Heretic + Hexen: Classic Fantasy FPS Revived, Launches Today – PlayStation.Blog

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Alright, so there’s this game (or games, actually) from way back when — 1994’s "Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders" and its sequel from ’95, "Hexen: Beyond Heretic"… and yeah, they were kind of a big deal in the world of first-person shooters. Apparently, they’re back! It’s like, a remastered combo thing called "Heretic + Hexen" thanks to the folks at id Software and Nightdive Studios. Feels like they’re trying to wave a magic wand and poof! Make these classics all shiny and new for today’s gamers.

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So, we’ve got a comment from Brian Raffel, one of the original devs — pretty wild, right? He’s from Raven Software and kind of can’t believe these games are making a comeback. Back in the ‘90s, he says they were using this modified Doom engine and just throwing all sorts of crazy stuff in like character classes and something called vertical aiming. Sounds like they were just making it up as they went, but hey, it worked!

He also gave a shout-out to his buddies at id Software — John Romero and John Carmack. Kind of like borrowing a cup of tech-sugar from your neighbor to bake something epic and different. And here we are, decades later, still talking about it.

Picture this — you’re wandering through these creepy halls and magical places, like something out of those old-school fantasy RPGs, only you’re blasting through it first-person shooter style. Mike Rubits from id Software said back in the day, they had loads of shooters with aliens and whatnot… but fantasy worlds? Not so much. Enter Heretic and Hexen, hanging out with maces and wands instead of lasers.

Anyway, fun trivia moment: it was Romero’s idea to toss in different character classes in Hexen. Totally pushed it up a notch. Each class had its own vibe, weapons, skills — the whole shebang. It made Hexen stand out and gave the world a deeper feel. Guess folks didn’t know they wanted RPG elements in their shooty games until then.

Now, Heretic + Hexen, this re-release, is packing some cool additions like local split-screen, cross-platform online multiplayer, and a banger soundtrack upgrade from Andrew Hulshult. Plus, there’s new stuff: extra episodes and all.

Speaking of new… there are these episodes— one for Heretic, one for Hexen. Mike Rubits shared that they’re crafted like the new-school versions from previous re-releases, but not tied down by ancient tech’s limitations. And Xaser Acheron from Nightdive Studios hopped in, talking about how fast these map-makers worked, which, not gonna lie, sounds insane. Samuel “Kaiser” Villarreal also jumped in, saying he’d been tinkering with maps for fun. Turns out, fun translates into nearly a full episode’s content. Who knew?

Sure enough, these mapping wizards tossed out content left and right. Not Jabba, a known legend in the community, even slipped in his expertise. And voilà, new episodes galore!

Whether you’re diving back into the mythical land of Cronos or setting foot there for the first time, the teams at Raven Software, id Software, and Nightdive Studios are basically handing you a portal to a cornerstone of gaming history. It’s like a big virtual hug to anyone who’s ever loved these games. Raffel’s all emotional about it, thanking fans new and old for keeping the spirit alive all these years.

Oh, and PS5 and PS4 gamers, heads up! Heretic + Hexen is out today. Go get lost in those shadowy halls. Who knows, maybe you’ll stumble upon something magical. Or dangerous. Or both.