Through the first episode of Doom, I was surprised by the complexity and sophisticated puzzle nature of the levels, as all I’d known about Doom beforehand were the gory Hell imagery and testosterone-poisoning antics of Doomguy. However, I thought that this was the end of the level design beyond the FPS-founding mechanics that I thought was what made Doom so successful. The secret level in Episode 2, Shores of Hell, however, completely proved me wrong, providing a powerful form of environmental storytelling and world-building that I normally only expected from games such as Dark Souls and the like.
Entering the level is strange enough; it requires walking through a curtain of fire/blood after hitting a secret switch in a previous level to unlock, and the level begins by plopping you down in darkness before countless Baron of Hell roars descend upon you. The level is perfectly geometrical, bringing back reminders of the eerie final boss level of Episode 1, and the next room is just as strange, consisting of yet another geometrical map filled with only one kind of strong enemy. However, once all the noise and fury has calmed down, you notice a strange sprite flashing in a corner of the map, and realize that it’s an eviscerated hanging corpse of what you at the time knew to be the strongest enemy in all of Hell. The moment is a sort of climax to the strange sense of foreboding, and begins an actual feeling of overarching tension in the back of your mind for likely the rest of Episode 2, until you finally encounter your suspicions: that there are bigger fish in Hell.
The exit itself is strange too, as it consists of 3 consecutive gate doors, all containing the key to the next. It requires neither mechanical skill nor heavy thinking to progress through, and gives off the feeling of magnanimous ceremony right before one encounters something of immense significance. The gate process finally culminates in simply a teleporter, adding even more to the sense of strangeness, which is only compounded when this teleporter, unlike the switches that needed to be flipped at the end of every other level in Doom, simply ends the level for you.
The level is a small, short gem of both storytelling and compelling gameplay, and will likely remain in my memory for a long time down the road.