Hexen: Beyond Heretic

Hexen: Beyond Heretic
Developer(s)Raven Software[a]
Publisher(s)id Software (PC), R-Comp Interactive (RISC OS)[5]
Director(s)Brian Raffel
Designer(s)Eric C. Biessman
Michael Raymond-Judy
Programmer(s)Ben Gokey
Paul MacArthur
Chris Rhinehart
Artist(s)Shane Gurno
Brian Pelletier
Brian Raffel
Composer(s)Kevin Schilder
EngineDoom engine
Platform(s)
MS-DOS
Release
October 30, 1995
  • MS-DOS
    • NA: October 30, 1995
    • EU: October 30, 1995
    • NA: March 22, 1996 (Deathkings of the Dark Citadel)
    • EU: September 3, 1996 (Deathkings of the Dark Citadel)
    Mac OS
    Windows
    PlayStation
    • EU: March 21, 1997
    • NA: May 16, 1997[3]
    Sega Saturn
    • EU: March 21, 1997
    • NA: March 31, 1997
    Nintendo 64
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Hexen: Beyond Heretic is a fantasy first-person shooter video game developed by Raven Software and published by id Software distributed through GT Interactive on October 30, 1995. It is the sequel to 1994's Heretic, and the second game in Raven Software's "Serpent Riders" trilogy, which culminated with Hexen II. The title comes from the German noun Hexen, which means "witches", and/or the verb hexen, which means "to cast a spell". Game producer John Romero stated that a third, unreleased game in this series was to be called Hecatomb.[6]

Hexen: Beyond Heretic met with highly positive reviews upon release, though the various 1997 console ports were negatively received because of problems with frame rate and controls and the aging of the game itself. Critical plaudits for the game centered on the non-linear level design and the selection of three playable characters, each offering a distinct gameplay experience.

  1. ^ "Online Gaming Review". February 27, 1997. Archived from the original on February 27, 1997. Retrieved April 15, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ^ "Online Gaming Review". June 6, 1997. Archived from the original on June 6, 1997. Retrieved April 16, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ "GameSpot: Video Games News: Hexen Casts Its Spell". April 14, 2002. Archived from the original on April 14, 2002. Retrieved April 7, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ I. G. N. Staff (June 26, 1997). "Hexen Materializes". IGN. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  5. ^ Moore, Gareth (June 3, 1999). "Heretic and Hexen". Acorn Gaming. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  6. ^ John Romero [@Romero] (January 16, 2016). "@60f7aa9db0c7400 : absolutely. Hexen was the sequel to Heretic. The 3rd game was supposed to be Hecatomb. #gamehistory" (Tweet) – via Twitter.


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