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I have waited a very long time for this day to come. Well, the wait is finally over, because just a couple of days ago Calavera Studio launched the sequel to their action platformer “MiniDoom (don’t miss out on our “MiniDoom 1” PC review!). Yes, that’s right, “MiniDoom 2” is now available for PC-players to enjoy all over the world (“MiniDoom 2” was originally said to launch in December of 2017. However, the game got delayed to March of this year).

The plot might be rather slim in “MiniDoom 2”, but the game’s cutscenes are pretty darn cool though. Besides, most of the “Doom” games didn’t have much of a plot to begin with.

In my case though, I have actually been able to play the review version of “MiniDoom 2” prior to the public release (thanks Calavera Studio!), and good thing that. Because “MiniDoom 2” is with no doubt one of the hardest games that I have ever played. I am not even exaggerating either. You see, I played through “MiniDoom 1” on “normal”, and even on normal the game was hard as hell.

I’m most likely not the only person out there that find MiniDoom 2’s world map to look like something from either “Super Mario Bros 3” or “Super Mario World”.

Well, guess what? “MiniDoom 2” is much difficult than the original game. So if you play on the “Ultra Violence” difficulty in “MiniDoom 2”, then the game is even harder than MiniDoom 1’s “Hard” difficulty (at least from my point of view). That’s just the half of it though, because there are two harder difficulties to be found above “Ultra Violence” (“Watch me die and “Nightmare”). In other words, if you feel like screaming your lungs out, smashing your keyboard to dust and crying yourself to sleep. Then you should try MiniDoom 2’s two hardest difficulties for sure.

I could be wrong, but I got the impression that “MiniDoom 2” is even more brutal than “MiniDoom 1” ever was.

Other than that, you can no longer save the game when you want to. Yep, that function has been removed in “MiniDoom 2”. So instead you have to look out for save checkpoints throughout the game’s stages, and that alone makes “MiniDoom 2” into a much harder game than “MiniDoom 1”. As the game will punish you on the spot if you die (you will have to play through the whole said section until you reach the next save checkpoint).

“MiniDoom 2” is not a game for those who can’t stand hard and challenging games. So git gud or get rekt!

Furthermore, there are more traps, enemies and stuff that could kill you in “MiniDoom 2” as well (such as toxic barrels, floors of deadly spikes, lakes of acid or lava and much more). So while I was playing through “MiniDoom 2” I couldn’t help to think about other hard games such as “Ninja Gaiden“, “Ghost N Goblins”, “Contra” “Abuse” and “Metal Slug”. Other than that, I also felt a lot of “Super Metroid” vibes from the later levels of the game (the looks and feel of the game).

“MiniDoom 2” looks and feels like a mix of “Ninja Gaiden”, “Contra”, “Super Metroid”, “Ghosts ‘n Goblins” and “Metal Slug”.

So I sure felt just like home with “MiniDoom 2”, because I grew up playing most of the games that I mentioned earlier. I would like to give some bonus points to Calavera Studio for the “Super Mario Bros. 3” and Super Mario World-like world map in “MiniDoom 2”. With that said, “MiniDoom 2” is more or less a bigger, louder and even more badass version of “MiniDoom 1”. Simply put, “MiniDoom 2” is a much more improved game in comparison to “MiniDoom 1”.

There are mini and big boss fights to be found in “MiniDoom 2”, and most of the boss encounters are intense and hard as nails.

I actually don’t have all that many things to bring up when it comes to cons. However, since I played the review version of “MiniDoom 2”, there were some bugs that annoyed me from time to time (watch our gameplay video of “MiniDoom 2” for examples of that). Even so, there was just one thing that bugged me a whole lot in “MiniDoom 2”, and that would be the fact that it’s a real pain in the ass to shoot down while jumping (DoomGuy tends to shoot in any other directions but down).

Nevertheless, all in all, “MiniDoom 2” is a rock-solid action platformer that delivers a really challenging and awesome gameplay experience. So it’s most definitely a must play for fans of “MiniDoom 1″or fans of action platformers in general. Especially since the game is 100% free.

Pros:
+ Tons of awesome weapons to slay demons and whatnot with
+ 17 new levels and two brand-new boss fights
+ New monsters to slay
+ The soundtrack might just be one of THE best game soundtracks of 2018
+ The game is 100% free
+ The hellcube weapon (“Hellraiser” anyone?)
+ A handful of cool secrets (such as the secret “Quake”, “Commander Keen” and “Wolfenstein” room)
+ The boss fights are massive and intense as hell

Cons:
– The controls are somewhat stiff when trying to shoot down while jumping
– Some players might be turned off by MiniDoom 2’s high difficulty levels
– There are some rather annoying bugs here and there (like the hellcube bug that makes the weapon worthless)

Gameplay: 5/5
Graphics: 5/5
Sound/music: 4/5
Controls: 4/5
Replay value: 4/5

tgg grade 4.5 out of 5

Verdict: 4.5/5
Calavera Studio has managed to make an even more awesome action platformer with their sequel to “MiniDoom 1”. Yes, that’s right. “MiniDoom 2” is bigger, louder and even more badass than the original game. Simply put, “MiniDoom 2” is an absolute must plays for fans of the first game (not to mention fans of action platformers in general). Trust me, you won’t regret it!

Title: MiniDoom 2
Developer: Calavera Studio
Format: PC
Genre: Action/platformer
Resolution: Highest possible for PC
Release date: 2018-03-09
Difficulty: Hard
Spent time: +10 hours
Average grade internationally: TBA
PEGI/ESRB age rating: PEGI +16
Price: Free