Review of Heretic and Hexen

Hey, so, I’ve been diving into this retro gaming rabbit hole – don’t ask why, it just happened. Anyway, after like thirty years or so, Heretic finally crashed the console party again. And its buddy, Hexen, is tagging along too, which is kinda wild, ’cause apparently, Hexen hasn’t been chilling on home consoles since its OG days on Playstation, Saturn, and that lovable old Nintendo 64. This new combo, creatively named Heretic + Hexen (I know, right?), is waltzing onto the Switch courtesy of Nightdive Studios. Those folks are pros at dusting off these old gems. Seriously, if you haven’t heard of them by now, where have you been?

Now, there’s a load of stuff packed into this collection. You’ve got the original games, some old Hexen expansion hilariously titled “Deathkings of the Dark Citadel,” and even fresh expansions for both Heretic and Hexen. Plus, bonus content galore. My inner nerd is kinda thrilled.

Heretic was basically like someone gave Doom a medieval costume – swords, sorcery, and all that jazz. Not a bad thing at all. Despite sharing some quirks with early Doom games, Heretic managed to flex its muscles with cooler level layouts (I think). But let’s be real, you could draw some pretty clear lines between Heretic’s arsenal and Doom’s – uncanny, I tell you.

Now, Hexen, oh boy. It was like someone took a classic shooter and mashed it with a whole new playbook. You pick a class, each with its own unique swagger – weapons, skills, you name it. And then you dive into these levels that unfold way differently than most shooters – more like you’re playing a mix of Zelda or Metroid somehow. Puzzles, exploration – the works.

I stumbled into trouble when I realized these five different games share a save system, which I guess sounded smart on paper? But trust me, it gets confusing faster than you can say “Hexen.” One quicksave slot for all of them too. So, I’d hop from Hexen back to Heretic, hit quicksave, and boom, whoops… I’d just blown away my last hard-fought Hexen victory. Yeah, not my brightest moment.

Visual-wise, Nightdive went kind of basic. Not a bad thing – simple is sometimes better, right? Anyway, we’re dealing with the Switch here, so hello 1080p max resolution. You can blend between old-school and HD visuals, tweak aspect ratios, fiddle with the HUD, and go for either a remastered or original soundtrack. Oh, the nostalgia! The N64-style full screen HUD, which I nostalgically adore, has this small glitch where the skyboxes start acting weird. Yeah, if you peek all the way up, they just awkwardly tile around. The original N64 version didn’t have this quirk, which makes me wonder if this issue is unique to this incarnation. Shrug.

Speaking of N64, that version of Hexen was pretty much the top-notch home console take on the game. Sure, it dodged pesky cutscenes, but was otherwise smoother than Playstation and Saturn versions. Playing these back-to-back was like realizing your high school crush is surprisingly awesome as an adult. I’m just saying, the N64 nailed it.

Okay, hot take: I kinda want a texture filter or even a CRT filter for the new version. Those raw HD textures? Yeah, they’re noisy and my eyes need some peace. But I get it, some folks might call me crazy. Unpopular, sure, but I stand by it.

All said and done, Heretic + Hexen’s a solid blast from the past. One good game, one exceptionally great one, with extra gubbins to sweeten the pot. The save system’s a bit of a klutz, and maybe the visuals could use a smidge more love. But hey, when your options are limited to hauling out a dusty N64 or half-baked versions elsewhere, this re-release? A no-brainer. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for more Heretic/Hexen goodies down the line.