1994’s Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders and its 1995 sequel, Hexen: Beyond Heretic forged new frontiers in first-person shooter games. Experience these pivotal games today with Heretic + Hexen, a collaboration between id Software and Nightdive Studios bringing an enhanced re-release of Raven Software’s legendary games to a new generation of players.
From demonic sci-fi to dark fantasy
“As one of the original developers back in the ’90s, it’s honestly kind of surreal to see Heretic and Hexen coming back like this,” says Brian Raffel, studio co-founder and co-head of Raven Software. “We built those games on a heavily modified Doom (1993) engine and tried to push the boundaries wherever we could, adding things like character classes, inventory systems, vertical aiming…stuff that was pretty wild for the time.
“We were also lucky to be working with our friends at id Software, especially John Romero and John Carmack. Their support and engine tech gave us the chance to build something different. There’s something cool about knowing these worlds still mean something to people after all these years.”
Players embark on a journey through monster-filled halls, trap-laden arenas and arcane realms in a unique blend of classic FPS combat with dungeon delving inspired by fantasy tabletop role-playing games.
“Both Heretic and Hexen hail from the kind of fantasy that was common in 80s and 90s PC gaming but had yet to be explored much in a first-person shooter,” shares Mike Rubits, Senior Programmer at id Software. “There were a lot of shooters with war, sci-fi, and aliens, but not a lot of maces and wands.”
“It was actually Romero’s idea to add character classes in Hexen—a move that really took the franchise to the next level,” says Raffel. “At the time, that kind of RPG element in an FPS was almost unheard of. Each class had its own weapons, stats, and playstyle – that blend of shooter mechanics with fantasy roleplaying was risky, but it worked. It helped set Hexen apart from everything else out there and made the world feel richer and more personal. I think that’s a big part of why people still remember it so fondly.”
Heretic + Hexen features include local split-screen and cross-platform online multiplayer modes, the option to toggle the enhanced “Tome of Power” soundtrack from Andrew Hulshult, all-new accessibility options and quality-of-life improvements, behind-the-scenes materials in the Raven Vault and more. That’s not all: in addition to previously released expansion packs for the original release, Heretic + Hexen also features brand-new content!
New content for Heretic + Hexen
“The two new episodes in Heretic + Hexen cover both games – ‘Faith Renewed’ is a new Heretic episode while ‘Vestigues of Grandeur’ was created in Hexen,” Rubits explains. “They followed in the spirit of the new episodes in our previous re-releases: a whole new experience that uses the original technology, but is not bound by having to run on 30-year-old computers with a very small amount of memory.”
“During the planning phases, we figured we’d only have time to do one or the other,” says Xaser Acheron, Senior Developer at Nightdive Studios, “and it dawned on me that these are some of the fastest mappers in the West.”
“I already knew there was going to be additional content for Heretic + Hexen, so I started making maps in my free time for fun,” adds Samuel “Kaiser” Villarreal, Level Designer at Nightdive Studios. “By the time the whole thing was greenlit, I had nearly a whole episode’s worth of maps done already.”
“Sure enough, each mapper produced nearly an entire episode’s worth of content on their own, with community legend Not Jabba contributing a couple of gigantic maps to round out the set. I also got to sneak in one of my own,” says Xaser. “The gambit paid off, but in hindsight it’s really not that much of a surprise since those folks are absolute powerhouses.”
Delve into the fantasy FPS classics today
Whether you’re returning to the mystical realm of Cronos or setting foot in its shadowy halls for the first time, the combined teams at Raven Software, id Software and Nightdive Studios invite you to experience Heretic + Hexen and the legacy that helped define a genre.
“To the fans—those who were there in the early days and those discovering these games for the first time now—thank you,” says Raffel. “Your enthusiasm, modding, memories and support have kept these worlds alive far longer than we ever imagined. Seeing the community still care about this work after all these years means more than I can say.”
Heretic + Hexen releases today for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4.
