Hexen: Beyond Heretic
| Hexen: Beyond Heretic | |
|---|---|
| Developer | Raven Software |
| Publishers | id Software (PC) R-Comp Interactive (RISC OS) Bethesda Softworks (2025 release) |
| Director | Brian Raffel |
| Producer | John Romero |
| Designers | Eric C. Biessman Michael Raymond-Judy |
| Programmers | Ben Gokey Paul MacArthur Chris Rhinehart |
| Artists | Shane Gurno Brian Pelletier Brian Raffel |
| Composer | Kevin Schilder |
| Series | Heretic |
| Engine | Doom engine |
| Platforms | MS-DOS, Mac OS, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Windows, Nintendo 64, RISC OS |
| Release | |
| Genre | First-person shooter |
| Modes | Single-player, multiplayer |
Hexen: Beyond Heretic is a 1995 first-person shooter video game developed by Raven Software and published by id Software for MS-DOS. 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.
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.
In 2025, Hexen was re-released alongside its predecessor Heretic by Bethesda Softworks with a brand new expansion titled Vestiges of Grandeur.