MAP01 - Shuttlecraft
The wad starts with MAP01, Shuttlecraft. A very warm beige-then-gray introduction to the crazy world of Icarus. Things like the big fuel tanks you turn on in the back of the ship, the front of the ship with that pitch-dark ambush, the random corruption of the ship's church... Moments like these that immerse you into what are meant to be real spaces with retro sci-fi (and sometimes paranormal) concepts are what makes up a lot of the experience in this wad, and I love it so much. I love doom wads that feel more like places and more exotic experiences rather than "doom wads", if that makes any sense. It's a big part of why I love 90s wads like Icarus.
MAP06 - P.E.T. Rescue
From the skyhacking of MAP06, to things like the midtexture doors in MAP16, the amazingly clever design of MAP20 and it's gravity flipping gimmick, everything in MAP32, this wad finds a way to wow you with every map, or at very least have one sweet piece of eye candy. There's 3 types of levels in Icarus: ship, simulation, and planet levels. Having this amount of variety in a 90s megawad is insane. It's amazing how in a 1996 megawad, you're going from a massive ship going through space, to a simulated computer program, or in some alien planet at midnight. And there's variety within those themes for each map too! There's always something, even in the smallest of it's simple details. Did I mention this is vanilla compatible too? You can play this wad on anything!
MAP12 - Hydroponics
MAP19 - Blessed Are The Quick
The gameplay in Icarus is, I'd say decent. Combat is merely something to keep your attention held while you encounter cool setpieces and details, and sometimes progression can be a little bit cryptic. The ways the mappers want you to get things like keys or hit important switches is sometimes very confusing, so you better play the wad with the idea that everything can do anything, and just start thinking outside the box to figure out progressing through a map.
Even despite Icarus' problems, I deeply love the wad and everything about it- flaws and all. I'm kinda tired of modern doom wads feeling more like levels rather than places, there's nothing wrong with this, but I personally love when maps have a sense of place. It doesn't even need to take over a map's gameplay to get this effect; Wads like Liminal Doom 1 & 2 do this balance perfectly, you can give your map that little flare of emotion it needs to be a little special. I like my wads being able to give me feelings besides fun, after all I deeply believe Doom is an art-form, and just like how things like music and paintings make us feel things, Doom maps can do so too! Even if its just entertaintment- that's a feeling as well, but y'know... I want folks to explore other feelings.
MAP24 - The Haunting
MAP30 - Nucleus
Icarus : Alien Vanguard is a fantastic wad that I believe people who like the doom wads of old should definitely play. If you love maps with a sense of place, that are odd and not the standard anymore, yet are great in their own right, you'll love this wad. Go get it on idgames!
