Nightdive Studios Release Expanded Remasters of Cult Classic Shooters Heretic & Hexen

Heretic & Hexen: Beyond Heretic, two fantasy-themed FPS games from 1994 & 1995, respectively, have received a combined and expanded remaster from Nightdive Studios.

Heretic + Hexen combines the two games and their expansions into one package, also including one new expansion pack for each game. Among other new features added to the games are split-screen multiplayer, a newly recorded version of the original soundtracks by Andrew Hulshult (who has also recorded music for Doom Eternal’s Ancient Gods DLC and the 2018 shooter Dusk), a behind the scenes “vault” featuring concept art and pre-release material, and a built-in installer for community-made mods.

Both games were originally developed by Raven Software, known for their work on the Star Wars: Jedi Knight and Call of Duty games, on a modified version of the Doom engine, with Lead Doom Designer John Romero acting as producer. Heretic received two expansion “episodes” in its retail release in 1996, while Hexen received its expansion, Deathkings of The Dark Citadel, later the same year.

Nightdive announced the release of Heretic + Hexen at Quakecon, an annual event where they previously announced a similar combined edition of the original two Doom titles, as well as remasters of games in the Quake franchise. Nightdive have also developed remasters of games like Star Wars: Dark Forces and System Shock 2 (which released earlier this year), as well as a from-the-ground-up remake of the first System Shock.

More information on the remaster is available now to read on the game’s Steam page and Bethesda’s Slayers Club website. Heretic + Hexen is available to purchase and play now on PC, Nintendo Switch & Switch 2, PlayStation 4 & 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S consoles.

Words by Ash Douglas