The Heretic/Hexen Games Ranked
There were a lot of games referred to as “Doom clones” in the wake of that landmark 1993 game’s release. Of course, we now refer to the genre as “first-person shooter,” but the reduction of certain subsequent releases wasn’t entirely unfounded. Many games literally sprang out of DOOM’s loins. HERETIC was one. The first game of four in a series spanning just shy of four years from 1994 to 1998, this medieval fantasy spin on the shooter from developer Raven (involved with many future Activision properties including Wolfenstein and Call of Duty) and publisher id (of already existing fame through Wolfenstein and Doom and in short order Quake) used a modified version of DOOM’s engine. Although sequels followed swiftly with the alternating Heretic/Hexen naming convention (hence the series generally being referred to with both prefixes), each installment advanced a story and, more importantly, gameplay concepts with intriguing regularity. Heretic/Hexen isn’t the most obscure of ’90s FPS series, especially because of its close ties to id and Doom, but its profile has certainly waned in the decades since its close. That’s a shame because all four of the games offer exciting spins on proven concepts of the time. Perhaps even more than Doom, and more like Quake, the evolution of Heretic/Hexen represents the sudden and exciting shifts in video game technology and design through the ’90s, especially in the PC and FPS spaces.
#4 — HERETIC II (1998)
The last game in the series, HERETIC II exists in a publishing purgatory (part of some Activision nonsense) and is harder to track down then the three previous installments (which are on Steam and GOG). This black sheep existence also applies to its gameplay and look. HERETIC II is not a first-person shooter but instead a third-person action adventure game. OK, you still shoot things, but you also jump and platform like Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, solve puzzles, and experience a more in-depth story that fittingly picks up where HERETIC left off after the Hexen titles swerved off into literally different territories. As Corvus, the retconned elf hero of HERETIC, the player explores diverse areas, from a medieval town to a swamp to desert canyons. An array of fantastical species and a general oppressive feeling make HERETIC II a unique dark fantasy with liminal spaces akin to other turn-of-the-century 3D games. But there is something off to it. Maybe because it’s a bit slower or maybe it’s because the first-person expectation does warp my view of this very different perspective. There is still a lot of fun to be had with HERETIC II, but it feels a bit clumsier from moment to moment, even as its platforming has a leg up on similar games and its world is handsomely rendered.
#3 — HERETIC (1994)
Because of its aforementioned ties to DOOM, HERETIC, the first in the series, feels the most like that groundbreaking game. A game can do worse than borrow the frantic pace of the definitive “boomer shooter,” even as this one does kind of just reskin DOOM weapons for a medieval fantasy aesthetic and uses the same key-based level exploration structure. But HERETIC does enough differently to distinguish it. It has a deeper inventory system, vertical look, and in spite of my dismissive-sounding comments about it, a compellingly dark visual and sonic atmosphere. As the start of the series, HERETIC is solid, reliable fun.
#2 — HEXEN: BEYOND HERETIC (1995)
Although HEXEN: BEYOND HERETIC is still based on the DOOM engine, it distinguishes itself from its inspiration and code even more than its predecessor does. Implementing hubs and non-linear level progression and three distinct character classes, HEXEN also adds a greater array of items to discover and power up the characters, allowing for greater variance in fights. Speaking of that variance, the distinction between the fighter, mage, and cleric also totally changes the context of combat, with melee, ranged, and a mix of both defining each respectively. The weapons are not just reskins of DOOM weapons (well, at least not all of them). And the morbidity and creepiness of HERETIC’s aesthetic is enriched into just a bit higher fidelity. HEXEN’s level design, puzzles, and all-important combat are clear and ideal sequel improvements and it still offers the fast-paced FPS fun typical of the genre of its day.
#1 — HEXEN II (1997)
But the game that mixes things up the most for the series without going too far is HEXEN II. Now based on the QUAKE (1996) engine, the finale of the “Serpent Riders Trilogy” indeed feels like a culmination of the dark fantasy aesthetic of the Hexen/Heretic series, as well as a gameplay evolution that keeps just enough of its roots. Choosing from four classes now (Paladin, Crusader, Assassin, and Necromancer), the player sets out to kill the third Serpent Rider in the realm of Thyrion. HEXEN featured different characters, the land of Cronos, and the second big bad, HERETIC the retroactively named Corvus, first Serpent Rider, and Parthoris, the place returned to for HERETIC II. The areas of Thyrion are modeled after real-world locations and settings, like ancient Egypt, which in some ways makes the aesthetic, as compared to the previous games, a bit more mundane. But where some design inspirations feel a little misplaced, the QUAKE engine’s capacity for improved graphics and a real 3D atmosphere make up for it. Destructible elements and the general liminal vibe make the world of HEXEN II a pleasure to reside in…even as it’s filled with things trying to kill you and tortuous images. But the game also succeeds in fleshing out the gameplay concepts of the FPS. Adding leveling systems on top of the classes’ distinctions, HEXEN II features more intricate puzzles affecting other parts of its levels and the backtracking necessary to progress through its larger environments. As the ender of the longest gap between releases in the series at just shy of two years since HEXEN, the third game represents that “greater” amount of time in an era where huge leaps were being made much more quickly than it takes to make landmark or “AAA” releases now. HEXEN II is a great ’90s PC FPS with a ton of detail and intricacies to its design and moment-to-moment combat, making its relative obscurity today all the more regrettable but also the best game in the Heretic/Hexen series.
