John "Dr. Sleep" Anderson has a relatively large chunk of the Master Levels, at 5. This is the middle chunk of his Inferno series, very loosely themed after the Dante poem. 3,4,5,7, and 8 (although the numbering is a little questionable) are featured here. 1 and 2 were previously released online, and included on the Maximum Doom CD that came with the Master Levels. Map 6 is in Ultimate Doom. Map 9 was never released, and Anderson died in 2018. A few maps have been released since then inspired by it to various degrees.
Virgil's Lead: 3/5 Short, and just tricky enough to be interesting. Makes good use of semi-mirrored rooms, semi-hidden switches, and some non-damaging blood floors. While it makes (somewhat sparing) use of the Doom 2 assets, it really feels more like a Doom 1 map, with slower pacing and mostly tight quarters. Has a compute map, which I think more maps should use, and feels very Virgil. I wonder when he started developing it. The first Inferno maps dropped in 1994, and this would've been a very impressive map a year earlier.
I guess I should be a good English major and give a little background on the mythological references here. Virgil is Dante's guide in the Inferno and real life Roman poet. He's probably most famous for the Aeneid which is basically a Roman themed sequel to the Odyssey. He's pretty popular on best author of all time short lists, though he probably loses to Shakespeare more often than not these days. I guess it was a good run for ~2000 years.
Minos' Judgement: 4/5 This is much more in the Doom 2 style, and stands up against the best maps id designed. Some light puzzling, a few traps, nonlinear, well placed monsters, good amounts of ammo (but little enough to create stress at times). The final courtyard is a nice little set piece with some fun teleporting. Even has a better version of the bridge jump from MAP04. And an automap!
King Minos is the King of Crete and sent people to get eaten by his wife's son, the Minotaur, in the labyrinth. After his death, he becomes a judge of the dead, serving as a gatekeeper between actual Hell and the preceding Limbo in Inferno.
Nessus: 3/5 Pretty straightforward, this was mostly made as a Deathmatch level. Back when Doom first came out, the default was to play Deathmatch with monsters. I assume that was gone by the time this came out, but those Revenants would've been a pain in the ass if not. This is quick, fun, and hectic. I've written before about how a lot of the levels here are tough for the first couple rooms and then calm down. This is basically just those couple rooms. If you can clear the central starting castle, you should have the goods to clean out the smaller mobs in the outskirts and get out without too much trouble. Just need to be quick on your feet and quicker on your fingers. (Also has an automap and, like all the other levels, starts you with a shotgun.)
Nessus is a centaur (the blue one from the Disney movie). Heracles killed him with an arrow dipped in hydra blood after Nessus tried to rape his wife. Later, she smears some of the blood on his robe/shirt when she thinks he's cheating on her and it catches on (magic) fire and kills him.
Nessus is a guard of the 7th circle of Hell in Inferno. Chiron makes him guide Dante and Virgil across Phlegethon, a boiling river of blood that the Violent are trapped in.
Geryon: 4/5 Another strong level, very much in the style of "Minos" lots of monsters, optional areas, non-linear. Hard enough, but doesn't feel cheap. Figuring out the right route takes a little trial and error, but makes things managable.
Geryon is a giant from Greek mythology. Like Nessus, he's killed by Heracles with a Hydra blood arrow when he went to steal the giant's cattle.
In Inferno he's a kind of Manticore thing:
Vesperas: 0/5 OK, I take back what I said yesterday. THIS is the worst Doom levels I've ever played. Nothing but annoying traps, never enough ammo, that stupid invisible ledge "puzzle", clipping glitches. This is an absolute shit show from start to finish.
No direct mythological context here. "The Sicilian Vespers" was a rebellion that occurs in the time of Inferno, and some of the figures from it are referenced (generally in a negative light). Dante was involved in various conflicts around the time, some of which were related.
I think Anderson is probably still the best designed in Master Levels overall, but man is Vesperas bad.
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