New Doom mod replaces sprites with voxel models Rock Paper Shotgun Support us Join our newsletter Visit our store Sign in / Create account If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Amazing new Doom mod replaces enemy sprites with voxel models Voxel Doom looks just like how I remember Doom News by Alice O'Connor Associate Editor Published on Aug. 18, 2022 22 comments I often grumble about remasters and 'HD texture packs' making classic games look worse than the original (heck, I don't even play Quake with newfangled texture filtering). And yet, I am delighted by a new Doom mod which replaces all the sprites for enemies and items with new 3D forms. The secret is voxels, carefully recreating those old 2D sprites in 3D pixels. It's pretty great, in a 'makes the game actually look the way I had remembered it' sort of way. Watch on YouTube It... took me a while to remember how to navigate Mt Erebus The mod, Voxel Doom replaces the sprites for monsters, weapon pick-ups, items, and decorative props with 3D voxel versions. No more monsters snapping between directions or props rotating to face you, it's full fancy 3D. The mod only recreates Doom 1 monsters right now, but creator Daniel "Cheello" Peterson says "Doom 2 monsters will be completed in the very near future." Voxel Doom looks pretty great! Things look like the originals, only now they're solid objects I can see from all angles, not just the handful of sprite angles. And the shower of mid-air gibs is amazing. Enemies can look a touch weird up close, especially anything with an open mouth (poor Pinky in particular), but once you're even a couple metres away it's just grand. It could perhaps look more natural with a few more frames or little tweaks, but I really admire Cheello's restraint to not do that. Modders have made polygonal 3D models replacing Doom's sprites before, and they've never looked right to me. 3D models in Doom are weird. This voxel mod, I think, might actually be how I'd prefer playing Doom going forward. Huh! The only other makeover mod I feel this way about is the remarkable Resident Evil 4 HD Project. Mods which make the game look how I had remembered them and don't compromise their style. I have enjoyed Cheello's timelapse videos showing the process of recreating individual sprite frames in voxels: To admire the voxels yourself, you will need: 1) a copy of Doom; 2) the newest version of GZDoom, a fan-updated engine; 3) Voxel Doom from Mod DB. Unzip GZDoom, copy the file Doom.wad from your Doom directory into GZDoom's directory, then whack Voxel Doom's cheello_voxels.zip in the same place. To run it, simply drag the zip file on top of the GZDoom executable, and away you go. GZDoom is the officially required engine port, and I don't know if you can make it work on other ports. If you have opinions on this subject, I trust you know enough about it to experiment for yourself. Circling around the voxellated gibs did remind of Doomdream, a wee free walking simulator recreating dreams after playing too much Doom. Haven't thought of that in a while. Nice little game. More News Jack King-Spooner's next handcrafted game has a teaser demo out Judero brings chat and action in the Scottish Borders Alice O'Connor 17 hours ago 1 If you were hoping for any Overwatch 2 balance changes then you'll have to wait until season two The next season begins in December CJ Wheeler 18 hours ago 3 The Dead Space remake will chuck random Necromorphs at you as you wander the Ishimura In space, no one can hear you proper bricking it CJ Wheeler 18 hours ago 8 Valve register mysterious new Neon Prime trademark in the US It doesn’t seem to be for a particularly colourful Steam Deck CJ Wheeler 20 hours ago 11 Latest Articles What are we all playing this weekend? Well? Alice O'Connor an hour ago 21 Past Wordle answers Here's an archive of previous Wordle words Ollie Toms 2 hours ago 1 Wordle answer today (Saturday 15 October) Hints and the answer to today's Wordle word Rebecca Jones 9 hours ago Overwatch 2 hero tier list Which are the best heroes in Overwatch 2? Ollie Toms 16 hours ago Supporters Only You're probably better than me at One Many Nobody You go on without… uh, you? Sin Vega 17 hours ago Supporter podcast - The Nate Files episode 13: dry bones Bad science is also FUN science! Alice Bell 18 hours ago Japanese dating show Love Wagon has surprising parallels with Yakuza and Persona My new obsession Ed Thorn 2 days ago If you're hankering after Bayonetta 3, Valkyrie Elysium might be a good substitute It's not out on PC until next month, but the console demo has been a surprise charmer Katharine Castle 1 week ago 4 We've been talking, and we think that you should wear clothes Total coincidence, but we sell some clothes Buy RPS stuff here