/vr/ - Retro Games

Why is Thy Flesh Consumed such a clusterfuck of an episode? The maps range from ingenious, to complete clunkers, and there's no sense of progression or consistency, other than the yellow sky-box and dull colors.

To satiate my autism, here are the maps ranked.

>1st: M6: Against Thee Wickedly
Absolutely brilliant map, with the most well-placed Cyberdemon in all of classic DOOM. Brilliant architecture. Complex and open-ended, yet great sense of direction. Could use some more rad suits in the beginning though.

>Tied 2nd: M2: Perfect Hatred
Brutally unforgiving for the uninitiated, but very clever. Copious ways to approach the different encounters, making for high replayability.

>Tied 2nd: M7: And Hell Followed
Very easy, but very satisfying. A nicely laid out maze, with a diverse range of encounters. Great sense of direction and progression.

>4th: M8: Unto The Cruel
A bit unorganized, but the layout is interesting. The encounters are enjoyable, and the direction is solid.

>Tied 5th: M1: Hell Beneath
Notoriously difficult. The strict limitation of resources necessitates strategy and execution, but the teleporting sergeants feel cheap. Why is this the first map?

>Tied 5th: M3: Sever The Wicked
Enjoyable enough, but a clusterfuck of design. Unappealing aesthetics and bizarre secrets. Enemy placement feels random.

>7th: M4: Unruly Evil
It's over already? OK, I guess.

>8th: M9: Fear
Most of the map can be completely skipped, and the symmetrical architecture makes it all painfully predicable. No real sense of progression, and uninspired encounters.

>9th: M5: They Will Repent
This map just drags on and on. Samey rooms with uninspired encounters. Nothing really stands out. Snore!

Why is Episode 4: Thy Flesh Consumed so difficult? I'm playing on Hurt Me Plenty and I must have died over 50 times on the first level. Finally beat the first level last night, level 2 is insane! Why so many Barons of Hell???

Do I just suck, or is Episode 4 much more difficult compared to the previous 3 episodes?