Project Einherjar

Project Einherjar is a two-episode total conversion for GZDoom/Doom 2 developed and released by Impie in the summer of 2016; Episode 2 was later released in the winter of 2016. It is set during nuclear winter, and features 14 new maps and a totally replaced roster of weapons and enemies in the style of an early-90s 3D shooter. Impie made the mod as a promotional gimmick for a sci-fi novel, The Helios Legacy, set in the same universe. The gameplay involves lots of fast, brutal shootouts with enemies that die relatively easily, but can badly injure the careless player.

Story
The player takes control of the novel's protagonist, Juno, in the postnuclear nation of Midgard, which stores its male population like cattle in "Valhalla" facilities. Under direct orders from the government, Juno has begrudgingly rounded up all known homosexual males in her Valhalla and delivered them personally to Gaulheim, to be experimented on by the homophobic Dr. Gaul. Juno is about to leave when a runaway male explains that Gaul is turning the men into mindless super-soldiers as part of a coup to take over the government. Juno reports this to her superior in the capital city, but Dr. Gaul is too well connected to move against officially. Instead, Juno is given permission to discreetly liquidate Dr. Gaul and her super-soldier program, Project Einherjar, while a blizzard cuts Gaulheim off from the rest of civilization.

In Episode 2, several months after the death of Dr. Gaul, Juno is abducted by Gaulheim's vengeful sheriff, Bloody Althea Rourke, and taken to White Hell prison out in the middle of the wasteland. There she meets the sadistic warden, "Blue Devil" Veidt, who has continued the Einherjar project on her own. Juno escapes before she can be tortured and fights her way through the prison, hoping to bring an end to White Hell and the Einherjar project once and for all.

Weapons
Project Einherjar completely replaces the player's arsenal.
 * Ballistic Knife - Juno's signature weapon, a knife that fires the blade like a small harpoon that pierces all enemies in its path. The blade must be retrieved after each shot (if it isn't lost forever due to poor aim), but she can collect extra blades during the episode.
 * RavenM40 - A fast-firing and highly damaging pistol.
 * Shit Creek Scattergun - A slow shotgun Juno constructed from water pipes and other junk. A last-ditch resort for getting a better gun.
 * Thunderhammer Auto-Shotgun - A fully automatic version of the shotgun.
 * Gungnir M14 - A fast, deadly, and accurate assault rifle. It can usually hit its mark at long distances even on full-auto.
 * Dessler Frag Cannon - Pump-action rocket launcher. It fires more slowly than the Doom 'Launcher, to balance the squishy and mostly human enemy roster.
 * Uzi - An overpowered bonus weapon that is only accessed via cheating.
 * Spring Mine - A landmine that bounces into the air before detonating. Juno is immune to its destructive effects.
 * Missile Pod - Once dropped, it fires off four salvos of mini-missiles that seek the nearest target.
 * Super Stim - Heals Juno like a stimpack and grants her temporary 3/4 damage reduction for a few seconds. It also negates the effects of morphine darts for as long as it's active.

Enemies
One distinguishing feature of the mod is that it can be summarized as a gender-swapped Wolfenstein 3D. Most of the enemies are female soldiers in the service of Dr. Gaul and her city sheriff, and each enemy type has a unique personality to distinguish it from the rest of the cast. The boss characters even have large, distorted anatomy much like the bosses of Wolf3D and Spear of Destiny.

Introduced in Episode 1
Shieldmaiden. A beret-wearing army recruit armed with a pistol, the lowest form of opposition. She mostly flees from combat at the first sign of trouble, making her dangerous in her own right: odds are she'll flee into the next room and alert more dangerous enemies to Juno's presence. She talks like a skittish valley girl.

Stepchild. A redheaded soldier that appears frequently in gangs or ambushes, and aggressively attacks with an auto-shotgun. She mocks Juno during combat and usually dodges or flees when injured.

Amazon Commando. The tough and nimble big sister to the Shieldmaiden, packing a Gungnir rifle and refusing to flee from combat. She often spouts battle cries and generally behaves like a right-wing zealot.

Fratboy. A male guard and laborer armed with a tazer, behaving much like the imp in every respect, except that his projectile is faster. He is a smug, boorish bully, and when injured enough he fires three energy balls and doubles his move speed.

MommyBot. A flying robot that sedates intruders. It is the first enemy Juno encounters that attacks with morphine darts, which poison Juno and slow her movement. It speaks in a soft, sweet digitally generated voice and chastizes Juno like a nanny to a naughty child.

Fenris. Albino attack dog that lunges at Juno and bites ferociously. Their small size and speedy movement makes them very hard to hit.

Jotunheim Vampire Doc. Arrogant mad scientist that speaks with an Eastern European accent, fires morphine darts from a tranq pistol, and flees from combat. She is physically the weakest enemy in the game (next to Administrators), dying from 1-2 pistol shots. She can be useful to Juno in emergencies since she always drops a stimpack when killed.

Administrator. Basically shootable furniture that bleeds and sometimes carries keys or other important items. The administrator comes in the form of either blood-soaked Chief Vampire Docs, who merely put up their hands and hope not to get shot; or black-coated Valkyrie Captains, who may do the same, or may draw a pistol and open fire.

Juggernaut. Masked, snarling, four-armed hulk that charges Juno and tries to pulverize her with its fists. It is the precursor to a finished Einherjar and frequently appears in large numbers. It also has no active sounds, so it can sneak up on Juno easily.

Einherjar. A human tank that serves as a boss monster on several maps. It shouts at Juno in a hideous, distorted voice and attacks with gatling guns and seeker missiles.

Rourke Sister. A souped up Amazon miniboss armed with auto-shotgun and triple-barreled tranq gun. She moves very quickly, shouting aggressively at Juno all the while. Juno almost always needs to kill her to progress in some way.

Bloody Althea Rourke. The hulking, dual-shotgun-wielding mother of the Rourke Sisters. She is first encountered as an optional boss on Map 6: Sorority of Pain, where she guards the armory key; she also serves as the final boss of Episode 2. In both cases she fires her shotguns on full auto, shredding Juno's health at an alarming rate, and can give herself sudden bursts of speed to catch up with her target.

Dr. Gaul. The main villain and final boss of Episode 1. She resembles Miss Trunchbull from Madeline: a big, cackling brute of a woman with her hair in a bun. She attacks by firing missiles from a Dessler Frag Cannon and follows up with armor-shredding bullets: either attack is capable of killing Juno very quickly. She is briefly seen in an observation booth on Map 5: Garden of Calm, watching Juno battle the first Einherjar.

Introduced in Episode 2
Block Doc. Basically a Fratboy in riot armor. He starts off by firing morphine darts, but will switch to buckshot when injured. He drops the unimpressive Shit Creek Scattergun when killed, and is therefore not a reliable source of firepower.

Block Lord. A big, bald bruiser in riot armor who behaves like a Juggernaut with a triple-dart attack. Up close he beats Juno to a pulp with dual billy clubs.

Sky Hound. One-woman attack choppers that fire seeker missiles and shout at Juno through a megaphone. They appear frequently as minibosses or level hazards.

Ghost Guerrilla. Smaller, faster, and weaker form of the Einherjar armed with lasers. It flickers in and out of visibility and is very hard to hit.

Worg. Demonic black dogs that inhabit the underbelly of White Hell. They don't lunge like the Fenris, but their numbers are usually staggering, and the larger Worgs deal horrific damage with their bite.

Thor. An elite Einherjar boss in white armor. It moves twice as fast and attacks with rapid-fire lasers and Dessler rockets that kill in one hit.

"Blue Devil" Cassidy Veidt. Villain of Episode 2, warden of White Hell, and boss of Map 13: Blue Devil. She fires at Juno with a powerful pair of revolvers. In combat Veidt is less dangerous than the other bosses, but her arena makes it difficult to see or maneuver. She appears briefly on Map 12: Dormitory Sector, where she flees through a door just before locking Juno in her lab and unleashing several Einherjars.

Other notes

 * It is one of the few Doom mods that make heavy use of a snowy environment.
 * Players are encouraged to use jumping and crouching to reach extra items and take advantage of cover during firefights.
 * The TC comes with a pdf "instruction manual" that details the story, items, and characters. The mod's plot is a spin-off story that is not directly connected to the plot of the novel, with the exception of a reference to how Juno lost her eye, her use of a ballistic knife, and her ability to improvise weapons on the go.
 * Many of the locations, names, and weapons are taken directly from the novel's universe, especially the use of Norse mythology (Fenris, Einherjar, Valhalla, etc).
 * The action-oriented mod is a bit of a genre-shift from the novel, which is more of a character-driven western. However, in both projects Juno is portrayed as an elite soldier capable of taking down large groups of enemies at one time.

Levels
Episode 1: The Gaulheim Hit
 * MAP01: Checkpoint Charlize
 * MAP02: Human Processing
 * MAP03: Administration
 * MAP04: Conversion Center
 * MAP05: Garden of Calm
 * MAP06: Sorority of Pain
 * MAP07: Malpractice

Episode 2: Deep Into White Hell
 * MAP08: Bloody Detour
 * MAP09: The Plague Warrens
 * MAP10: Dog House C
 * MAP11: Security Central
 * MAP12: Dormitory Sector
 * MAP13: Blue Devil
 * MAP14: Hell Freezes Over