A modder has already brought Doom: The Dark Age's new 'Shield Saw' to the 1993 original, and it's pretty close to perfect

The OG Doom community has done it again: Less than 24 hours after Bethesda announced Doom: The Dark Ages at the Xbox Games Showcase, modder Craneo has added a functional Shield Saw—it's a shield that is also a saw—into the original Doom.

The mod converts the famous Doom chainsaw into the soon-to-be-famous Shield Saw. It's essentially the same as the original lumberjack tool, with a couple of significant upgrades: It looks really cool, it will protect you from incoming damage (it's a shield, after all), and yes, you can throw it to mess up the bad guys Captain America style.

aight I kinda ended up trying to make actual decorate for it… it works, will upload in a bit. pic.twitter.com/OORmCydVL0June 10, 2024

I tried out the Shield Saw myself and if anything, it's a little too good: When the shield is raised (via the right mouse button) it blocks all incoming damage, no matter where it comes from. I allowed myself to be surrounded by zombies and imps, and took zero damage, even after moving to stand beside an explosive barrel, which did eventually explode—no harm done. Turning my back on a notoriously aggressive pinky demon returned the same result: Shield up, no damage. In your face, Pink!

I mention that point not to complain, but simply to point out that the Shield Saw mod isn't perfectly refined yet. But of course it isn't: Craneo made the mod in roughly the same amount of time I need to decide what I'm going to eat for supper. To stretch that analogy further, I think of it a bit like a trip to Fast Eddie's: It may not be the best burger in the world but it's pretty damn good, and I got it in 12 seconds.

Others were equally impressed:

(Image credit: Twitter)

How the hell did you make that so fast? pic.twitter.com/nW7aKRy1ieJune 10, 2024

Craneo hasn't indicated if they're going to keep working on the mod to make it a little less OP, or if it is what it is, and that's just fine. They have, however, hinted that the other big innovation in ultraviolence in Doom: The Dark Ages—the one I like to call the Skul-Gun, and no that's not a misspelling—could be on tap next: