The original Doom games have been a hotbed for modding since the very beginning in 1993. For decades, the community has been creating their own content and sharing it online, with some of it becoming rather famous itself, impressively. While many mods are rather simplistic in nature, some end up being such massive reworks of the game that they are referred to as "total conversions" by the community. These are mods that completely change the game, from its levels, enemies, weapons, music, and even storyline, hence "total conversion."

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This phenomenon has occurred again and again in gaming with titles like Quake and even the original Half-Life, where the community takes a beloved game and basically makes a whole new one out of it for fun. With the original two Doom titles, however, huge mods like this are being made to this very day. In fact, some of the best total conversion mods that Doom has ever seen are mods that have come out somewhat recently.

5 Trench Foot

Trench Foot

Trench Foot has the player take on the role of the Master Templar, a devoted soldier of the one true faith hellbent on unleashing the horrors of holy mechanized warfare upon the demonic enemies in their way. The mod is heavily stylized as World War 1 meets Warhammer 40k, obviously with a fair amount of Doom mixed in. Developed by TrenchWork, this Doom II total conversion mod is brimming with atmosphere despite being a work in progress.

In the playable demo, the player is tasked with crossing muddy, corpse-ridden, and hostile-infested trench works in order to obtain a key and bring it back to base. Along the way, the player will face many monsters, enemy soldiers, and demons as they attempt to reach their destination, with the only option being to cut them down with righteous authority.

4 Aliens: Eradication

aliens eradication

The Alien franchise's impact on the Doom series has long been known, so it's no surprise that the game would get an Aliens-themed TC mod. Aliens: Eradication, however, is one of a few major Alien-themed TC mods to be released, with the original Aliens TC mod being among the first total conversion mods ever for the Doom series. Eradication is itself built on previous Alien experiences like Alien Trilogy (UD), using its assets and music but on newly created maps set on the infamous LV-426 colony.

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The mod features a number of classes for the player to choose from at the start, with each of them changing the experience in significant ways beyond their standard loadouts. For example, when playing as the Weyland Operative class, levels have more cover, and storage closets become more abundant, while the Colonist class is also vulnerable to the acid blood from Xenomorphs. There are also a series of authentic gadgets like placeable turrets and items like flares that the player can find and utilize against the alien horde.

3 Bloom

Bloom TC

Based on the 1997 fps game, Blood developed by Monolith productions, Bloom is a total conversion for Doom II that more or less combines the two games into one crossover experience. Bloom allows the player to swap between playing as Doomguy or Caleb, with both characters having their own loadouts based on their respective games.

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The game also includes enemies from both games, mashing them together in gruesome ways thanks to the dimensional rift plot device. This plot device is also behind the twisted and blown-apart level design, where classic Doom maps are mixed with Blood's own levels and aesthetic, resulting in a wonderfully contorted, almost dream-like experience.

2 Wolfenstein: Blade of Agony

B.J hiding from some Nazis

Wolfenstein has always been one of the most important FPS games ever and is usually listed next to Doom in this regard. That said, Wolfenstein 3D never saw the sheer amount of modding that its successor did. Fear not, however, as Wolfenstein: Blade of Agony is a total conversion mod that just turns Doom II into one of the coolest Wolfenstein games ever.

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Blade of Agony is as nostalgic a take on the old-school Wolfenstein formula as it is a refreshing one. It boasts 30 large and complex levels that oftentimes task the player with juggling multiple objectives at a time. These levels are diverse, ranging from classic Wolfenstein-style stealth missions to the "on rails" kind of fast-paced action one might see in an early Call of Duty game. Armed with a diverse collection of WW2-era weapons, players once again take control of B.J. Blazkowicz in his mission to eradicate the Nazi threat in Europe.

1 Ashes 2063

Ashes 2063

Ever wondered what games like Fallout or STALKER would look like as a Doom clone? Well, this is almost exactly what Ashes 2063 and its sequel, Ashes Afterglow attempt to be. Stylized (at least in part) after Mad Max's brand of post-apocalypse, the player assumes the role of a lone scavenger, one who ventures out into the broken remains of the world in search of useful or valuable items. This time, however, they get more than they bargained for when they discover a radio signal coming from the former city of Atlanta.

From the outset, the mod is dripping with atmosphere. The player is tasked with navigating the dilapidated skeleton of society lying desolate in the scorching, irradiated desert; all of it set to an excellent soundtrack. Trigger-happy raiders and sadistic mutants are all that occupy these ruins now. Outside this nightmare, there are friendly settlements the player will interact with between levels, talking and trading with NPCs as they barely eke out a living in the post-apocalypse. It's a wonderfully bleak and ultraviolent experience from start to finish that never fails at grabbing the player's attention.

Both Doom and Doom 2 are available on PC for modding.

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