JOY OF HEX

Nightdive's HERETIC + HEXEN remaster plays with the past to entertain the future

- By Ian Evenden

Doom gets all the plaudits. Of course it does. Then Quake comes along and changes things again, like incorporating mouselook. In between these two early FPS titans, however, came a slew of games that took id’s work, often literally, and ran with it. Heretic (originally released in 1994) was one of those, and now that game and its sequel have a Nightdive remaster with additional new levels. It’s a fascinating slice of history, if not quite up there with the greats of the genre.

Yes, they have mouselook. The very first enemies you meet are up in the air, original dev Raven Software keen to show off this addition to Doom’s engine. Your weapon is still in the center of the screen, but the world feels more 3D as a result. Heretic is dark fantasy Doom and Hexen is dark fantasy RPG Doom. That's all you really need to know, the plots aren’t exactly Martin Amis.