Twenty-five years after the release of DOOM, fans of the ultraviolent first-person shooter still have a lot to look forward to. John Romero, co-founder of id Software and game designer for DOOM, announced SIGIL, which will be a free mod for the original FPS. The megawad will feature nine single-player levels and nine multiplayer maps, and it will release for free in February. However, for the hardcore enthusiast, Limited Run Games will offer two physical versions of the mod called "fan boxes."
SIGIL is the spiritual successor to DOOM. While not affiliated with id or Zenimax, who hold the IP rights, SIGIL is billed as DOOM's fifth episode. More specifically, the events take place after Ultimate DOOM's Episode 4: Thy Flesh Consumed, but before DOOM II. It's unrelated to the 2016 release of the same name.
According to a Q&A Romero did on the megawad's announcement page, Doomguy is on his way back to Earth to save it from demonic carnage. Unfortunately, Baphomet cursed the final teleporter with his sigil, taking Doomguy "to even darker shores of Hell."
Romero boiled it all down to a one-sentence synopsis that puts it best: "In summary, rip and tear!"
The megawad will be free to download, but players will need a registered copy of the original DOOM from 1993 to play it. Additionally, Limited Run will offer two fan boxes: a Standard Edition and the Beast Box. The SIGIL Standard Edition, which retails for $40, comes with a floppy-disk-themed USB drive that has the mod. For those who are less nostalgic, the box also comes with two CDs; one has the megawad on it, and the other has the soundtrack composed by guitarist Buckethead. To top it off, the box comes with two stickers.
The Beast Box comes with everything in the Standard Edition along with some other goodies, including a T-shirt, a coin, a statue of Romero's head on a pike, and an art print signed by artist Christopher Lovell. Additionally, Lovell, known for his darker art style, created the design on both fan boxes. The original DOOM — which is crucial for playing the mod — isn't packaged with either edition.
If you're waiting on DOOM Eternal, or want to revisit the classic DOOM with a new twist, maybe Romero's megawad will entertain you in the meantime.
SIGIL will drop mid-February.