Doom 2 RPG has been unofficially ported to PC

During the noughties, developer ID Software adapted some of their iconic shooters into curious mobile spin-offs with Doom RPG, Doom 2 RPG, and Wolfenstein RPG. These mixed Doom with old-school dungeon-crawler design, letting you shoot monsters at a considerably slower pace. Over a decade after their initial releases, developer GEC.inc unofficially ported Doom RPG onto PCs and now the team is back with a port for the sequel.

“Doom 2 RPG at last,” GEC.inc wrote in their announcement on Twitter. “Yes Doom 2 RPG [is] finally on PC as promised years ago.” The sequel takes us on a romp through the moon when - surprise, surprise - demons from Hell begin to invade. Classic Doom, through and through.

Instead of booming and shooting at a breakneck pace, though, this time you’ll be going step by step through an invisible grid - dungeon crawler-style. Combat is turn-based, meaning you’ll have to wait for your enemies to move before making them explode into a dozen red pixels. Apart from that, you’ll be picking up items, gaining XP, and doing other simple RPG things.

So, the games are nostalgia-fuel for fans who remember them and a fun experiment for those who don’t. I’m curious to see if an RPG’s slower approach can make me more interested in Doom’s setting, since ripping and tearing demons understandably distracts from all the monologuing in recent games.

Playing the free PC port requires a bit of fiddling around, but you can find full download instructions and links on Doomworld. GEC.inc say the game “supports the touchscreen behavior, just like the classic iPhone devices,” as well as gamepad support. Happily, the original game’s cheat codes are also intact.

GEC.inc also gave a slight tease on Twitter where they wrote, “Thank you very much and see you next time.” That “next time” could be hinting toward a Wolfenstein RPG port which would complete the trilogy of offbeat mobile spin-offs, although that’s purely speculation.