The original DOOM is known as a game that can run on any computer hardware, but one modder went a different way and ported Mortal Kombat to the DOOM engine. Both DOOM and Mortal Kombat share notoriety as some of the violent video games that swept the United States in the 1990s, eventually giving birth to the ESRB ratings system. Since then, both franchises have thrived, with DOOM seeing a successful reboot in 2016 and Mortal Kombat staying relevant with releases in both games and film into the modern-day.
The scene surrounding DOOM mods has never truly died, and modders have even ported over some of the new weapons and enemies from DOOM Eternal to the original game. With both DOOM and Mortal Kombat continuing to thrive amid a wave of '90s nostalgia, it only makes sense that a modder would try to bring them together. However, this isn't the original DOOM engine running on MS-DOS. Modders today typically work with one of the source ports like Zandronum. Not only does this let players load up the game easier within a modern operating system like Windows, but it also opens up the programming to opportunities that the original engine lacks.
Earlier this month, modder DooMero posted the final version of his Mortal Kombat 2 port for Zandronum. The game requires the files for DOOM 2 as well as the Zandronum program and the mod itself. Once everything is set up, players can load up both the arcade single-player experience and a head-to-head multiplayer mode running on DOOM tech. The game features the full roster from Mortal Kombat 2 rendered as if it was a 90s FPS, and the demons from DOOM appear in cameos throughout the stages and in Shang Tsung's finishing moves. The results of this unusual combo speak for themselves.
Several months ago, while development continued, UK YouTuber Ketchup and Mustard had a back and forth with DooMero regarding the project. The modder stated in that interview that he has been working on the mode for a solid decade, and his motivation was simply that there wasn't a 2D fighting game mod in the DOOM scene before now. He revealed that he procured the sprites for the mod from various community resources and that the sound is a mixture between SNES and the original Arcade release. Those who grew up on the Genesis can even load in a separate mod file that restores their preferred soundtrack. The mod is up now for download over on DooMero's ModDB page.
Spending a decade porting Mortal Kombat to the DOOM engine may seem like a silly endeavor at first glance considering how easy it is to play the original game in other ways. However, most DOOM mods are more about creating something novel within the confines of a revolutionary game. Porting over another '90s legend to the DOS graphics of the grandfather of FPS games just feels like it fits, and playing through the arcade game to discover all the DOOM references provides some fun for those who know how to launch Scorpion's chain by heart.
Sources: PNDK&M/YouTube, ModDB