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i joined this site just to say how bad this wad is.  brown, boring, boxy.  looks like a 10 year old's magnum opus.  i could do better based on experience alone and I've never even designed a doom wad

5/5   Simply one of the best megawads. It is a 2012 title, and runs on limit removing ports. The main aesthetic is meant to be realism in some format so each section of each map does represent an actual utilitarian use for either envirmonment or story telling purposes. One not is that it is HARD. Because of it's late design era in the 2010s, the HMP difficulty is similar to 90s UV, but not quite Plutonia level except on UV. The WAD is more inspired by TNT Evilution type exploration and puzzles rather than as a pure combat jaunt. Thats not to say it skimps on combat or even slaughter. The late maps are very combat heavy, while the first 20 maps are general TNT style. Map 29 on HMP is packing over 1000 monsters. Its get grueling.   Thats probably the main down side is that those late maps are definitely meant for combat as compared to the rest of the maps. And that pace change becomes evident as soon as you hit it, even matches the silent environmental story you are follwing throughout the entire megawad. Hell turns more into a combat hellscape rather than the large war torn maps of city scape you encounter in most of the maps.   Regardless. This mapset has one of the best opening maps I have ever played. From the first key encounter to combat on the streets. And it just gets better and harder from there.   Hellbound is also very balanced for low difficulty play, so it is definitely worth checking out even as a novice doomer.   Another plus side, the entire thing is Vanilla style so it is 100% GZDoom mod friendly and even the late maps with high monster counts tend to run good under the likes of Brutal Doom and other Combat mods. There are very few or almost no Custom Textures, so it is also very friendly to environmental enhancement mods too.

I respect the endeavour (one-man megawads are a herculean feat, no matter how you spin it) and the author's dedication to showcase his love for the classic FPS games of the nineties through a swath of references, but unfortunately, despite the occasional glimpses of brilliance, the combat in Hellbound is an absolute slog. For better experience, play with a mod - one that preferably makes your arsenal a bit deadlier, so you can enjoy both the fights and the sights. Without enhanced armaments, however, you might just end up quitting early over the tediousness of clearing the gobs of meat thrown your way one stunningly decorated rectangular hallway/square-shaped room after another. 

Quite honestly just painfully dull. I played up to about map11 and all of the maps were nice-looking but vaguely city shaped beige things. Monster placement seemed scattered and random and combat mostly devolved into slow rolling everything with the super shotgun because you barely get ammo for anything else.

Still amazing after 20 years. super fun maps short and to the point.  really cool maps to speedrun