Doom II, also called Doom II: Hell on Earth, is a 1994 first-person shooter game created and published by id Software for MS-DOS. It was released for Mac OS the next year. Unlike the original Doom, which was first sold through shareware and mail order, Doom II was the first Doom game sold in stores.
Doom II has bigger game levels, new enemies, a new weapon called the Super Shotgun, and a new power-up. An expansion pack called Master Levels for Doom II, which includes 21 new levels, was released on December 26, 1995. Another expansion, No Rest for the Living, which adds nine extra levels, was made for the game’s release on Xbox Live Arcade. It is also included in Doom 3: BFG Edition, as part of Doom Classic Complete, and as a free add-on for the 2019 Unity engine version of Doom II. It was also included in the 2024 KEX Engine version of the game.
Doom II received good reviews for improving the original Doom. It has sold more than 1.8 million copies, earned over $74 million in revenue in the United States, and is considered one of the greatest video games.
Doom II was later released on the Game Boy Advance in 2002, Tapwave Zodiac in 2004, Xbox Live Arcade in 2010, and Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in 2019. The release of the Doom source code helped create versions of the game for platforms like iOS and other mobile devices. Doom II was also included in the PlayStation and Sega Saturn versions of Doom in 1995 and 1997.
Gameplay
Doom II was not very different from the original game. There were no big changes in technology, graphics, or gameplay. Instead, the team used better computer hardware since the first game was released to create larger and more complex levels. The game still has players moving through large, nonlinear levels filled with demons that can be killed using different weapons found during the game. Each level ends by finding an exit, such as a switch or teleporter, to move to the next area. Like the original, Doom II’s levels can be completed in a simple way. However, because the levels are nonlinear, players can explore other paths and often find rewards like extra health or stronger weapons. The larger and more complex maps, along with more monsters, meant the game required better computer equipment than the original.
Instead of playing through three connected episodes like the first Doom, gameplay in Doom II takes place over 32 levels (two of which are secret levels found in level 15), with short story parts between levels. Unlike the original, where players saw a map showing their progress, the screens between levels only show a background image. This style was later used in the bonus episode of the original Doom re-released as The Ultimate Doom. This change also means players do not lose their items after finishing a level.
Doom II added twice as many non-boss monster types as the original. It also used bosses from the first game as regular enemies and introduced new items: the Super Shotgun (a very strong double-barreled gun) and the Megasphere (a power-up that gives extra health and strength).
Multiplayer features in Doom II were improved, including support for more dial-up modems right out of the box. Two players could connect over dial-up to play together or compete in deathmatch-style battles. Local network (LAN) support was also added and later improved with updates. These features were later added to the original Doom. Multiplayer games were played using dial-up or LAN through setup programs, online services like DWANGO, or older software like Kali and Kahn on Windows 95. Today, many third-party versions of the Doom engine, such as Odamex, Zandronum, and ZDaemon, allow Doom II multiplayer across different operating systems. The Xbox Live Arcade version of Doom II also supports online multiplayer through Xbox Live.
Plot
After the events in Doom, the player controls the character known as Doomguy. Following the defeat of the Spider Mastermind, the marine discovers a portal to Earth created by demons. Upon returning to Earth, the marine finds that demons have invaded the planet, killing billions of people.
The surviving humans have created a plan to build large spaceships to transport the remaining people into space. However, Earth’s only ground spaceport has been taken over by demons, who placed a barrier to stop the spaceships from leaving. The marine fights through large groups of demons and turns off the force field, allowing the survivors to escape. After all humans leave Earth, the marine is the only person remaining on the planet.
As the marine sits to wait for death, knowing he saved humanity, he receives a message from the survivors in space. The message reveals that the demons’ base is located in the center of the marine’s hometown. The marine fights through the city until reaching the base but finds no way to stop the invasion there. He decides to enter the portal to try stopping the invasion from the other side, entering Hell.
After fighting through large groups of demons in Hell, the marine reaches the largest demon he has ever seen, called the Icon of Sin (Baphomet). He kills the Icon of Sin by firing rockets into its exposed brain. This causes destruction in Hell, and the portal to Earth is sealed. The marine wonders where evil people will go after death now that Hell is destroyed and reflects that rebuilding the world may be more enjoyable than saving it as he begins his journey back home.
Development
Most of the game levels were created by Sandy Petersen, and American McGee played an important role in their design.
The final level, called "Icon of Sin," includes a hidden feature where two artists placed a drawing of John Romero's cut-off head behind an icon on the wall. To complete the level, players must hit the icon with rocket splash damage three times. John Romero discovered this joke while testing the level for sound effects. After learning about it, he recorded his voice saying, "To win the game, you must kill me, John Romero," added special effects to change the sound, and reversed the recording to create the "demonic chant" heard by the head when players approach. The image used for the head came from a 1994 photograph taken for Businessweek.
One idea Sandy Petersen had for the game was to replace the Fists weapon with a hand axe, but this change was not included in the final version.
The cost of advertising for the game was between $3 million and $5 million.
Releases
Doom II was released for DOS on October 10, 1994, which was one of the days of the Doomsday rule and exactly ten months after the original game. It was released in North America and Europe, with distribution managed by GT Interactive.
In 1995, a version for Mac OS was released by Lion Entertainment Inc., and a version for the PlayStation was also released. A version for the Atari Jaguar was announced early in the year but was never released. Similarly, a version for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer was announced to be in development by Art Data Interactive but was never completed. In 1997, a version for the Sega Saturn was released.
A version for the Game Boy Advance was released in 2002, for the Tapwave Zodiac in 2004, for Xbox Live Arcade in 2010, and for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in 2019. These platforms received an updated version in 2024, along with the original Doom.
The release of the Doom source code allowed ports to many other platforms, including iOS and other cellphone systems.
In August 2024, Bethesda announced a definitive edition called Doom + Doom II at QuakeCon. This edition includes TNT: Evilution, The Plutonia Experiment, Master Levels for Doom II, No Rest for the Living, Sigil (by John Romero), a new deathmatch map pack with 26 maps, and a new episode titled Legacy of Rust. Legacy of Rust was developed by id Software, Nightdive Studios, and MachineGames. The bundle also includes in-game mod support for both titles, the 2016 "IDKFA" arranged soundtrack for Doom, and a new "IDKFA" arranged soundtrack for Doom II, both by Andrew Hulshult.
On April 10, 2025, Sigil II was officially added to the Doom + Doom II edition.
Expansions
Master Levels for Doom II is an official expansion pack for Doom II, released on December 26, 1995, by id Software. The CD includes 20 WAD files created by different authors under contract. It also includes a bonus called Maximum Doom, which has more than 3,000 homebrew levels. In 2023, Romero explained the origin of the expansion. In 1995, some stores sold disks with Doom WADs copied from the internet. Even though the levels were free online, many players had slow internet connections and bought the disks, which sold quickly. Seeing this, id Software decided to officially license a similar disk by hiring mappers to create levels, along with a large shareware collection. This effort was part of Romero’s plan to increase id Software’s income while the team waited for the Quake engine to be completed. Ed Dawson, a reviewer for PC PowerPlay, praised the quality of the levels but noted that the commercial levels were mostly medium in size and the price was high for mostly shareware content.
No Rest for the Living is an expansion pack created for the release of Doom II on Xbox Live Arcade for the Xbox 360. It was developed by Nerve Software, with guidance from id Software, and released on May 26, 2010. It includes eight regular levels and one secret level. It was also included in the 2012 Doom II release from Doom 3: BFG Edition, part of Doom Classic Complete for the PlayStation Network, and released as a free add-on for the 2019 Unity engine version of Doom II. No detailed story information is provided, but the expansion appears to take place after the main campaign of Doom II. Brandon James, president of Nerve Software, stated the expansion was designed for Ultra-Violence difficulty, includes many secrets to find, and focuses on a more challenging experience.
Legacy of Rust was developed by id Software, Nightdive Studios, and MachineGames. Released on August 8, 2024, Legacy of Rust is the first official episode since Doom II to introduce new enemies and weapons. The episode is divided into two chapters, "The Vulcan Abyss" and "Counterfeit Eden," which together include 16 maps.
Reception
The reception of Doom II was positive, with reviewers noting that it improved everything that made the original Doom successful. The game was reviewed in 1995 in Dragon #216 by David "Zeb" Cook in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. He wrote, "if you want exciting but violent action, you will get your money's worth. However, it is not a game you need to keep forever on your computer. If you want more Doom, this is a good choice."
Writer and game designer Chris Crawford used the level "Barrels O' Fun" to explain his views on death in video games. He chose this level as an example because it is "one of the most complex and sophisticated challenges in one of the best games of the 1990s."
Next Generation reviewed the PC version of the game, giving it three stars out of five. They noted, "Now that the first person interface has become the standard for the entire industry, Id Software will need to find new ideas, or it will struggle to stay ahead in its own area of gaming."
Doom II won the Origins Award for Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Computer Game of 1994.
According to David Kushner in Masters of Doom, id Software prepared 600,000 copies of Doom II for its launch. These copies sold out within one month, even though they were expected to last three months. Pre-orders were so high that it was hard to buy the game in stores. The game was displayed on pallets instead of shelves. It was the United States' top-selling software product of 1994 and sold more than 1.2 million copies within a year. In 1996, it sold 322,671 units and earned $12.6 million in the U.S. alone. According to PC Data, which tracked U.S. sales, Doom II sold 1.81 million units and earned $74.7 million in revenue between January 1993 and April 1998. Total U.S. revenue reached $80 million, while revenue in Europe reached $20 million. Kushner noted that 30 percent of the European sales came from Germany, a country that had banned the game.
In Australia, the game sold 10,000 copies in the first two days of its release.
Legacy
In 2022, John Romero created a new level called "One Humanity" for a video game to raise money for the Ukrainian Red Cross and the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. By March 2022, the level had raised more than $29,000.