
Brutal Doom’s latest update brings the mod to the Release Candidate phase, meaning that content-wise it is “basically completed.”
The update, which brings the game to v2,1 launched earlier this morning on ModDB. Its creator, Sergeant_MK_IV, wrote in an accompanying blog post that “no new features will be added”, and that any further updates will involve “only bugfixing from now on.”
Although this will be the final content update for Brutal Doom, Sergeant_MK_IV noted that v21 itself adds “mountains of improvements.” According to the changelog, this includes stun animations for zombies and imps, multiple improved fatalities, a “more accurate” headshot system, and better effects for dirt particles and Cyberdemon stomp attacks. The update also introduces changes from an earlier private Beta, foremost amongst which is the introduction of a new weapon—the flamethrower. You can see that in action below.
Oh, and the update also includes new “Hell Knight and Baron of Hell crotch pain animation rotations.” I think I'm going to miss Brutal Doom's changelog notes most of all. It reads like Literature.
Accompanying this raft of new features is a singificant performance boost. “Now late levels of Scythe 2 and Hell Revealed, which were previously considered unplayable with Brutal Doom, can run smoothly on any descent computer,” Sergeant_MK_IV points out.
While future updates will focus almost entirely on bugs, there are still a few things left to add, primarily support for the later levels of Doom II and Ultimate Doom. But Sergreant_MK_IV states that these “won’t even require testing.
You can download the Release Candidate version here. Last year’s open beta trailer for v21 is below, if you're unfamiliar with the most. If that's the case, prepare yourself.
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Rick has been fascinated by PC gaming since he was seven years old, when he used to sneak into his dad's home office for covert sessions of Doom. He grew up on a diet of similarly unsuitable games, with favourites including Quake, Thief, Half-Life and Deus Ex. Between 2013 and 2022, Rick was games editor of Custom PC magazine and associated website bit-tech.net. But he's always kept one foot in freelance games journalism, writing for publications like Edge, Eurogamer, the Guardian and, naturally, PC Gamer. While he'll play anything that can be controlled with a keyboard and mouse, he has a particular passion for first-person shooters and immersive sims.

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