GP	AR	UV	Overall
5	4	3	4

Review by Colin Phipps

This set of levels is the 5th in the Demonfear series, containing maps 21 to 25. You have entered Hell, and the levels certainly have the hellish style. Like the earlier parts of the series, the levels are generally quite short, each taking between 5 and 15 minutes to play.

My only real complaint about this set is that the architecture at a couple of the short levels was a bit bland. However, the hellish style is done well, and I liked the idea of the Metal Hell level. The gameplay is excellent; there are some good starting fights, like with the other Demonfear levels, but also there are lots of clever fights and traps that help make the levels more interesting throughout.

The Gateway - A nice, small, marble level, with a good outdoor area and nice lighting. The opening fight is good, since with a bit of care you can get the mancubus and imps to mostly kill each other. Then you get inside the base, and there are some more tough enemies to clear up; make sure you scout out the architecture first, it'll help you survive the fighting.

Unquiet Spirits - This level used a really neat idea - there are lots of troopers on pillars, and every time you kill one, a lost soul teleports into his place. Teleporting lost souls are the only tricky thing in this level, apart from that it's very short and straightforward. The architecture is pretty simple, marble pillars and brick mainly; there is a good rising bridge over an acid river at the exit (but note that you'll have to switch to compatibility mode in Boom for it to work).

Abandon Hope - This level is a tough fight. It's a hellish base level, with a cramped courtyard in the middle in which you start. Lots of troopers and shotgun men attack immediately, followed by chaingunners and hell knights. It took me quite a few attempts to beat this fight (if you run the wrong way, an archville makes short work of you) - it's a frantic battle, with very little space to move in. After you beat that, you can clear the level and collect the loot. There's another tricky fight at the end with another archville. The architecture is pretty good, mostly wood, brick and rusty metal, as well as some nice features and decorations.

The Scourging - Another small level, a small building in a large courtyard. You start inside, with revenants, an arachnotron and lots of smaller enemies shooting in at you. Mostly you let them fight each other, but once I did get outside I had a really tricky fight with the 2 revenants - there was only one pillar for cover, and I couldn't be covered from both of them at the same time. The architecture is not bad, with an acid moat round the building with bridges over, and some detail inside the building.

Metal Hell - I liked the description in the text file of this level:

You always wondered where all those cybernetic Demonkind came from. Now you wish you didn't know.

This level goes back to the industrial style, with lots of metal, moving machinery, etc. It's a larger level, although still not big by normal standards. There are some good fights and traps, even a good cyberdemon fight (I liked it because the shotgun was the best weapon to use).

An excellent continuation to an already good series. Play it.