Oh man, so I was digging through some ancient stuff—like gaming artifacts, you know? And Heretic and Hexen just popped out of the vault. Those games were like the real deal back in ’94 and ’95 (or was it ’96?). Anyway, you get the point. They were, how do I put it, game-changers. Now they’re back, thanks to this team-up involving id Software and Nightdive Studios. Imagine breathing a second life into the OG Raven Software masterpieces for all you fresh gamers out there.
I stumbled upon this wild video, or maybe it was a dream? Not sure, but it had these retro vibes, seriously, like watching a VHS tape but more 90s tech glory. No idea why I remembered this, but it’s kind of magical, isn’t it?
Right, so, back in the day—think crazy hairstyles and wild colors—Brian Raffel, who’s like a legend in game circles, and a bigwig at Raven, was just flexing on how they pushed Doom’s engine past its limits. Back then, it was like, “Wait, you can do that?” From character classes to aiming up and down—yep, vertical versus just side-to-side. I have no idea how they did it without today’s tech.
And speaking of pushing limits, they teamed up with id Software. Icons like John Romero gave them juiced-up tech, and boom, new gaming dimensions opened up. It’s wild that these worlds still matter after all these years. I guess it’s like that song you just can’t get out of your head. And trust me, it was a party of monsters, traps, and magic wands.
Oh, the 80s and 90s were all about alien shoot ’em ups, but here came Hexen with its magic wands and dungeons. Mike Rubits from id Software—he’s all about how unusual it was back then to mix RPG vibes with a shooter. Like, did anyone else even think of that? Doubt it. But they did it. That class system? Pure magic. It’s like Hexen walked so all your favorite fantasy RPG shooters could run.
Now, let me tell you about all this shiny-newness. Heretic + Hexen are dropping with so many features I almost hate listing them (but hey, here we are). Split-screen? Check. Wild new soundtrack options? You bet. Plus, brand-spankin’-new content. Mind blown. I didn’t even mention the Raven Vault stuff—there’s some juicy behind-the-scenes nuggets there. Trust me.
Right, so in their quest to create loads of new stuff, Xaser Acheron from Nightdive, the guy’s a genius, got his crew to whip up episodes faster than a caffeine-fueled gamer. Mapper magic at work. Not Jabba—the map guru—also chipped in. Pure wow.
And, if you’re a first-timer or a seasoned vet, it’s all laid out for you. I mean, who wouldn’t want to dive back into Cronos? It’s like, a pilgrimage or something. Raffel had some heartfelt words for the fans—like, seriously, if anyone kept cool old games alive, it’s you guys.
So yeah, Heretic + Hexen hits PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 today, just waiting for you to relive the fantastical madness. You excited yet? 🎮
