Review of Heretic + Hexen

Hey, have you seen this? After like, forever — think 30 years — Heretic finally hits the console scene, with its sequel Hexen tagging along. It’s like spotting an old friend, last seen hanging around PlayStation, Saturn, or the Nintendo 64 era. The updated version, Heretic + Hexen, just landed on Switch thanks to Nightdive Studios. And yeah, they’ve been busy reviving old gems like pros. Seriously, their knack for this stuff is almost legendary now. There’s a lot packed in here too, with the original games, Hexen’s expansion Deathkings of the Dark Citadel, and fresh expansions for both games. Bonus content? You bet.

So, if you’ve played Heretic, it kinda riffs off the whole Doom vibe, except we’re talking swords and magic instead. Don’t roll your eyes, it’s not a knock — Doom’s epic, and Heretic takes that energy into new realms. Sure, you might find yourself drawing comparisons between enemies and weapons from both games, but Heretic works its own magic with the same engine.

Now, Hexen shakes things up. Imagine picking your class — and not just for kicks. Your choices impact weapons, abilities, and stats. Toss in level designs that scream exploration and puzzle-solving over linear blasting, and suddenly Hexen feels like Doom crash-landed into Zelda-Meets-Metroid territory. Wild, right?

There are three expansions bundled here. One for Heretic and two for Hexen. The first Hexen expansion is a throwback to ‘96, while the other two are newbies for this release. The Heretic expansion, Faith Renewed, is jaw-dropping and pushes things further than the classic. I dug the new Hexen expansions, Vestiges and Grandeur, maybe even more than the old Deathkings one — but, confession time, neither quite hits the original’s magic. They’re pretty solid, though.

One hiccup I hit was the save system — mind-bogglingly shared across all five games. Five. Games! And a single quicksave slot for all? The juggling act got real. I’d save in Hexen, switch to Heretic, quicksave, and bam! Lost progress in Hexen. Was not a fan.

Visually, Nightdive keeps it chill. The game runs in HD, but it’s a Switch — so no more than 1080p. You can mess with the resolution, shift from 16:9 to 4:3, tweak your HUD, and choose between soundtracks. Funny thing though, when maxing the screen HUD — felt like a nod to my old N64 Hexen days — skyboxes seemed wacky, as if tiling at top and bottom. And no, original N64 didn’t have this oddball quirk. Makes you wonder if it’s a new bug or just this release’s quirk.

Speaking of N64, remember how it was the best port of Hexen on consoles? Yeah, it skipped the fancy cutscenes, true, but ran way smoother than others like PlayStation or Saturn, no sweat. Playing it today, the accuracy’s seriously impressive. But man, now I wish for a texture filter option. HD’s cool and all, but unfiltered textures add noise. Guess I’m the odd one out here — but hey, let’s get a CRT filter option or something?

Heretic + Hexen is this treasure trove of gaming goodness — one solid game and one that’s downright legendary. New and old content just ups the ante. Sure, there’s a clumsy save system and picky visual settings for modern screens, but let’s not split hairs. Adding a CRT filter could really polish things. Considering before you had to dust off a Nintendo 64 or settle for clunky versions on PlayStation or Saturn, this release is a godsend. Fingers crossed we see more from the Heretic/Hexen saga in the future.