Modder brings Punch-Out!! into Doom where it belongs

Doom Punch-Out mod — (Image credit: id Software, Nintendo, ddadd)

Nintendo's Punch-Out!! has been places. The boxing game was created for arcades in 1983, then came to the NES in 1987, the Wii in 2009, and the Switch in 2018. Here we are now in 2020, and Punch-Out!! has finally landed where it was destined to all along: inside Doom.

Modder ddadd has created a Doom 2 wad that brings Punch-Out!! and its cast of characters into a 3D boxing ring inside Doom. And unlike the original Punch-Out!!, Little Mac can now actually strafe around the ring. Finally, some fancy footwork for the scrappy little boxer. Here's a video from the modder showing the wad in action:

As you can see, not only do you get the novelty of punching out Punch-Out's!! boxers, you can step out of the ring and watch the boxers fight each other. Ever wonder how Soda Popinski would fare against Mr. Sandman? Now you can find out from a safe distance.

You'll need zDoom (not gzDoom) in order to step into the ring, plus a copy of Doom 2. And in true Doom fashion, there's even a secret level in the wad: Mac has to punch his way through rooms and corridors filled with boxers to unlock the ultimate bareknuckle brawl against a Revenant in the ring. Get ready to rumble, Doom-style!

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.