Hexen: Beyond Heretic was — exactly like its predecessor, Heretic — a dark fantasy first-person shooter game, developed by Raven Software and released by id Software in 1995. Functioning as an indirect sequel to Heretic, Hexen became unique in the history of computer games, because, unlike any other game before or after, it was possible for the player to choose between three different characters, something that offered to enthusiasts a very singular experience. Hexen: Beyond Heretic was received with great acclaim and enthusiasm by the computer games community upon its release, and remains one of the most relevant, iconic and spectacular first-person shooter games ever to have been created.
As a sequel to Heretic, Hexen remained loyal and faithful to the underground and somber dark fantasy nature of its predecessor. The scenarios were exceedingly nefarious, medieval-style cold castles, sinister atriums and despondent ruins, where sorcery and black magic exercise undisputed domain over the entirety of the reign of times. Like it is written above, the big difference of the game came from the fact that it was possible to choose between three different characters: a rude barbarian in the style of Conan, Baratus, a virtuous and polyvalent sorcerer, Daedolon, and an introspective religious deacon, Parias. This was an extremely fascinating feature on Hexen, because each one of these characters offer to the players an entirely different game experience, since each one of them has its own qualities, weapons and distinct virtues.
Immediately upon its release, Hexen was met with enthusiasm by the worldwide computer games community. Its organic, multifaceted, dynamic and sophisticated nature certainly sparked a revolution on first-person shooter games, with a series of improvements, that drastically changed the way games were then played. With a non-linear narrative, that allows the player to choose which path he wants to explore, with the possibility to return to certain areas that function as a point of convergence between different levels, Hexen offers a generally flexible, intricate and realistic game platform, that allow multiple choices to be made along the journey.
As a sequel to Heretic, Hexen remained loyal and faithful to the underground and somber dark fantasy nature of its predecessor. The scenarios were exceedingly nefarious, medieval-style cold castles, sinister atriums and despondent ruins, where sorcery and black magic exercise undisputed domain over the entirety of the reign of times. Like it is written above, the big difference of the game came from the fact that it was possible to choose between three different characters: a rude barbarian in the style of Conan, Baratus, a virtuous and polyvalent sorcerer, Daedolon, and an introspective religious deacon, Parias. This was an extremely fascinating feature on Hexen, because each one of these characters offer to the players an entirely different game experience, since each one of them has its own qualities, weapons and distinct virtues.
Immediately upon its release, Hexen was met with enthusiasm by the worldwide computer games community. Its organic, multifaceted, dynamic and sophisticated nature certainly sparked a revolution on first-person shooter games, with a series of improvements, that drastically changed the way games were then played. With a non-linear narrative, that allows the player to choose which path he wants to explore, with the possibility to return to certain areas that function as a point of convergence between different levels, Hexen offers a generally flexible, intricate and realistic game platform, that allow multiple choices to be made along the journey.
Undergoing through dark castles and sinister labyrinths, that are filled with a great variety of enemies full of supernatural powers, the player must advance in a doomed dimension of hostility and despair. As Hexen functions more or less as a sequence to Heretic, its premise shares some features with its predecessor. As in Heretic, the main character, Corvus, had to defeat D'Sparil, one of the three Serpent Riders, Hexen takes place in the realm of Cronos, that had been captured by Korax, another member of the Serpent Riders. Upon choosing one of the three characters available, the player must go through all the different levels, until finally arriving to the final battle against Korax.
Like most people of my generation that used to play Hexen in the late nineties, this was one of those games that made adolescence to be an exceptionally fun and entertaining period of life. With somber scenarios that inspired in the player a sentiment of very tense and dark contingencies, Hexen — regardless of which was your favorite character to play with — had made us all undergo extremely somber journeys in a magical, fantastic, inhospitable world of intricate affliction, where an arcane set of enemies where waiting, to invalidate our efforts to accomplish the mission. Playing this game alone in your bedroom, late at night, entirely surrounded by darkness, was a courageous task that only the most brave could endure.
The dark fantasy world of Hexen was majestically conceived, and captured perfectly the atmosphere of RPG games that were so popular at the time. Its realistic graphic designs properly engraved in the mind of the players the density of its overwhelming dark narrative, that not only suggested they were there for real, but also displayed a persuasive cosmogony of dangerous affliction, that compelled them to move on to carry out the mission. In a general evaluation, Hexen can be considered a fantastic adventure, whose density, flexibility, improvements, innovations and realism proved to be a colossal evolution to the first-person shooter video game platform.
Undoubtedly, Hexen was one of those fantastic computer games, that — given its originality and creatively audacious nature — ostensibly deserves its place in history. There is not a single computer geek in this world that haven't had a sensational degree of fun playing Hexen. Certainly, a drastically ubiquitous, but doomed nefarious world of dark fantasy got a lot more close to us, thanks to this marvelous and spectacular game.
Wagner
Like most people of my generation that used to play Hexen in the late nineties, this was one of those games that made adolescence to be an exceptionally fun and entertaining period of life. With somber scenarios that inspired in the player a sentiment of very tense and dark contingencies, Hexen — regardless of which was your favorite character to play with — had made us all undergo extremely somber journeys in a magical, fantastic, inhospitable world of intricate affliction, where an arcane set of enemies where waiting, to invalidate our efforts to accomplish the mission. Playing this game alone in your bedroom, late at night, entirely surrounded by darkness, was a courageous task that only the most brave could endure.
The dark fantasy world of Hexen was majestically conceived, and captured perfectly the atmosphere of RPG games that were so popular at the time. Its realistic graphic designs properly engraved in the mind of the players the density of its overwhelming dark narrative, that not only suggested they were there for real, but also displayed a persuasive cosmogony of dangerous affliction, that compelled them to move on to carry out the mission. In a general evaluation, Hexen can be considered a fantastic adventure, whose density, flexibility, improvements, innovations and realism proved to be a colossal evolution to the first-person shooter video game platform.
Undoubtedly, Hexen was one of those fantastic computer games, that — given its originality and creatively audacious nature — ostensibly deserves its place in history. There is not a single computer geek in this world that haven't had a sensational degree of fun playing Hexen. Certainly, a drastically ubiquitous, but doomed nefarious world of dark fantasy got a lot more close to us, thanks to this marvelous and spectacular game.
Wagner
