Review of Heretic and Hexen

Oh, man. So, Heretic and Hexen — if you’re even gonna dive into this stuff, brace yourself. They finally hit consoles after what, like three decades? Hexen, especially, hasn’t really found its way onto consoles since those old-school days. You know, back when we all had a PlayStation, a Saturn, or maybe a Nintendo 64 lying around. If you’re wondering what’s new, these babies come with all sorts of expansions. Even some brand-new content tossed in by Nightdive Studios. I swear these folks just keep popping up with these retro revivals. Not complaining though.

So, Heretic. Kind of feels like it’s Doom’s medieval cousin, right? Swords and sorcery type of deal. But here’s the thing nobody tells you, the level designs are sneaky good. Sure, it rides alongside Doom’s vibe with weapons and enemies that sort of echo each other, but it’s got its own style going down. That’s how I see it, though I might just be a sucker for a good fantasy game.

And then, there’s Hexen. Wow. What a switch-up. It’s like someone took the rulebook for shooters and scribbled all over it. You get to pick from these three classes, each with unique gear and skills. It’s got this exploration thing happening, and honestly, at times, it vibes more like Zelda or Metroid. Yep, in a shooter. Wild, huh?

Now, expansions — three of them! One oldie from ‘96 and two fresh ones. The new one for Heretic, Faith Renewed, catches your eye by pushing that engine like a marathon runner on energy drink. But here’s the twist: the expansions for Hexen, while pretty darn decent, somehow don’t quite match the magic brewing in the original. Still, you won’t be disappointed. I kinda preferred the new stuff too though. Go figure.

Here’s where it gets dicey. Freakin’ save system. All five games share one. Yep, every single one. It’s like having one bowl for all your cereals. You forget which save is for what, and bam, you’re in quicksave chaos land. Want my advice? Be cautious or be ready to backtrack through old saves. It’s a jungle.

Switching gears a bit. The visuals. So, Nightdive didn’t really push the envelope on graphics. It’s HD but remember, we’re not talking next-gen here. Options let you toggle between cool settings, though. You can go old-school or widescreen and whatnot. Funny enough, took me back to my N64 days, especially with the HUD settings. But, they botched the skyboxes a bit. Totally noticeable if you look up. Didn’t see that in the old versions, or maybe my nostalgia is just painting it rosier than it was.

Oh, and the Nintendo 64 version? Kinda holds up as a golden oldie even now. No fancy cutscenes, but it ran better than the other old ports. But, dang, in HD, the visuals do get a bit noisy. A bit jarring like nails on a chalkboard — or maybe that’s just my take. Filters wouldn’t hurt here, Nightdive.

All in all, Heretic and Hexen still deliver. One’s solid, the other’s downright legendary. But, that save mess and limited display tweaks? Slightly kill the vibe. Throw in a CRT filter, and it’d spruce up the whole deal. Still, compared to dusting off your ancient consoles or settling for so-so versions on PlayStation or Saturn, this is miles ahead. Are we ever getting the rest of the series? Here’s hoping.