understand the feeling of making a video, watching it back and thinking "shit that is not what I meant at all", so it's good to see you capitalizing on the ability to clarify. Also it's just fun as hell yelling at people on the internet. I did see the Going Down upload, but I haven't finished it yet and can't be spoiled for anything else. Thanks for your time.
I always like revisiting these older Dean of DOOM videos after playing the megawads myself, just so I can compare my overall thoughts to Mtpains
i dont know how youre that psychic but i was just looking for a review of scythe. keep up the good work
Scythe is a good sampling of the various types of user made levels.
i always get so excited to watch these their enjoyable
I knew Scythe II's Map 26 Death was gonna give you problems. I can't beat it myself can't wait to see how you rank that one. Map 26 Fear of Scythe is my all time favorite map in the megawad. When I managed to win from a pistol start I felt so unbelievably satisfied and proud of myself because that was the hardest map I have ever beat at the time so it holds special value to me.
Edit: Fear is no longer the hardest Doom map I have ever beat. My new best is Plutonia 2's Go 4 It from a Pistol start on UV. I became a broken man that day it was deflating to play from my skill level.
I'm waiting on COVID test results so seeing this is pretty good to see.
I Hope you'll be okay
Good luck dude. I just got over it myself and that stuff sucks.
Im still recovering from it myself, shit sucks.
the reason why maps 29 and 30 are frozen is because hell is apparently so hot it's cold
I would love to see more of these "expert analysis" pings plz!
It's interesting that you were able to do maps 20-25 comfortably, which I seriously struggled at, but, you had a hard time with map 26, which went a lot smoother for me. I know you are a better doom player than me (I mean, you cleared the last 7 maps of Alien Vendetta which I still havent been able to do properly), so, I thought map 26 would be easier for you. XD
Yeah, I dont like map 28 either. I still havent been able to clear it without using cheats. Absolutely do not like this map.
I also appreciate that the mapmaker didn't go for the icon of sin in map 30, both in Scythe and Scythe 2.
Good luck on your future Dean of doom episodes. Ribbiks' wads are gonna be difficult, but you will also enjoy them a lot, whenever you get to try out his wads.
Thanks for this episode. Have a nice day.
Thanks for your thoughts. I wouldn't say I struggled in MAP 26, if things go well I don't die more than twice, but it's empirically a hectic and difficulty map. I actually tend to have a harder time with 24-25 for some reason, even though they are easier.
@@MtPain27 Oh. Okay. Maybe I misunderstood. Sorry about that.
Yeah. Map 25 is a tough one. Ider if I actually completed that map saveless. Not a fan of it either way.
Cheers man, really diggin the series! 👍🏽 would love to see you do DOOM 64 🤘🏽
Scythe isn't too bad, until you get to the final 3rd of the wad, where all the hard stuff is. Scythe 2, this happens about half way into the WAD. I do like how all the maps have a general theme with the textures and even if you don't Pistol Start, the game makes sure you arent too OP doing it in sequence with death warps.
Don't cry because (the video) it's over, smile because (The new episode is out after 11 days man you have no idea how much i have been waiting for a new episode since the last one, i never waited for new uploads of any (lmao i accidentaly wrote anime instead of any) youtuber like his :) ) it happened
That final map.. i do appreciate it's not an icon of sin map, but holy hell did me and my friend started to hate it when we got to it in crispy doom. We absolutely were not prepared for it and it took us around 2 hours to finish it. Fear was fun but this one was traumatizing and agonizing. I suppose it's a memorable way to end the wad.
When I played this wad, I blundered my way into both the secret level and super secret level by pure accident.
I played Scythe like 4 times (one with vainilla and the other with mods, and I normally play on ultra-violence). And I only managed to pass Map 30 playing with Doom exp that is a gameplay mod kinda op for slaughtermaps that allow you to get some extra resources. The last map is definitely insane even if you're not playing with pistol start, I don't even imagine play foward without saving alone.
I like MAP28: Run From It in a gimmicky, kitschy way.