You know how I’m always going on and on about short maps? “I love short maps.” “These maps should be shorter.” “Why doesn’t anyone make short maps anymore?” Hell on Earth: Super Tiny Edition is like if someone pandered directly to me by taking “short maps” to their most ridiculous, comical extreme. And no surprise — I adore it with every fiber of my being.
Super Tiny is a reimagining of Doom II, with all 32 levels condensed into a playable space only 64 map units across. For those not in the know, that means you’re stuffed into a box exactly double the width of your character. Enemies, props, and shootable switches do exist outside that box, but your movement is confined at all times to that tiny space.
The concept requires that Philnemba boils each of id’s original maps down to one central idea. The tiny version of The Crusher consists of just the titular crusher. The Pit starts you off in a poisonous puddle with three lifts the width of Doomguy’s thumb. The infamous cyberdemon vs. mastermind melee is the main attraction in Super Tiny’s take on Gotcha!
Half the fun of the WAD is just seeing how it distills the essence of all the original maps. There’s only one or two that you might not recognize on a first glance, but the rest are perfect recreations within the confines of the project. I do question how Philnemba could leave the arachnotrons out of Map07, though. And voodoo dolls start playing a major roll from Map24 onward, which seems like an odd choice, but I can’t complain when they open up so many neat scenarios.
Extra bonus points to Map28 and 32. It’s incredible that something so small could still make me stop and think for a second.
The whole concept probably sounds crazy, but it actually works. Philnemba gets massively creative with the space restriction, starting off with a couple enemies and a switch, then incorporating sequences of gun-activated switches, then tiny lifts to carry you to higher vantage points — all within that 64×64 footprint. By the end of the run, you’ll be shocked at how clever and complicated things have gotten. And you might be even more shocked by how much fun you had.
I could write a heck of a lot about how awesome this WAD is, but it’s one of those things you should just check out for yourself. If I wrote any more, I’d risk getting to the point where it would take you longer to read my stupid review than it would to play the entirety of Super Tiny. So let’s make a deal: I stop blabbing and you get playing.
Hell on Earth: Super Tiny Edition requires DOOM2.WAD and runs on vanilla Doom or any source port out there. If you’re not sure how to get it running, this may help. And for more awesome WADs, be sure to check these out!