Heretic + Hexen

Heretic + Hexen restores two of the most important fantasy shooters of the 1990s, trading shotguns and space marines for enchanted staves, cursed ruins, and armies of the undead. Built on the familiar fast-moving foundation of classic DOOM, these campaigns feel far darker and stranger, with gloomy medieval strongholds, lava-filled crypts, and hostile worlds ruled by the Serpent Riders. Heretic favors a direct run-and-gun rhythm with magical weapons and useful artifacts, while Hexen leans further into labyrinthine exploration and a more deliberate action-RPG flavor. The result is old-school first-person combat with an unusually oppressive fantasy atmosphere.

Players blast through hordes of golems, monsters, and supernatural cultists while hunting keys, switches, exits, and secrets across dense maze-like levels. Heretic lets you stockpile items such as healing potions, invulnerability effects, and devastating screen-clearing spells, creating tactical options beyond simply firing until a room is empty. Hexen expands the formula with three distinct heroes—the sturdy Fighter, spell-focused Mage, and balanced Cleric—each using different weapons and mana combinations, while its hub-based worlds frequently require revisiting areas after unlocking a new route. The enhanced release includes the original expansions alongside new episodes, modern aiming options, improved presentation, accessibility features, and multiplayer support for cooperative campaigns or competitive deathmatches.

What makes the collection compelling is how much experimentation sits beneath its pixelated exterior. Vertical aiming, inventories, character classes, environmental puzzles, and interconnected hubs give these games more texture than many contemporaries, even when their obscure objectives can be intentionally unforgiving. Nightdive’s restoration preserves the chunky sprites, sinister MIDI music, and frantic pace while making the package far easier to play on modern hardware and with friends. Fans of DOOM, Quake, or classic dungeon crawlers should find a historically important, content-rich double feature here; newcomers should arrive ready for old-school navigation, cryptic secrets, and combat that rewards speed as much as caution.