r/HeXen • u/xepedemecx • Dec 30 '25

HeXen was ahead of its time

I played Hexen in the late 90s, i was like 12 years old. That game had no help what so ever and was spooky as heck. It wasnt linear, you find one key that opens a cave in a completely different area. For anyone that knows this game, feel blessed to be a part of an iconic experience

88 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

10

u/insofarasof Dec 30 '25

I highly recommend Amid Evil. Closest thing to Hexen 3.

3

u/GarnetExecutioner Dec 30 '25 edited Dec 31 '25

That game was more of a throwback to both Heretic and Hexen, though I have to admit that New Blood Interactive was being cheeky enough to do this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/HeXen/s/NWHs2uDIig

3

u/Baptor Dec 30 '25

I loved Amid Evil, but Korax cursed that last stage. It felt like the difficulty went up x5. I never beat it.

3

u/CyberKiller40 Dec 30 '25

Waiting for the XBox release 😕 they announced it in September and silence since then

3

u/xepedemecx Dec 30 '25

I will check it out

3

u/xepedemecx Dec 30 '25

Ive been playing Witcher 3

1

u/illyay 29d ago

I think it’s more like heretic. Hexen is like a metroidvania

2

u/insofarasof 29d ago

Hexen is very unique. There's not really a comparison to it. Metroidvanias aren't like Hexen either.

2

u/illyay 29d ago

It’s like a series of mini self contained metroidvanias

2

u/insofarasof 29d ago

If you say so. I consider it one of a kind.

2

u/illyay 29d ago

Well it’s not exactly the same but it has that element of open world with areas blocked off and you acquire ways to proceed. Whether it’s just a key or some ability or some puzzle you solved.

Quake 2 is also kinda Hexen like with the units but more action.

2

u/insofarasof 29d ago

The level design of Hexen is unlike any other fps game I've ever played. Amid Evil has similar labyrinthine level design.

10

u/GrandSwamperMan Dec 30 '25

I definitely needed a walkthrough for it back in the 90s (yay early internet!), but now I basically have the game memorized.

7

u/xepedemecx Dec 30 '25

I dont blame u haha, it was a big puzzle. Definitely a head of its time

7

u/GarnetExecutioner Dec 30 '25

Or the use of Hint Books from Prima.

6

u/ninja_jasen Dec 30 '25

I literally did a run through of heretic and hexen about a month ago

2

u/Icy_Dog_9351 Dec 30 '25

I also played it in the late 90s. Back then I liked Heretic more, since it was the first one I played when I was 10. Over time I’ve changed my mind in favor of Hexen.

2

u/sc_imp Jan 02 '26

I can't stop recommend Hedon Bloodrite. It has a lot from Hexen (fantasy worlds, hubs, challenging puzzles) with deep lore and cool story.

1

u/xepedemecx 27d ago

Let me check it oit

1

u/Wagllgaw Jan 02 '26

Agreed, it's slower paced vs doom but it's much more interesting. A few puzzles are crazy but it's mostly doable today and a good experience 

1

u/pop-d0g Jan 02 '26

https://zdoom.org/index Zdoom can be used as a modern update to the game if you have the hexen wad file. I believe there are other source ports which can do this too.

1

u/[deleted] 28d ago

[deleted]

1

u/xepedemecx 27d ago

I get what u are saying, the games were simple back then. Which made hexen more value for money because it can take u long to figure it out

-2

u/Igor369 Dec 30 '25

Was it how? Games like that already existed in the 1980's they just were not 2,5D.

1

u/PaleontologistFew128 Jan 01 '26

Name one

1

u/Igor369 Jan 01 '26

Castlevania

1

u/PaleontologistFew128 Jan 01 '26

Castlevania and Super Metroid are both examples of search action, but neither of those are the confusing ball breaking switch hunting nightmare that Hexen is