2019 · Mod · First-person shooter · Shooter

Bloom

Mod

Bloom (sometimes stylized as BlooM) is a mod for id Software's video game Doom II. It is designed to merge all of the enemies, weapons and environment elements of Monolith Productions' Blood and Doom II, creating a crossover of both game universes. It was developed by Spanish indie studio Bloom Team and released via Mod DB on October 31, 2019.

Released: 31 October 2019
Platforms: Android Linux Windows macOS
Genres: First-person shooter Shooter
Developers: —
Publishers: —
Modes: Co-op Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: First person
Themes: Action Science fiction Horror Comedy
Engine: id Tech 1
Country: Spain United States

About

Bloom is a fan-made modification built on the Doom source port GZDoom. It combines elements from Doom II (1994), developed by id Software, and Blood (1997) by Monolith Productions to create a crossover experience. The mod was developed by the Spanish indie studio Bloom Team and released on Mod DB on October 31, 2021.

›Story

BlooM's story begins 10 years after Doom II's events. Earth governments try to rebuild the remnants of civilization after the war against Hell. Meanwhile Cabalco remained latent, waiting for the right moment to take over the old UAC facilities. The goal of Cabalco is to build its own portal generator, not just to bring back all the Cabal fallen army, but to resurrect Tchernobog.

During the process of opening the portal, the Cabal's engineers detected an anomaly surely due to a bad adjustment of the collider. This produced an space-time disturbance in which the past (Blood) merged with the present (Doom II) in a fragmented universe known as the Void.

And not only that! The vortex brought back Cabal's army along with all the demons from hell slaughtered by Doomguy!

Cabalco sorcerers tried to put the Icon of Sin under their control. But after several attempts, they found it was an impossible task. War of The Void begins...

Being unable to subdue the army of hell, Cabalco scientists created the Hybrids. Servile and lethal creatures, combining Hell demons and Cabal forces.

Luckily, on this occasion, Doomguy won't be alone. The time vortex fusion brought an ally: Caleb.

Together they will not only fight to destroy the demons and acolytes of Cabal, but also the secret weapon of Cabal, the hybrid creatures!

Keywords

megawad
wad

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Players must navigate each level to reach the exit while overcoming numerous hazards. The mod introduces hybrid enemies that combine traits of monsters from Doom II and Blood, as well as levels built using design elements from both games. Players can choose between two protagonists, Doomguy and Caleb, each equipped with unique weapons and abilities.

In addition to original weapons, the mod adds new ones such as a revolver, grenades, and a flamethrower, alongside graphical improvements including voxel models and upgraded lighting effects. Bloom supports cooperative play and offers five difficulty levels. It is compatible with Doom, Doom II, Final Doom, Sigil, and various custom WADs.

Development

Bloom was originally conceived and created by Spanish developer Drugod (Antonio González) under the title Bloom – Rise of Caleb, with the initial aim of adding Blood enemies into the Doom source port GZDoom. The first gameplay footage was published on Drugod’s YouTube channel in April 2016. To evolve the project into a complete crossover experience, a small group of developers joined him, forming what became known as the Bloom Team. A public demo — featuring four maps, hybrid enemies drawn from both games, and a full soundtrack composed by Buio Mondo, was released on Mod DB on October 31, 2019.

The final version launched on Mod DB on October 31, 2021, expanding the content with nine levels, an original storyline, cutscenes, and an entirely new soundtrack composed by ASCIIMOV. The source code of the project was later made available on GitHub.

Reception

The mod received praise from Jace Hall, the former CEO and founder of Monolith Productions, who described it as "awesome" on his personal X account. Dominic Tarason of Rock, Paper, Shotgun named Bloom one of the best Doom mods, calling it "an extremely cool concept" and "a real treat, visually and aurally". Chris J. Capel of PCGamesN described it as "a ridiculously fun FPS" and a "wonderfully unique hybrid". Ángel Morán of Hobby Consolas called Bloom “the best mod to ever combine Doom and Blood” and “one of the finest mods ever made for Doom.” YouTube game reviewer GmanLives praised the mod's level design, visuals, and atmosphere, describing it as "one of the best Doom mods ever made".

Bloom won the "Best Crossover Mod" and "Best Upcoming Mod" awards from Mod DB in 2019.

Legacy

After the success of Bloom, several games and mods were developed as its spiritual successors:

Call of the Void, a Quake II mod that fuses enemies and environments from Quake and Quake II, echoing the concept pioneered by Bloom. It was released in September 2025 through Mod DB and GOG.com.