When remasters of Heretic and Hexen have been surprise-released final week, my curiosity was piqued regardless of myself. I performed each within the ’90s and did not love both of them. Launched in 1994 by Raven Software program, Heretic was a fantasy tackle Doom and it was OK. The next yr Hexen provided an RPG tackle Doom—by means of Heretic—and it drove me nuts.
The weapons in Heretic have been novel sufficient. I beloved the shotgun-adjacent ethereal crossbow so much, and punching gargoyles within the face with magic bracers was weirdly humorous. It was all the time kinda cool how you could possibly accumulate objects to make use of later: spamming a corridor with a dozen Time Bombs of the Ancients and watching swathes of golems perish felt fairly intelligent in comparison with simply pointing and capturing at them. However total the sport wasn’t completely different sufficient from Doom to excite me. Its strategy to fantasy was fairly cartoonish, particularly in comparison with what would come later within the type of Hexen.
However enjoying Heretic in 2025, it is a lot better than I keep in mind. This might need to do with Nightdive Studios’ sensible dealing with of the remasters. Whereas the engine powering Doom and Heretic capped out at 35 fps, you’ll be able to play these new remasters at 120 fps with out utilizing a supply port. Widescreen assist and crisper graphics undoubtedly helps too, as does an virtually supernaturally easy free look (you could possibly search for and down within the unique Heretic, but it surely was tremendous awkward, and there was no good motive to do it). It undoubtedly appears like an indie boomer shooter now, with that ’90s sense of indomitable velocity. Not like say, Rise of the Triad, it has aged remarkably properly.
Nightdive has additionally made gameplay tweaks, a few of which—actually, most of which—you most likely will not discover if it has been 1 / 4 of a century because you final performed these video games. Some maps have been tweaked in each Heretic and Hexen, largely to make them extra parseable and fewer cryptic, and a few weapons have been very subtly modified. The ammo capability of the ethereal crossbow has been decreased, for instance, that means you’ll be able to’t simply important it. You possibly can toggle these adjustments on and off.
However I additionally assume there’s one other issue that makes me respect Heretic extra in 2025 than I did in 1994: it is the extent design. Heretic’s world makes a complete lot extra sense, and is a complete lot extra subtle on an architectural stage, than the extent design in Doom.
Heretic initially arrived solely a matter of weeks after Doom 2’s October 1994 launch date, but it surely nonetheless manages to raised the extent design even in that sequel. Actually, Heretic’s admirable makes an attempt at creating real-feeling areas—see highlights like E1M4 ‘The Guard Tower’, and E1M5 ‘The Citadel’— really feel like evolutions of Doom 2 highlights like ‘Suburbs’ and ‘Tenements’, regardless of releasing barely sooner than them. All of those maps tried to simulate a way of wandering by way of a hamlet, or a metropolis, stuffed with multi-storey tenements and warehouses, in an engine that could not simply pull that off. Heretic’s strategy felt extra true to life.
Picture 1 of 3
Heretic can be actually good at simulating a large pure surroundings in an engine that is a lot better suited to creating hallways and dungeons. My favorite instance is E3M3 ‘The Confluence’, which does not a lot attempt to create a lifelike river convergence because it does seize a dramatic excessive fantasy strategy to at least one. Oh, and Raven’s early masterpiece needs to be E1M6 ‘The Cathedral’, which is among the many most vibrant and atmospheric Doom engine ranges I’ve performed, however with a tomb-like strategy to exploration that makes me really feel like Indiana Jones.
Heretic did find yourself getting a correct sequel in 1998, however earlier than that we obtained Hexen: Past Heretic in 1995. Although it is also constructed within the OG Doom engine, Hexen is not any retread of Heretic: it gives up three courses—fighter, cleric and mage—and 4 weapons for every. Some enemies carry over from Heretic, however the overwhelming majority don’t. It is a huge, blustering, bold try to make one thing akin to an motion RPG—or possibly even one thing like Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss—in an engine that is all about fragging and discovering keys. Raven clearly wished to create a sprawling epic, and it obtained at the very least a part of that ambition proper.
Nightdive has made some small however essential alterations that serve to make Hexen… virtually enjoyable to play.
As a result of jeez does Hexen sprawl. Its largest diversion from different Doom-engine video games is its hub-based stage construction. Ranges branching from a hub typically maintain the important thing—or a change—that might open a brand new route in the principle space. It was a cool thought (and this late within the Doom engine’s industrial life, Hexen wanted at the very least one cool thought) but it surely resulted in a horribly obtuse outing. A supernatural reserve of endurance was required in a recreation that always planted switches on the entire different finish of the world from the door it opened. Even within the ’90s, when the novelty of exploring 3D worlds was nonetheless an enormous a part of the enchantment of first-person video games, it was a particularly tough trot.
To Nightdive’s everlasting credit score, the studio has executed its finest to make Hexen suck a complete lot much less. You principally all the time wanted to make use of the map in Hexen, however now the map is heaps extra helpful, displaying the situation of essential switches and doorways even when you have not visited the situation but. Along with that, the hub areas now have little indicators within the surroundings that present a bit extra readability concerning what you have executed up to now, and what nonetheless must occur. You possibly can even change your class mid-game, now.
Nightdive might have simply re-released Hexen with some beauty enhancements and left it at that, however as an alternative they’ve made some small however essential alterations that serve to make Hexen… virtually enjoyable to play. The reality is that the hub-and-spoke design tends to end in some very boring, very perfunctory-feeling spokes, most of which may’t maintain a torch to the beautiful stage design present in Heretic.
Although I by no means beloved both of those video games within the ’90s, I reckon Heretic + Hexen is an excellent bundle. Heretic advantages significantly from a beauty uplift, and the Nightdive-created ranges make it engaging for gamers who keep in mind the unique extra vividly. Hexen is a curio, however hell, it certain has an excellent temper, and it is enjoyable to see all of the alternative ways studios have been scrambling to squeeze blood out of the Doom engine by the mid ’90s (see additionally: Strife). It is a extra bold archival undertaking from Nightdive than the latest Doom remedy, for its focus not simply on posterity however fashionable playability.
