Heretic + Hexen

A blast from the past. If you played this years ago, and want to relive it, don't hesitate, just do it.

Já kacíř (tuduc), jsem se dostal k této klasice poprvé až letos (2026)! A musím říct, že Heretic je fajn, mám rád klasickýho Dooma a tohle je v podstatě takovej fantasy Doom s inventářem a mouselookem, cool! Hexen je podobný co se týče hratelnosti, ale je zde několik rozdílů, můžete hrát za 3 různé classy, které si můžete v průběhu hry libovolně měnit (na určitých místech). Přibyla také možnost skákání, ale největší rozdíl vidím v tom, že hra nemá jednotlivé levely jak jsme z těchto oldschool her zvyklý, ale jakýsi hub, ze kterého člověk plynule přechází do vícero úrovní, kde třeba něco zmáčknete a pak musíte zpátky někam do háje, tohle dokáže být celkem otravný a zmatečný. Pokud hru vypnete a pak se do ní po pár dnech vrátíte nemáte naprosto tušení co dělat a kam jít. Jinak obě hry jsou dobrý, navíc obsahují i nové epizody, podobně jako třeba Doom, Duke nebo Shadow Warrior, což je super.

Cool remastered collection of Heretic and Hexen! I played through the new Heretic content and thought it was pretty well done. If you've never played Heretic before, you definitely should, and this is a great place to start. Still working on getting through Hexen but I'll get there one day :)

I've done literally everything now I am a god in Hexen/Heretic

This port is high quality, the game is fantastic!

[h1] [u][i][b] Heretic + Hexen [/b] Extensive Review[/i][/u] [/h1] [h1] [b] TL;DR: Very good rerelease of the collection, keep up the good work, Nightdive. I have comments about each game for those curious. This review is split into an extra comment for the full review. [/b] [/h1] This is a thorough and major-spoiler-free review of this collection. Nightdive has once again, made a great faithful remaster/rerelease/HD port of the target games. This collection is bundle of [i] Heretic [/i], [i] Hexen [/i], [i] Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel [/i], along with two new expansions: [i] Heretic: Faith Renewed [/i] and [i] Hexen: Vestiges of Grandeur [/i]. Each segment will cover each game (in terms of their original releases, not with the updated rereleases*) and then a conclusion. *unless there is a specific problem with the rerelease. [i] We'll get to that... [/i] [h2] [i] Heretic [/i] [/h2] [i] Heretic [/i] is Raven Software's second FPS game, but their first major breakthrough hit. Heretic released on December 23, 1994 (shareware), and then December 29, 1994 (full game via mail-in order). It is a successor of the critically acclaimed [i] Doom [/i] using its engine. Speaking of, John Romero himself was the producer of the game, along with id Software also being the game's original publisher. Raven has experimented with the engine, that in a way, made a new experience with its quirks (that goes with pretty much all commercial games that use another game's engine). That being, [i] Heretic [/i] introduces: a fantasy setting that spans across various games, fantastic weapons, fantastic VGA graphics (for the time), new items, and an inventory system to hold those items on your person. [i] Heretic [/i] brought its own innovation that was set for the game. There are also various enemies you will encounter which you will use your weapons and items accordingly. Sometimes, things get very challenging. The bosses are also difficult, but balanced. I think the level design is alright, but I don't think it's better than [i] Doom [/i]'s. First three episodes of [i] Heretic [/i]: 8/10. Very good. [h2] [i] Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders [/i] [/h2] [i] Heretic [/i] had its first expansion, [i] Shadow of the Serpent Riders [/i], released on March 22, 1996, by GT Interactive. Technically, this isn't just an expansion, but Heretic's mainline retail release, considered as the "complete release." This expansion include episode 4 and 5 for the base game. Originally, [i] Heretic [/i] had only three episodes on its original release mail order release. In my opinion, these episodes were much more difficult than the original first three. I would say they are even more difficult than the fourth episode from [i] The Ultimate Doom [/i] (which Nightdive also rereleased a year prior) when that expansion released in 1995. Additionally, there is a "sixth" episode containing only deathmatch maps. After all of this, on January 11, 1999, the source code was released for modders and programmers to enjoy. Woohoo! In terms of only those two episodes, I would say the [i] Shadow of the Serpent Riders [/i] release/episodes a 6/10. It could use some work along with some new content, at least. Side note and trivia: Apparently as of writing this review, I figured out why I was a bit discomforted with episodes 4 and 5. They were originally meant for [i] Doom 2 [/i] maps and were reworked for the expansion. Interesting. That explains a lot. Overall, I give all five [i] Heretic [/i] episodes in terms of one experience a 7/10. It's not terrible, but it could use some retooling in order to make sense. I do still like it, however. Like, why were episodes 4 and 5 needed to be in the game? Without going too far into the game, I felt as if those two episodes didn't need to exist, but it's okay. [h2] [i] Heretic: Faith Renewed [/i] [/h2] This is the second expansion of [i] Heretic [/i]. This was released alongside the HD rereleases of the other games you're seeing on this very page. I was very surprised about this in comparison to the previous expansion, as this did justice compared to my slight grudging disappointment of the previous expansion. Without much spoilers: A lot of the issues from my previous complaints of [i] Shadow of the Serpent Riders [/i] was fixed, and I thank Nightdive for absolutely knocking it out of the park with this expansion. This expansion was AMAZING! New enemies, better (and more fun) maps, and even a new weapon. What is that weapon? [i] I ain't gonna tell ye... [/i] Trivia: A bunch of previously unused and WIP stuff was reused for this expansion. I'm not spoiling what was added. I am an avid member of [i] The Cutting Room Floor [/i] site, and it made me happy that they did this. [i] Heretic: Faith Renewed [/i]: 9/10. AWESOME. [b] I WANT MORE OF THIS! [/b] [h2] [i] Hexen: Beyond Heretic [/i] [/h2] Alright, we're here... in the [i] Hexen [/i] territory now. [i] Hexen: Beyond Heretic [/i], or just [i] Hexen [/i] was released on October 30, 1995 (1 day before Halloween; very fitting and appropriate), published by id Software and distributed by GT Interactive. [i] Hexen [/i] is an indirect, but proclaimed sequel to [i] Heretic [/i]. [i] Hexen [/i] allows you to choose three different classes instead one base "one-size-fits-all" player. You are tasked to defeat Korax, the game's major villain. To do that, you have to go through various interconnected maps with puzzles. [b] [i] LOTS [/i] [/b] of puzzles. None of the enemies of [i] Heretic [/i] return (except for technically two of them). With these new additions, [i] Hexen [/i] brings a familiar, but completely different experience than [i] Heretic [/i]. [i] Hexen [/i] is quite like its predecessor, but with more pronounced RPG elements that Raven wanted. Let me be clear, if you are expecting maps like in [i] Doom [/i] and other associated FPS games, you're going in for a nasty surprise like how I was. But, if you are familiar with any of the [i] Elder Scrolls [/i] series of games, this will be very familiar to you. Additionally, the rerelease helped me complete the game along with the expansions. If you are a [i] Doom [/i] fanatic like I am and want to complete the game faster, turn on the map objective markers. It will save you a lot of time (even though it took me 10+ hours to complete the base game, go figure). Otherwise, true RPG fanatics (I personally can't call myself one) can choose to keep this enabled or not if you're wanting an exploration type of experience. Trivia: If you played [i] Heretic: Faith Renewed [/i] prior to Hexen, you may realize the green serpent is also in this game. The green chaos serpent was here first, but was brought to [i] Heretic: Faith Renewed [/i] for that expansion. The reason I think why they did this? [i] Heretic [/i] episode 3. [i] Hexen: Beyond Heretic [/i]: 7/10. Personally confusing for me, even with the objective markers on, but Nightdive can't really change much to improve upon that without changing the gameplay, and I don't blame them. [i] Hexen [/i] is not really my type of game, personally. More of the review in comment.

Love it, Cult classic game !!

The Update the games needed with some questionable decisions for good measure. Hexen has been probably my favorite shooter of all time and I used to play it on GZDoom a lot. It had a couple of issues though, the Mage balancing, scripting errors and so on. They all have been addressed in the way I would address them, you can even tune down the overuse of blinking textures in heretic. Absolutely fantastic job, they couldn't have done better... ... and then there are some weird decisions. They skipped Bloodscourge on the Mage rebalancing. The cleric got a shield for some reason which now is the only weapon in the game that utilizes a secondary button press you have to specifically assign throwing off your entire control scheme. And they've put the games under an EULA and PP that keeps changing or not displaying at all depending which link you follow and accepting it is forced, you have to force-quit the game to not agree. So that's pretty shady. But bottom line is two excellent games, with addition well crafted missions in the best version there could be.

Great ports, the Andrew Hulshult remixes slap throughout, Heretic is great, Hexen sucks - a story as old as time

Miazga