The FPS weapons back in the day were metal as fuck. A staff that shoots wraiths, a magic sword that spews green flames and a scepter that makes the targets blood explode.
in case yonce haven't heard of yet, Unreal Tournament is getting a new game(Unreal Tournament 4), not sure when the final release is happening, but it is happening. You can play a very playable beta on Epic Game's website
FurballHero lol. yeah, playing late at night and trying to pick off some of the creatures as you snuck around , you could hear all kinds of creatures in the background and they would sometimes come out of nowhere to ambush you. lol this was the first game I ever played where you could actually find a place to hide and watch a monster go by you on their patrols.
Obie I remember I used to play with godmode enabled. There was this one time a spike coming out of the ground killed me. I was so scared I didn't play for 3 days. (spikes kill you even with godmode enabled)
Yep. I loved Heretic when I was a kid and bought Hexen immediately when it was out. However I never managed to play past the first hub because the levels were scary as shit. Wendigos oneshotting me, scary lighting effects and sounds in the guardian of steel, suddenly spawning monsters etc. I completed this game first time perhaps ten years later, and now it's one of my favorite FPS games ever. Now I'm playing this using Wrath of Cronos mod. More challenging and fun than ever! I totally recommend if you've not tried it already. It's the Hexen I've always wanted.
Saw the jewel case for this at a thrift store a while back, got excited, and was deeply disappointed to discover that someone had made off with the disc.
Other things that should have been mentioned: ~ there are only a total of 4 weapons per class. ~ different pickups work differently depending on which class you play, such as the Mystic Ambit and the Flechette ~ numbers 5-0 were assigned to some objects of the inventory. No. 5 was the Icon, which gave temporary invulnerability. Backspace was a "panic" button that activated everything that could be activated ~ the armour system. And the armour system REALLY SUCKED. There was no meter/scale to show how much you had, the only way to figure out how much you had left was by pressing tab and looking at the map. Same goes for checking up on which keys you have. Also, different armour pieces (there are four) gave different classes different amour points. And it's impossible to remember which piece gives the most for the class that you are. ~ Bloodscourge actually IS the most powerful weapon. It has penetrative abilities and can go through about 3-4 enemies each if you use it right. However the sapphire wand (basic starting weapon) for the Mage has unlimited range and the game can easily be completely using nothing but this wand. Any enemy, no matter how far can be picked off with the sapphire wand. It also has penetrative abilities. ~ You forgot to show that you end up "fighting your own masters", which is yourself with only the most powerful weapon in the game
Hotqueekboi Rightnow Good points. I didn't want to mention fighting your masters as it's kind of a spoiler and one of the best hubs in the game. Also I think you're wrong, Wraithverge is strongest weapon by far, it can clear a room in seconds.
For someone, who knows english:\ For me, 8 year old russian kid, all this hints was nothing. Cheats helped to complete the game, but it killed a lot of satisfaction.
Playing Hexen on multiplayer on N64 was almost as awesome as playing Duke Nukem 64 or Perfect Dark, definitely up there with the best classic MP games.
Hexen looked more like a quasi-realistic medieval world, with a bit of fantasy sprinkled in. A human world. Recently conquered and ransacked by a monster army, but still recognisable as human. The environments in heretic were a lot more 'eldritch'., especially in the third episode. The weird mosaic patterns in the walls and floors, demonic reliefs etc really made it feel like you were in a world that had been reshaped by D'sparil and revolves around religious worship of him as a demon god. Like some alien temple world, built by creatures completely different from humans. Basically, you were trespassing in D'sparil's world, where in Hexen, Korax was invading yours. The enemies played a part in this too. The enemies in Hexen were definitely monstrous, but they were often more straightforward, brutish looking. The Stalkers in hexen look pretty much like a swamp monster from an old black&white horror movie. The ettins and centaur were kind of humanoid. Ok, one has 2 heads, the other has 4 legs, but they weren't as weird and alien as the Iron Liches, Ophidians or Sabreclaws. Those really looked like they were made up by a horror artist on LSD. There was also a much larger variety in how powerful they were. Some were simple cannon fodder, like the gargoyles and golems. But the subbosses in Heretic like the Iron Liches and Maulotaurs really gave me this 'oh shit run for cover' feeling, where I hardly ever had this feeling in Hexen. The only really badass monster (aside from Korax himself) was the heresiarch, most other enemies could be killed in a few shots.
No comment on the music? The dark outworldly level design with the music creates a memorable atmosphere. I don't understand how people can say Heretic had better visuals. Both games are lacking behind Doom with their hand drawn graphics but Hexen looks better. Also the levels are way more detailed than in Doom or Heretic and has actual natural outdoor environments. A bad aspect of the game is the note worthy low number of enemy types. Doom has like 15 enemies types in 4 nice tiers, while in Hexen you fight the same 4 or 5 types most of the time. The weapon balance has some note worthy issues as well. Quiteus feels weak and fails to kill basic enemies, while frost shards is weak and eats mana. Firestorm is weak overall and worthless against centaurs. You should have mentioned a bit more about the engine how it was perhaps the first game to have swing doors and movable walls, rotating pillars and scripted events.
At 2:15 there is a scene in that foggy swamp. I can remember there was such an athmospheric music in this scene that i just played this level to clear the swamp and then just listen to the music for a while just idling AFK. :-)
Just discovered this franchise in 2021 and I've been tearing through it. Just started on Hexen II after completing Hexen (and Deathknights). It's fantastic how well they balance the brutal traps and enemies with pickups and mana; you always seem to end up in situations where you're almost out of mana and health only to find a mystic urn or krater of might just when you need it the most. I can't believe I've never played this before!
I'm a big fan of Hexen and think it's one of the best doom engine games. Also the Korax-Mod offers a great improvement of the game in that it differentiates the classes and progression much more.
i know this is a late comment but you got to try out the game Strife it was one of the last games that used the Doom engine before the engine was replaced. Its what i would call a hidden gem and one game hardly anyone has heared of.
Jack Reaper I know this is a late answer, but Strife isn't as unknowned as you think it is. Not as popular as DOOM Blood or Duke 3D but it has a special place in many gamers hearts.
I finally did it! after 20 yrs i finally finished Hexen: Beyond Heretic, and yes i agree this game is much beyond Heretic, ha i'm so proud of myself..actually it was much easier than expected, and shorter as well. (actually not only i just completed Hexen, but also Wolf 3D, SoD, Doom, Doom II, and Heretic, start to finish, all for the very first time :DD, as a kid i only finished an episode or two in each game, but never the whole thing, and after 20yrs all these games are still so good and enjoyable) now i wonder if i could have finished Hexen as a kid, it takes some time and RUclips to understand the puzzles, but after you complete the first one, you pretty much get the idea.. Hexen is just awesome, i just love everything about it, from the gothic art style, the rpg elements and all the new elements that were added to the engine or made more use of, like being able to jump, breakable glass, puzzles, platforming (even tho i'm generally not big fan of those), cool traps, the potion 'weapon' that change for each class, level design felt much more coherent i didn't like Heretic that much, not sure exactly why..it didn't add anything new to Doom, and the weapons lack any feedback and felt weak. all in all, and even tho i really dig rpg and the gothic style, i think i still prefer either Doom (still haven't decided between the two), to both Heretic and Hexen, maybe it's the awesome weapons that doom have, or the death cries of your enemies, it's just so rewarding..or even just the awesome soundtrack which very few games can beat..Doom just get it all done so well btw, my next target is Hexen: Edge Of Chaos, which used to be a Doom 3 mod, but now standalone on Id Tech 4 engine, it looks awesome, and i can't wait to try it out
+Eran Finkle Ha! I've been doing something similar recently. I too, never manage to beat Hexen as a kid and I finally did it a couple weeks ago! I followed it with Painkiller, the Duke 3D expansions and Doom 64 which I just finished yesterday. Now I'm 2 hours into Shadow Warrior ;)
+SoftAsABaboonAss haha nice, i guess you mean the old SW 3D. i just finished Duke 3D few days ago, sadly unlike the Id / Raven games it wasn't as enjoyable as it used to be. now i'm doing Quake II, the graphics are amazing, but i don't know if i like the overall game that much. Shadow warrior 3D is definitely on my list, i remember it was one of the coolest games, and just like Hexen i never played more than few levels, this time i'm gonna finish it
+Eran Finkle Yeah, I meant Shadow Warrior Classic Redux on Steam. As for Quake, I never liked the engine of these games. It's so blocky it's hurting my enjoyment of it. I much preferred the 2D sprites of earlier games.
hexen was more based on rpg elements... the armours are WAY different... as well as powerups and the puzzles DEAR GOD the puzzles XD as a kid i spent weeks upon weeks figuring shit out
On a friends 486 we could just barely run Rise of the Triad (based on Wolf3d engine) after disabling sky & floor textures. HeXen was a big leap in tech at that time. But I guess some 486 were better than others. :-)
Serathis: as someone who has a similar opinion as yours, I can recommend a mod called "Heretical Doom". It takes the Heretic weapons and beefs them up substantially among other cool things. Play Heretic with this mod and suddenly, Heretic feels kinda awesome.
I agree, but the confusion with the hub he mentioned is the first thing I think about when playing as a kid. Didn't help that I hardly understood english in the mid 1990s. I was very frustrated and didn't get far in the game because of it. Still, I love it. The atmosphere and everything is so great.
Serathis I liked Hexen more as a kid and finished it multiple times, but now as an adult I prefer Heretic. In Heretic you can select the hardest difficulty and run through an episode from the beginning till the end, feeling like a total badass. In Hexen if you do the same it's gonna be great, until you get one shotted by one of the thousands of instakilling traps.
Personally, as a kid, i only played Duke Nukem 3D from Apogee/3Drealm ... so i never grew up with them (also: Duke Nukem was, even if pretty good, by far my least favorite game out of the "golden age of FPS"...i only finished it once or twice in my life, while i could easily play anyday games like Hexen,Doom,Heretic and even more obscure stuff like Witchaven (which i definitely suggest to anyone who likes hexen...it's fairly clunky, but if you can forgive a couple of points it's awesome)
Too bad Raven Software make just CoD DLC nowadays. Agreed that Duke 3D was not that fun to play, but if we put things into context, it felt like breath of fresh air back then.
Personally I used to find this kind of design rewarding back when this game was new. It encouraged you to explore absolutely everything. Not that you needed encouragement, because all the levels were so maze-like, you would find yourself running around the same places again and again just to find how to get through to the next section or level. Games at that time certainly did not hold your hand or point you in the direction to go like many modern games, and this kind of design was a given reality to us and we didn't complain. I still miss that design philosophy.
I disagree that Hexen improved on Heretic in every way as you said. I think those games are really different in their approach to a genre and it boils down to a personal taste on which you prefer the most. I, for example, really like Heretic but feel kinda cold towards Hexen. Maybe I owe myself a replay of both. Great video nonetheless, you really brought up the urges to play both of these games in me. I think the genre is absolutely lacking fantasy setting games. I love Ziggurat but there is nothing more that is decent as far as fantasy FPSs go nowadays.
I like Dark Forces as much as the next guy but hard to believe this game and Heretic preceded it or was its contemporary because they look way better than Dark Forces
Hexen used to scare me in a way doom just didn't. The world seemed designed in a cohesive manner, gone were random crazy maps that seemed to serve no purpose... in hexen everything felt like it existed in that world and environment for a real purpose. And the hub design made me feel as though I was really having to go against a powerful force who had this world on lock-down, and I was having to piece by piece work my way through. I do think the puzzle switches could have been made larger, much larger, they can be difficult to spot and some are tucked away in hidden nooks, sometimes behind sprites which deliberately obscure and make them even more difficult to find. As I feel one of the games main shortcomings is the seemingly endless searches for puzzle switches. Without clear indicators where and what to do, it's easy to get stuck if you don't know what you are doing. But that is part of the appeal, and it does feel really good besting all obstacles. Oh ya, the combat is really good too. It has that classic 90s era easy-to-play-but-impossible-to-master unforgiving and satisfying combat you came to expect from DOOM... but each class had subtle nuance that made them vastly different if played to their fullest. For example, if using fighters fists, on a 3rd successive strike, he will trigger a different punch animation that does more damage and has a slight amount of knock-back, but you don't have to land the 3 strikes in 1 quick succession (as I used to think) so you can do things like, hit an afrit 2x in a row killing it, hold your strike while you reposition, then landing that 3rd fist against another afrit and you'll kill it in 1 blow... or when centaurs have their shield raised you can hit them with the fists so your 3rd strike lands when they drop their defence. Literally all the weapons have subtle nuance about them. Wonderful game, Top classic. I would like to see a return to heretic and hexen, but I am unsure if it's going to happen. I also don't know
I remember playing this a lot as a kid. I was too young for it, 9 or 10 years old maybe. I never knew what to do or where I should be going. But I had fun trying. I should really go back and play it now.
I found the PSX version in a local game store 5 years ago while I'd been out spending my first official paycheck. Good times. Had no idea what this game was about, but just took note of the id Software logo, as it reminded of the Doom series (what I'd actually been looking for at that time). I love the style and mood of the game, but I've yet to finish this. I think the last major thing I recall happening was this huge creature in the middle of this watery-floor room and something coming down from the ceiling like a box/cage that closed the thing off from me. I might have to grab the PC version sometime.
Those centaurs were the worst thing though. They were just automatically invincible from all directions as long as the shield is up. And then people used those Centaurs in custom DooM mods. It just slowed things down unnecessarily and made it tedious.
Looking into this after picking up classic doom collection. I want heretic+hexen collection more the more I look into them, but I read about so many problems with configuring them to work, I'm not sure if I'll get to play them or not. Nice to see old school shooter love in any case. I hate most shooters but love these id games.
o yeah fun fact. doom was at first meant as a game like heretic but changed. quake was the same? u can still see the medieval stuff like the axe and the medieval castle at one point. what i got is hexen was meant as a side project of sorts but bloomed into a marvelous game.
This Game was So Damn Good for it's Time and Fans. Very Underrated If U touched this and liked this,U were Hexend... Hexen 2 never touched it.. Hexen was a Trip,in many ways . Because this Game allowed U to go for Next Level,or look for more Manna and Secrets,like Wings ! It was like an unimaginable Maze of Puzzle combined with Chaotic Fighting,and I loved it !
I've never played either of the Heretic or Hexen games, might pick em up as there both fairly cheap on steam.. They kinda look like the 'Wheel of Time' game that came out years ago, which wasn't too bad from recollection.. Keep up the reviews dude, been doin my best to let some mates know about what your doin, especially the retro stuff
Loved this game. Probably my favourite FPS back in the day. I found the game easiest to play using the fighter and the hammer was so satisfying to use.
The game felt moody and introspective. It didn't have punch like Doom or the bright variance of Heretic, but it was very atmospheric and involved, a worthy entry in the FPS genre. When my journey was done, it felt like a journey that had been completed.
God I loved this game! One of the first games that really challenged me and I didn't mind. So games, the challenge from difficulty just seems artificial or uneccessary, in Hexen however, it was part of the exploration and discovery factory. What new horror that will decimate my face, lies around just the next corner lol.
I first played this on N64 and really liked it. I got a kick out of how you can turn into a pig on multiplayer. Slaying the pig was one of the best things to do on this game.
The mage is more suited to long-range attacks while the warrior is better for close combat. The cleric is sort of a medium of the two. It typically depends on whether you want to rush into battle or hold back and work strategically.
This is so RPG I never was into it in my childhood until recently, Heretic was obviously my piece of cake alongside with Wolf3D, ROTT, Doom, and Quake 2 until I discovered Unreal.
I remember as a kid playing Hexen 1, it was very scary, and if you cheated, it kind of got harder, since the puzzles then could be done out of order, and that messed up everything.. I never had Hexen 2, only the demo, my computer was not so good anyway for those modern games. I did replay Hexen 1 a couple years ago, with keyboard only, like it was before. Never finished Deathkings of the Dark Citadel without cheating I think. Would love a new Hexen, it would fit real well with similar "Rip and Tear" type gameplay as the new DOOM!
YOU REQUIRE BONE MEAL. Ok??? Let me just go to the graveyard, but first i need to go across the map, pick up the shovel, return to grave, dig up a skeleton and take the bones. Now to grind them. Go across the map to the Mill. The mill needs a gear in order to resume operation. Complete 3 more levels including a boss level to get to the room containing the gear, return to the Mill. Ok now you're ready to grind the bones although you still dont know why
One minor correction: The items do not need to be activated manually in Hexen. The important ones are assigned to the number keys above 4 (I don't know if you can rebind them in vanilla off hand). Still a bit tricky to use since you need to remember what/how much you have in stock though. Having the flechette and discs of repulsion on an easy to access key helps a lot though.
Besides the weapons, flechettes (green vials) are used differently per class, and the armor items like amulet of warding give different stats. But that's about it. Fighter throws a grenade, cleric a poison cloud, and mage it's a time bomb. The hub system is not that bad once you understand that there are 6 switches per hub to activate on the three interconnecting levels. And one bonus level per hub which becomes available when the switches on the hub level are activated. The game is infinetely better if you have a friend to figure out the puzzles. My main gripe is one door on the wasteland level, not going to spoil it, but it's the most cryptic thing in the game. It felt a bit counter intuitive for a doom 2 engine game.
I played the ass off of this game on both the PC and N64. My favorite class is the cleric. The homing ghosts is just broken as hell. It's nothing but great fun, but keep in mind of the difficulty, as it's something to get used to.
For the most part, I thought that Hexen was a better looking game than Heretic. I loved the stained glass (which you could smash) and the blowing leaves in the first level. I usually have a problem figuring out the puzzles in games and often have to resort to reading a walkthrough, but I honestly don't remember having to do that with Hexen. I played it on the default difficulty and didn't really have a problem with the respawning enemies. However, it seemed to be much worse in the Death Kings expansion. Leave an area for a couple minutes and when you come back it's swarming with Choas Serpents. I wouldn't mind so much if it just spawned Ettins, since they don't have a ranged attack, but no, it usually spawns Chaos Serpents, usually about every 30 seconds or so it seems. I got so discouraged I never finished it.
Hexen can be kind of repetitive as it goes on,the best thing for hexen is adding new weapons,some new enemies,upgrade some old weapons,some varied flasks and some increased map sizes and this game would be amazing to play
I think the Hexen looks considerably better than Heretic. I think the sprites are generally larger, which allows for more detail on the individual monsters. The environments are also considerably more detail. I also feel the general quality of art has improved from Heretic, perhaps as a result of the artists having more experience.
Heretic has the best gameplay though. It plays more like Doom, and while I don't mind puzzles, I feel Hexens main flaw is how these puzzles a little too frequently degenerate into obscure switch hunts. Still love the game, though.
Just a bit of useful info. If you use a zdoom-family port, you can edit the ini file to assign each item/powerup a hotkey. I have assigned each item to a different key and it is a HUGE difference from vanilla experience.
I was always bothered trying to start out Hexen. First of all, all those initial melee weapons were really hard to use. Quite simply, the distance for them is off, making it hard to gauge when to attack, and it just doesn't feel properly intuitive. Plus Ijust simply don't know what class to pick, because for a game that goes on so long and so challenging, you can easily reach a point where you start to wonder if you picked the wrong class, but you've just gone way to far so you don't know if it would be worth restarting. And with so few weapons, it takes a long time before you can really grow the class enough to know if it is really the best one for your play-style. I would love to see this game remastered with a fully polygonal engine, where you can properly gauge the distance of your attacks, and maybe throwing in some upgrades to the map system so you can see where there are switches you missed and maybe some indication of where to go if you get lost.
I always saw Hexen as Heretic’s ugly sister having only played it on consoles (awful conversions). I bought a 90’s gaming PC & I’m enjoying it now. I’m glad I gave it another chance
ok so mages weapon 4th cant be blocked. it rips trough enemies. if they block they wont take damage but its still devastating. the clerics ghosts are the most broken. but early on cleric sucks. his 2nd weapon lifesteals tho. the warrior early on is broken and all weapons are samey. 2 and 3 work even without mana. but damage is lower. so often 2 with mana beats 3 without mana. also mage can cheat a bit in level 1 hitting the bell :) and his staff also pierces wich is nice.
I really liked this game, but without walkthrough its almost impossible to hunt all these switches. But besides that, it was great. I was playing Brutal Hexen rpg version with only warrior character, and I would really want for this mod to be finished. Or of course less convoluted remake, that would be awesome.
Takeme Rightnow Remember the Second hub; there was one that had a alot of dark caves, THAT HAD SWITCHES IT! I HATED that. I had to use a walkthrough and I still couldn't find it, thats until I turned the brightness and contrast up.
I have finished HeXen on hard once and i cant be bothered to do it again. I start the game up from time to time but it just doesnt hold my intrest long enough. I wish there was a mod that makes it easier so you wont have to backtrack so much.
Something very hard I did was beat this on skill 5... with respawning monsters via zdoom controls. Difficult for a hub based game!! I had to save scum a lot. And get lucky. Finished with barely any items left.
Check out my updated review:ruclips.net/video/8l9d0_dovCc/видео.html
Damn son. You have evolved a bit. 😅
I know Im quite off topic but does anyone know of a good site to watch newly released movies online?
The FPS weapons back in the day were metal as fuck. A staff that shoots wraiths, a magic sword that spews green flames and a scepter that makes the targets blood explode.
In Amid Evil you have a wand that literally lobs planets.
THIS is a game, thats really needs a remake!!!
I think brutal Hexen is coming soon
I wonder if it has taunting. Would a medieval fantasy warrior give the finger and say "GO FUCK YOURSELF" ? :D
maybe? That would be cool
Will Klos No. Just source port it.
Will Klos no, remakes are always worse. I'm happy with Chocolate Hexen and Doomsday Hexen.
• Wolfenstein: The New Order (2014) including the DLC ✅
• Doom (2016) ✅
• Hexen (20??) ❓
:OOOOOOOOOO.
in case yonce haven't heard of yet, Unreal Tournament is getting a new game(Unreal Tournament 4), not sure when the final release is happening, but it is happening. You can play a very playable beta on Epic Game's website
@ExtremeCynic There has been no real Quake reboot dude.
Those are all id IP's though. Hexen is Raven and Activision. The closest thing to a sequel is the fan mod with the Doom 3 engine.
@@phantomspaceman
And we all know that Raven will be doing CoD only until the end of time. :(
This game used to scare the shit out of me
FurballHero lol. yeah, playing late at night and trying to pick off some of the creatures as you snuck around , you could hear all kinds of creatures in the background and they would sometimes come out of nowhere to ambush you. lol
this was the first game I ever played where you could actually find a place to hide and watch a monster go by you on their patrols.
This game used to give me nightmares as a kid. Terrifying
me too but its a adventure wonderland
Obie I remember I used to play with godmode enabled. There was this one time a spike coming out of the ground killed me. I was so scared I didn't play for 3 days. (spikes kill you even with godmode enabled)
Yep. I loved Heretic when I was a kid and bought Hexen immediately when it was out. However I never managed to play past the first hub because the levels were scary as shit. Wendigos oneshotting me, scary lighting effects and sounds in the guardian of steel, suddenly spawning monsters etc. I completed this game first time perhaps ten years later, and now it's one of my favorite FPS games ever.
Now I'm playing this using Wrath of Cronos mod. More challenging and fun than ever! I totally recommend if you've not tried it already. It's the Hexen I've always wanted.
Saw the jewel case for this at a thrift store a while back, got excited, and was deeply disappointed to discover that someone had made off with the disc.
lol that sucks i had something similar with max payne 2 on the xbox i was pissed
I love Hexen’s style and atmosphere!
There should really be more magic like shooters.
I agree. There's a game called Amid Evil that is being made, and it could be seen as a spiritual successor to Hexen
"There should really be more magic like shooters." Try Ziggurat, it's amazing! I keep coming back to it!
I can second that Ziggurat recommendation. Super fun game
#graven
Hexen: knee deep in the switches
Love this game and i think they should reboot heretic and hexen.
Other things that should have been mentioned:
~ there are only a total of 4 weapons per class.
~ different pickups work differently depending on which class you play, such as the Mystic Ambit and the Flechette
~ numbers 5-0 were assigned to some objects of the inventory. No. 5 was the Icon, which gave temporary invulnerability. Backspace was a "panic" button that activated everything that could be activated
~ the armour system. And the armour system REALLY SUCKED. There was no meter/scale to show how much you had, the only way to figure out how much you had left was by pressing tab and looking at the map. Same goes for checking up on which keys you have. Also, different armour pieces (there are four) gave different classes different amour points. And it's impossible to remember which piece gives the most for the class that you are.
~ Bloodscourge actually IS the most powerful weapon. It has penetrative abilities and can go through about 3-4 enemies each if you use it right. However the sapphire wand (basic starting weapon) for the Mage has unlimited range and the game can easily be completely using nothing but this wand. Any enemy, no matter how far can be picked off with the sapphire wand. It also has penetrative abilities.
~ You forgot to show that you end up "fighting your own masters", which is yourself with only the most powerful weapon in the game
Hotqueekboi Rightnow Good points. I didn't want to mention fighting your masters as it's kind of a spoiler and one of the best hubs in the game. Also I think you're wrong, Wraithverge is strongest weapon by far, it can clear a room in seconds.
I agree that the mage wand was kinda overpowered, especially compared ot the super crappy clerics mace.
Whaat, it gives you a clear hint in form of a message whenever you flip some switch. I never got stuck in Hexen for too long.
For someone, who knows english:\ For me, 8 year old russian kid, all this hints was nothing. Cheats helped to complete the game, but it killed a lot of satisfaction.
The quietus did the most damage to bosses. Highest single target dps in the game
I do not know why, but this game has made me dream of an RPG magic world much more than all the RPGs I have played (mostly Elder Scrolls) after this.
One of my all-time favorite shooters.
The puzzles and the exploration are exactly what makes it so damn good :)
the feels come flooding back to my child hood, and frustration
i did knid of cheat half way thru and kept throwing the Minotaur
Holy shit this is a blast from the past, I remember being scared to play this as a kid lol
I like the way they put the Maulotaur as an item.
Playing Hexen on multiplayer on N64 was almost as awesome as playing Duke Nukem 64 or Perfect Dark, definitely up there with the best classic MP games.
Agreed.
Yes, agreed
Pigfights for days
I got this game because of you, Beautiful Game.
This is my favorite FPS of all time and your review rocks.
Hexen looked more like a quasi-realistic medieval world, with a bit of fantasy sprinkled in. A human world. Recently conquered and ransacked by a monster army, but still recognisable as human. The environments in heretic were a lot more 'eldritch'., especially in the third episode. The weird mosaic patterns in the walls and floors, demonic reliefs etc really made it feel like you were in a world that had been reshaped by D'sparil and revolves around religious worship of him as a demon god. Like some alien temple world, built by creatures completely different from humans. Basically, you were trespassing in D'sparil's world, where in Hexen, Korax was invading yours.
The enemies played a part in this too. The enemies in Hexen were definitely monstrous, but they were often more straightforward, brutish looking. The Stalkers in hexen look pretty much like a swamp monster from an old black&white horror movie. The ettins and centaur were kind of humanoid. Ok, one has 2 heads, the other has 4 legs, but they weren't as weird and alien as the Iron Liches, Ophidians or Sabreclaws. Those really looked like they were made up by a horror artist on LSD.
There was also a much larger variety in how powerful they were. Some were simple cannon fodder, like the gargoyles and golems. But the subbosses in Heretic like the Iron Liches and Maulotaurs really gave me this 'oh shit run for cover' feeling, where I hardly ever had this feeling in Hexen. The only really badass monster (aside from Korax himself) was the heresiarch, most other enemies could be killed in a few shots.
This was the first game I ever played . Back in 95 I got a 64 for Xmas and Hexen came with it. Good times.
Hexen 64 came out in 97….just sayin’! 😂
No comment on the music? The dark outworldly level design with the music creates a memorable atmosphere.
I don't understand how people can say Heretic had better visuals. Both games are lacking behind Doom with their hand drawn graphics but Hexen looks better. Also the levels are way more detailed than in Doom or Heretic and has actual natural outdoor environments.
A bad aspect of the game is the note worthy low number of enemy types. Doom has like 15 enemies types in 4 nice tiers, while in Hexen you fight the same 4 or 5 types most of the time.
The weapon balance has some note worthy issues as well. Quiteus feels weak and fails to kill basic enemies, while frost shards is weak and eats mana. Firestorm is weak overall and worthless against centaurs.
You should have mentioned a bit more about the engine how it was perhaps the first game to have swing doors and movable walls, rotating pillars and scripted events.
At 2:15 there is a scene in that foggy swamp. I can remember there was such an athmospheric music in this scene that i just played this level to clear the swamp and then just listen to the music for a while just idling AFK. :-)
Just discovered this franchise in 2021 and I've been tearing through it. Just started on Hexen II after completing Hexen (and Deathknights). It's fantastic how well they balance the brutal traps and enemies with pickups and mana; you always seem to end up in situations where you're almost out of mana and health only to find a mystic urn or krater of might just when you need it the most. I can't believe I've never played this before!
Heretic, heretic 2, hexen, hexen 2 - the awesome foursome!
@@ShadesMan any tip on how best to get ahold of Heretic 2
I'm a big fan of Hexen and think it's one of the best doom engine games.
Also the Korax-Mod offers a great improvement of the game in that it differentiates the classes and progression much more.
i know this is a late comment but you got to try out the game Strife it was one of the last games that used the Doom engine before the engine was replaced. Its what i would call a hidden gem and one game hardly anyone has heared of.
Jack Reaper I know this is a late answer, but Strife isn't as unknowned as you think it is. Not as popular as DOOM Blood or Duke 3D but it has a special place in many gamers hearts.
I finally did it! after 20 yrs i finally finished Hexen: Beyond Heretic, and yes i agree this game is much beyond Heretic, ha i'm so proud of myself..actually it was much easier than expected, and shorter as well. (actually not only i just completed Hexen, but also Wolf 3D, SoD, Doom, Doom II, and Heretic, start to finish, all for the very first time :DD, as a kid i only finished an episode or two in each game, but never the whole thing, and after 20yrs all these games are still so good and enjoyable)
now i wonder if i could have finished Hexen as a kid, it takes some time and RUclips to understand the puzzles, but after you complete the first one, you pretty much get the idea..
Hexen is just awesome, i just love everything about it, from the gothic art style, the rpg elements and all the new elements that were added to the engine or made more use of, like being able to jump, breakable glass, puzzles, platforming (even tho i'm generally not big fan of those), cool traps, the potion 'weapon' that change for each class, level design felt much more coherent
i didn't like Heretic that much, not sure exactly why..it didn't add anything new to Doom, and the weapons lack any feedback and felt weak.
all in all, and even tho i really dig rpg and the gothic style, i think i still prefer either Doom (still haven't decided between the two), to both Heretic and Hexen, maybe it's the awesome weapons that doom have, or the death cries of your enemies, it's just so rewarding..or even just the awesome soundtrack which very few games can beat..Doom just get it all done so well
btw, my next target is Hexen: Edge Of Chaos, which used to be a Doom 3 mod, but now standalone on Id Tech 4 engine, it looks awesome, and i can't wait to try it out
+Eran Finkle Ha! I've been doing something similar recently. I too, never manage to beat Hexen as a kid and I finally did it a couple weeks ago! I followed it with Painkiller, the Duke 3D expansions and Doom 64 which I just finished yesterday. Now I'm 2 hours into Shadow Warrior ;)
+SoftAsABaboonAss haha nice, i guess you mean the old SW 3D.
i just finished Duke 3D few days ago, sadly unlike the Id / Raven games it wasn't as enjoyable as it used to be. now i'm doing Quake II, the graphics are amazing, but i don't know if i like the overall game that much.
Shadow warrior 3D is definitely on my list, i remember it was one of the coolest games, and just like Hexen i never played more than few levels, this time i'm gonna finish it
+Eran Finkle Yeah, I meant Shadow Warrior Classic Redux on Steam. As for Quake, I never liked the engine of these games. It's so blocky it's hurting my enjoyment of it. I much preferred the 2D sprites of earlier games.
hexen was more based on rpg elements... the armours are WAY different... as well as powerups and the puzzles DEAR GOD the puzzles XD as a kid i spent weeks upon weeks figuring shit out
Thank you sir for all the memories. This is the HEXEN game I played. I played the sequel. This game was nice and had a neat concept.
That wraith staff is one of my favorite "guns" of all time. I still remember the first time I used it clearly. It was all WHOAH!! HOLY SHIT!!
Me, my IBM 486 and this game... good old time.
You were able to run this game on a 486?
On a friends 486 we could just barely run Rise of the Triad (based on Wolf3d engine) after disabling sky & floor textures. HeXen was a big leap in tech at that time. But I guess some 486 were better than others. :-)
yeah hexen can be a bit tricky with the confusing levels but it's good fun. Thanks for the support.
the big character differences:
flask usage, and warriors can use all weapons without mana, with reduced damage.
HeXen is better than Heretic imo. Better enemies, levels, classes. Its more than a Doom clone with underpowered weapons.
So that mean is beyond Heretic?
Serathis: as someone who has a similar opinion as yours, I can recommend a mod called "Heretical Doom".
It takes the Heretic weapons and beefs them up substantially among other cool things. Play Heretic with this mod and suddenly, Heretic feels kinda awesome.
I agree, but the confusion with the hub he mentioned is the first thing I think about when playing as a kid. Didn't help that I hardly understood english in the mid 1990s. I was very frustrated and didn't get far in the game because of it. Still, I love it. The atmosphere and everything is so great.
Serathis I liked Hexen more as a kid and finished it multiple times, but now as an adult I prefer Heretic. In Heretic you can select the hardest difficulty and run through an episode from the beginning till the end, feeling like a total badass. In Hexen if you do the same it's gonna be great, until you get one shotted by one of the thousands of instakilling traps.
I also recommend Wrath of Cronos. It's quite awesome RPG mod for Hexen with levels, stats, skills and some additional weapons for each class.
I remember playing this and Doom&Doom2 on the pc as a kid. Oh yeah, can't forget Duke Nukem
I absolutely loved Hexen! I think it is a wonderful game.
This games soundtrack still booms through my head from time to time
Whenever i see people arguing if it was better to grow up with Nintendo or Sega i allways think "pfff..fuc*ing Raven Software BIATCH!!!!!"
Raven, Apogee and ID :D
Personally, as a kid, i only played Duke Nukem 3D from Apogee/3Drealm ... so i never grew up with them (also: Duke Nukem was, even if pretty good, by far my least favorite game out of the "golden age of FPS"...i only finished it once or twice in my life, while i could easily play anyday games like Hexen,Doom,Heretic and even more obscure stuff like Witchaven (which i definitely suggest to anyone who likes hexen...it's fairly clunky, but if you can forgive a couple of points it's awesome)
Too bad Raven Software make just CoD DLC nowadays.
Agreed that Duke 3D was not that fun to play, but if we put things into context, it felt like breath of fresh air back then.
Not gonna go over how ridiculous the level design puzzles can get?
Great point they can be hella tricky!
Personally I think the level designs themselves are really well done. Just they kinda sucked at signposting where things had effects.
Personally I used to find this kind of design rewarding back when this game was new. It encouraged you to explore absolutely everything. Not that you needed encouragement, because all the levels were so maze-like, you would find yourself running around the same places again and again just to find how to get through to the next section or level. Games at that time certainly did not hold your hand or point you in the direction to go like many modern games, and this kind of design was a given reality to us and we didn't complain. I still miss that design philosophy.
great review!!! You captured the game perfectly!
thanks dude. this review got chopped up and rearranged a bit to be honest hence why the structure is a bit warped.
Played this on N64. Was great.
Actually played the game, goddamn the running around is so goddamn COMPLEX!
you can close the annotations can't you?
yeah i may review Hexen 2 soon.
I disagree that Hexen improved on Heretic in every way as you said. I think those games are really different in their approach to a genre and it boils down to a personal taste on which you prefer the most. I, for example, really like Heretic but feel kinda cold towards Hexen. Maybe I owe myself a replay of both. Great video nonetheless, you really brought up the urges to play both of these games in me. I think the genre is absolutely lacking fantasy setting games. I love Ziggurat but there is nothing more that is decent as far as fantasy FPSs go nowadays.
+FairyRat Heretic is just a Doom clone, Hexen is entirely unique. That's all I meant.
+Gggmanlives Fair enough. Hexen is definitely it's own thing. Personally I feel Heretic is superior to Doom though (as awesome as Doom still is).
FairyRat Try Amid Evil, it has a bit crappier level design, but the combat is top notch.
I like Dark Forces as much as the next guy but hard to believe this game and Heretic preceded it or was its contemporary because they look way better than Dark Forces
Hexen used to scare me in a way doom just didn't. The world seemed designed in a cohesive manner, gone were random crazy maps that seemed to serve no purpose... in hexen everything felt like it existed in that world and environment for a real purpose. And the hub design made me feel as though I was really having to go against a powerful force who had this world on lock-down, and I was having to piece by piece work my way through.
I do think the puzzle switches could have been made larger, much larger, they can be difficult to spot and some are tucked away in hidden nooks, sometimes behind sprites which deliberately obscure and make them even more difficult to find. As I feel one of the games main shortcomings is the seemingly endless searches for puzzle switches. Without clear indicators where and what to do, it's easy to get stuck if you don't know what you are doing. But that is part of the appeal, and it does feel really good besting all obstacles.
Oh ya, the combat is really good too. It has that classic 90s era easy-to-play-but-impossible-to-master unforgiving and satisfying combat you came to expect from DOOM... but each class had subtle nuance that made them vastly different if played to their fullest. For example, if using fighters fists, on a 3rd successive strike, he will trigger a different punch animation that does more damage and has a slight amount of knock-back, but you don't have to land the 3 strikes in 1 quick succession (as I used to think) so you can do things like, hit an afrit 2x in a row killing it, hold your strike while you reposition, then landing that 3rd fist against another afrit and you'll kill it in 1 blow... or when centaurs have their shield raised you can hit them with the fists so your 3rd strike lands when they drop their defence. Literally all the weapons have subtle nuance about them.
Wonderful game, Top classic. I would like to see a return to heretic and hexen, but I am unsure if it's going to happen. I also don't know
the level design is confusing as hell. but i think it's much better than heretic, which was just a fantasy styled doom clone really.
One of the greatest games of all time (IMO). Good review. Wraithverge FTW!
I remember playing this a lot as a kid. I was too young for it, 9 or 10 years old maybe. I never knew what to do or where I should be going. But I had fun trying. I should really go back and play it now.
I found the PSX version in a local game store 5 years ago while I'd been out spending my first official paycheck. Good times. Had no idea what this game was about, but just took note of the id Software logo, as it reminded of the Doom series (what I'd actually been looking for at that time). I love the style and mood of the game, but I've yet to finish this. I think the last major thing I recall happening was this huge creature in the middle of this watery-floor room and something coming down from the ceiling like a box/cage that closed the thing off from me. I might have to grab the PC version sometime.
hahaha, yeah. it's quite a neat game. but like I said, I haven't taken a stab at it in a while. did you beat it? lol
This, and heretic are very under rated. They are really two of the best FPS games ever made right next to doom. Doom just kind of overshadowed them
I love your channel mate so many classics.
Those centaurs were the worst thing though. They were just automatically invincible from all directions as long as the shield is up. And then people used those Centaurs in custom DooM mods. It just slowed things down unnecessarily and made it tedious.
Looking into this after picking up classic doom collection. I want heretic+hexen collection more the more I look into them, but I read about so many problems with configuring them to work, I'm not sure if I'll get to play them or not. Nice to see old school shooter love in any case. I hate most shooters but love these id games.
o yeah fun fact. doom was at first meant as a game like heretic but changed.
quake was the same? u can still see the medieval stuff like the axe and the medieval castle at one point.
what i got is hexen was meant as a side project of sorts but bloomed into a marvelous game.
Ah man, Doom, Heretic and Hexen... I will play those masterpieces until the end of time.
This Game was So Damn Good for it's Time and Fans.
Very Underrated
If U touched this and liked this,U were Hexend...
Hexen 2 never touched it..
Hexen was a Trip,in many ways .
Because this Game allowed U to go for Next Level,or look for more Manna and Secrets,like Wings !
It was like an unimaginable Maze of Puzzle combined with Chaotic Fighting,and I loved it !
I've never played either of the Heretic or Hexen games, might pick em up as there both fairly cheap on steam.. They kinda look like the 'Wheel of Time' game that came out years ago, which wasn't too bad from recollection..
Keep up the reviews dude, been doin my best to let some mates know about what your doin, especially the retro stuff
Played this on the Sega Saturn as a kid and loved it, completely random purchase
First PC game I owned and first FPS I played. For 10 year old who had only gamed on 16bit consoles I couldn't believe the graphics.
Loved this game. Probably my favourite FPS back in the day. I found the game easiest to play using the fighter and the hammer was so satisfying to use.
Epic game from the golden age of PC gaming.
This game was rough but I love it. Been playing it again recently thanks to Steam and GZDoom. Man I miss these old shooters.
I love Doom, but I prefer Heretic/Hexen atmosphere :)
The game felt moody and introspective. It didn't have punch like Doom or the bright variance of Heretic, but it was very atmospheric and involved, a worthy entry in the FPS genre. When my journey was done, it felt like a journey that had been completed.
God I loved this game! One of the first games that really challenged me and I didn't mind. So games, the challenge from difficulty just seems artificial or uneccessary, in Hexen however, it was part of the exploration and discovery factory. What new horror that will decimate my face, lies around just the next corner lol.
I first played this on N64 and really liked it. I got a kick out of how you can turn into a pig on multiplayer. Slaying the pig was one of the best things to do on this game.
The mage is more suited to long-range attacks while the warrior is better for close combat. The cleric is sort of a medium of the two. It typically depends on whether you want to rush into battle or hold back and work strategically.
This is so RPG I never was into it in my childhood until recently, Heretic was obviously my piece of cake alongside with Wolf3D, ROTT, Doom, and Quake 2 until I discovered Unreal.
I remember as a kid playing Hexen 1, it was very scary, and if you cheated, it kind of got harder, since the puzzles then could be done out of order, and that messed up everything.. I never had Hexen 2, only the demo, my computer was not so good anyway for those modern games. I did replay Hexen 1 a couple years ago, with keyboard only, like it was before. Never finished Deathkings of the Dark Citadel without cheating I think. Would love a new Hexen, it would fit real well with similar "Rip and Tear" type gameplay as the new DOOM!
YOU REQUIRE BONE MEAL.
Ok??? Let me just go to the graveyard, but first i need to go across the map, pick up the shovel, return to grave, dig up a skeleton and take the bones.
Now to grind them. Go across the map to the Mill. The mill needs a gear in order to resume operation.
Complete 3 more levels including a boss level to get to the room containing the gear, return to the Mill.
Ok now you're ready to grind the bones although you still dont know why
One minor correction: The items do not need to be activated manually in Hexen. The important ones are assigned to the number keys above 4 (I don't know if you can rebind them in vanilla off hand). Still a bit tricky to use since you need to remember what/how much you have in stock though. Having the flechette and discs of repulsion on an easy to access key helps a lot though.
I love the blood and gore in this game. Pixelated 90s gore is the best.
I'm buying the heretic + hexen collection today
Besides the weapons, flechettes (green vials) are used differently per class, and the armor items like amulet of warding give different stats. But that's about it. Fighter throws a grenade, cleric a poison cloud, and mage it's a time bomb.
The hub system is not that bad once you understand that there are 6 switches per hub to activate on the three interconnecting levels. And one bonus level per hub which becomes available when the switches on the hub level are activated.
The game is infinetely better if you have a friend to figure out the puzzles.
My main gripe is one door on the wasteland level, not going to spoil it, but it's the most cryptic thing in the game. It felt a bit counter intuitive for a doom 2 engine game.
Great review my friend! :)
I played the ass off of this game on both the PC and N64. My favorite class is the cleric. The homing ghosts is just broken as hell. It's nothing but great fun, but keep in mind of the difficulty, as it's something to get used to.
People should try the Neural graphic pack mod. Makes this game look gorgeous. Heretic has one too.
For the most part, I thought that Hexen was a better looking game than Heretic. I loved the stained glass (which you could smash) and the blowing leaves in the first level.
I usually have a problem figuring out the puzzles in games and often have to resort to reading a walkthrough, but I honestly don't remember having to do that with Hexen.
I played it on the default difficulty and didn't really have a problem with the respawning enemies. However, it seemed to be much worse in the Death Kings expansion. Leave an area for a couple minutes and when you come back it's swarming with Choas Serpents. I wouldn't mind so much if it just spawned Ettins, since they don't have a ranged attack, but no, it usually spawns Chaos Serpents, usually about every 30 seconds or so it seems. I got so discouraged I never finished it.
Hexen can be kind of repetitive as it goes on,the best thing for hexen is adding new weapons,some new enemies,upgrade some old weapons,some varied flasks and some increased map sizes and this game would be amazing to play
man id be so happy if i could play these again ;(
I think the Hexen looks considerably better than Heretic. I think the sprites are generally larger, which allows for more detail on the individual monsters. The environments are also considerably more detail. I also feel the general quality of art has improved from Heretic, perhaps as a result of the artists having more experience.
Heretic has the best gameplay though. It plays more like Doom, and while I don't mind puzzles, I feel Hexens main flaw is how these puzzles a little too frequently degenerate into obscure switch hunts. Still love the game, though.
Best game ever! Now this is a game worth remaking with new graphics!!😎😎😎😎😎😎😎
Just a bit of useful info. If you use a zdoom-family port, you can edit the ini file to assign each item/powerup a hotkey. I have assigned each item to a different key and it is a HUGE difference from vanilla experience.
Oh, I forgot. The Doomsday Engine has this option in the in-game menus, so it's easier to assign hotkeys to items ;)
I was always bothered trying to start out Hexen. First of all, all those initial melee weapons were really hard to use. Quite simply, the distance for them is off, making it hard to gauge when to attack, and it just doesn't feel properly intuitive.
Plus Ijust simply don't know what class to pick, because for a game that goes on so long and so challenging, you can easily reach a point where you start to wonder if you picked the wrong class, but you've just gone way to far so you don't know if it would be worth restarting. And with so few weapons, it takes a long time before you can really grow the class enough to know if it is really the best one for your play-style.
I would love to see this game remastered with a fully polygonal engine, where you can properly gauge the distance of your attacks, and maybe throwing in some upgrades to the map system so you can see where there are switches you missed and maybe some indication of where to go if you get lost.
I would say Hexen is fine the way it is. It's just that the game isn't for everyone.
Wish they would bring this series back
I always saw Hexen as Heretic’s ugly sister having only played it on consoles (awful conversions). I bought a 90’s gaming PC & I’m enjoying it now. I’m glad I gave it another chance
games need a fantastic Reboot much like they did with DOOM
You got my like at "Ouch Town, population: You, bro" :3
I am a big fan of Heretic but I didn't like Hexen much back in the old days. Perhaps I should give it a try again.
Your version of the game looks a lot better than mine. Probably because I played it on the Nintendo 64.
on hexen wikia (?) there is a picture of the Serpent staff rendered beautifully in 3d. Can someone help me find that mod?
The enemies with the shields are easily the most annoying enemies!
Totally unrelated but I love your icon.
ok so mages weapon 4th cant be blocked. it rips trough enemies. if they block they wont take damage but its still devastating.
the clerics ghosts are the most broken. but early on cleric sucks. his 2nd weapon lifesteals tho.
the warrior early on is broken and all weapons are samey. 2 and 3 work even without mana. but damage is lower. so often 2 with mana beats 3 without mana. also mage can cheat a bit in level 1 hitting the bell :) and his staff also pierces wich is nice.
I really liked this game, but without walkthrough its almost impossible to hunt all these switches. But besides that, it was great. I was playing Brutal Hexen rpg version with only warrior character, and I would really want for this mod to be finished.
Or of course less convoluted remake, that would be awesome.
You know whats funny, I had to turn up the brightness for some of the hub levels. If you've played it, you'd understand.
I agree, it was/is ridiculously dark. Especially the FIRST level!
Takeme Rightnow Remember the Second hub; there was one that had a alot of dark caves, THAT HAD SWITCHES IT! I HATED that. I had to use a walkthrough and I still couldn't find it, thats until I turned the brightness and contrast up.
I know exactly the switch you are talking about! It's the one hidden behind the statue, right? In the Caves level?
Takeme Rightnow YES!
I have finished HeXen on hard once and i cant be bothered to do it again.
I start the game up from time to time but it just doesnt hold my intrest long enough.
I wish there was a mod that makes it easier so you wont have to backtrack so much.
Something very hard I did was beat this on skill 5... with respawning monsters via zdoom controls.
Difficult for a hub based game!! I had to save scum a lot. And get lucky. Finished with barely any items left.
This game would look so cool in lego sets.