SIGIL II, original Doom's brand new sixth episode, is the most visceral, adrenaline-inducing and brutal PC gaming experience I've had in 2023

SIGIL II, original Doom’s brand new sixth episode, is the most visceral, adrenaline-inducing and brutal PC gaming experience I’ve had in 2023

I deliver chainsaw death to the demon horde, all the while dodging incessant gun fire, balls of fire and flying, shrieking, flaming skulls. Oh, and did I mention I’m doing this in hell, with lava and poison-filled pits left, right and centre? This is John Romero’s SIGIL II, the hard-as-nails unofficial sixth episode for Doom, and it’s simply awesome. It’s also my personal pick for recognition in the PC Gamer Awards 2023.

As someone who played the OG Doom when it released, I played and loved Romero’s first return to making full episodes for the game that made him, John Carmack, and the rest of the id Software team development legends back in the 1990s, with the original SIGIL released back in 2019 dramatically rekindling the original Doom fires. And there was no better fire stoker than Romero, who always brought an extra level of Doom Guy infernal to the legendary FPS.

SIGIL II, Doom's sixth campaign episode, running on a modern PC gaming rig

You’ve got to fight with everything you’ve got. Stop moving for a second and you’re toast. (Image credit: Romero Games)

SIGIL II builds on the SIGIL by taking everything up to an even more metal, insane level. If you thought you needed to rip and tear to the maximum in SIGIL then think again, as this episode really is the most devious, hellishly hard, and brutally satisfying episode of Doom ever made. And its soundtrack by Thorr is just incredible.

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