Voxel Doom

Historically, attempts to bring Doom's classic enemies into full 3D only left the gaming community disappointed — just recall the old polygonal model packs that suffered from clunky animation, distorted proportions, and an "uncanny valley" effect. However, Voxel Doom completely breaks this trend, offering an incredibly high-quality and authentic visual upgrade.

The main secret to the mod's success lies in the use of voxels. They are perfectly suited for recreating the classic sprites while preserving the game's original retro style. From a distance, the changes are so subtle and neat that the mod seems almost invisible. But get closer or change the viewing angle, and a stunning depth of image is revealed. The brain may need a couple of levels to adjust to the sudden volume, but after that, there's no wanting to go back to flat sprites. Voxel Doom literally erases the compromises of using the vertical look feature in GZDoom and should feel amazing in VR.

The author has done colossal work adapting every frame and angle into a separately created voxel model:

• Monsters gained genuine volume. They rotate and animate in strict accordance with the original, allowing details to be seen (such as the Baron of Hell's death animation or the Pinky's massiveness) from angles never seen before.

• The damage system has become three-dimensional. Watching monsters fly apart from explosions into voxel chunks, leaving a volumetric bloody mess, is a pleasure in itself.

• All pickable items, bonuses, and weapons have been voxelized.

• The famous barrels of toxic waste have become volumetric, including the explosion process itself.

• Doomguy himself has also received a magnificent three-dimensional voxel model.

Voxel Doom is a monumental work and arguably the best graphical mod of recent years. The models look so organic, as if id Software had originally created them based on 3D scans of real plasticine mockups. The modification flawlessly refreshes the classic without disturbing its spirit in the slightest, and deserves a permanent place on the mod list of any fan of the game.