So, you know those old games that pop up like surprise guests from your childhood? That’s kinda what’s happening here with Heretic and Hexen making a splash back onto consoles. It’s like they threw on a new jacket, courtesy of Nightdive Studios, and sauntered back into the party. Now, I didn’t even remember Hexen being on anything other than my buddy’s ancient PlayStation, but hey, times change.
Heretic, that first game, is what folks used to call a rip-off, but in a fun way. Imagine Doom, but instead of guns, you’ve got magic stuff. Swords and sorcery, as they say. It’s like Doom decided to play dress-up — and nailed it. I mean, sure, if you squint, the monsters feel familiar, and the weapons, well, they might ring some bells too. Not complaining though. Doom was a blast, so this works too.
Hexen, on the other hand, decided to shake things up. You get to pick classes. Yeah, like in those fancy role-playing games where they ask you if you wanna be a wizard or something — only you’re still blasting until your eyes hurt. And the levels? They twist and turn, leaving you genuinely confused, but in a good way. Makes me think of Zelda or maybe Metroid. Or whatever was keeping me up on weekends back then.
Now, expansions pop in the mix here. We’re talking like, one extra story for Heretic and a pair for Hexen. The age-old one from ’96 and some shiny new ones. That new Heretic expansion? A real gem. Props to whoever crafted that! As for Hexen’s add-ons, I’m actually more into the new stuff than the old, which is saying a lot because nostalgia usually wins me over.
There was this one hiccup though, and it made me want to pull my hair out — the save system. I kept leaping from Heretic to Hexen like it was a game of musical chairs, but they all want to share the same save slot. Confused? I was too. Misplacing a save or overwriting it was like stepping on LEGO — unwanted and painful.
Visuals, they’re nothing crazy spectacular. Nightdive didn’t mess too much with it, besides bumping the thing to HD. You’d think they’d throw in something like a CRT filter to make it feel more retro, but no dice. Anyway, one funny bit was when I tried the fullscreen HUD, and the skyboxes looked like someone copy-pasted them wrong. Maybe that’s just this re-release being quirky?
Speaking of quirks, remember the Nintendo 64 version? It was like the unsung hero of Hexen ports. Way better than the other ones, even with the missing cutscenes. This new version doesn’t tweak the textures, though. They look super raw in HD. I wouldn’t mind a filter or something, personally.
So there you have it. Heretic + Hexen is like finding an old mixtape — mostly awesome with a couple of skips. Sure, the save system messes with you, and the visuals could use a little love, but the heart’s in the right place. Who knows, maybe someday we’ll see more of these oldies pop up refreshed and ready to get us all misty-eyed again. Or at least wishing we still had our old console in the attic.
