While I’ve written about it before, I’ve never gone on record with a detailed account of why I think Jupiter Hell is one of the best roguelikes out there. However, this review of Jupiter Hell Classic, a demake of ChaosForge’s brutal turn-based Doom-inspired rogue, is an opportunity for me to land two headshots with one bullet.
The demake of a remake of a roguelike unmake
That last headline is not my work. I pulled the words verbatim from the Jupiter Hell Classic Steam page, which succinctly explains how the game we’re talking about today is actually a roguelike reworking of one of the most iconic shooters of all time, DOOM (1993).
It’s a little bit complicated, but essentially both Jupiter Hell and JH Classic are named as such because of IP law and all that fun stuff.
So, while it might be set on Jupiter instead of Mars, and while it is most definitely not an official game set in the same universe as id’s shooter, this is, for all intents and purposes, a turn-based roguelike based on the demon-filled grandaddy of first-person shooters.
The Doom-like roguelike
If you’re familiar with both Doom and roguelikes, and I expect pretty much all of you are, then you’ve already got a shorthand for what this interpetation of the game looks and feels like. Yet, while it does a great job of observing the source material, it’s still very traditional in many respects, with simple turn-based movement and combat set inside procedurally-generated military bases.
On the other hand, I suspect there might be a few of you who come this because you’re interested in playing a Doom game that cuts a little different, but maybe you don’t have much experience with roguelikes. On that front you’ve got two legitimate options, with the first being Jupiter Hell, which looks more polished and in-line with the more recent Doom reboot and its sequels.
Jupiter Hell Classic, on the other hand, channels the spirit of the original games much more keenly. It still a roguelike and so you’ll still need to be a fan of slow-burn combat, turn-based movement, and granular decision making, however, this demake is decorated in a much cuter pixelart style intended to appeal to those of us who remember blasting barrels back in the ’90s.
Should you bother with a demake?
It might seem counter-intuitive to play a demake of a game based on a completely different game that is based in an entirely separate genre, but that is exactly what I’m going to tell you to do. Why? Because I’ve been really enjoying my return to action this last week, with the snappy action and relatively short run times of each failed attempt. You see, this is not a simple visual downgrade of Jupiter Hell, there’s much more going on.
Classic is actually closer to the original DoomRL, and the pacing does feel different. You can really sense the game’s roots as a coffee break roguelike, thanks to the directness of the gameplay and the relatively quick run-times. (Speaking of which, there is already a total conversion mod on the Workshop, if you want some Cacodemons to appear in your game.)
Not only does it feel distinctive, but I think it looks great thanks the pixelart tileset, which is backed up by a gritty metal soundtrack (which is a must-have for Doom fans). The spirit of rip and tear is very much alive and present in this ode to the old school.
And it’s still only in Early Access, which means this delightful little rogue still has plenty of room to sprout new limbs and spawn fresh challenges in the months and years ahead. Developer ChaosForge has been tending to this particular demon-filled garden for more than 20 years, and there’s no sign of a ceasefire anywhere on the horizon.
To its credit, Jupiter Hell Classic isn’t overburdened with gameplay systems intended to simulate strange and wonderful things that can only happen in your instance of the game. Instead, this cracking little demake throws you into the deepend, gives you a quick shotgun blast of roguishness to the head, and then asks the age old question: time for one more run?
Jupiter Hell Classic is out now on Steam (Win) and I played the game via access kindly provided by the developer.
