Heretic + Hexen have summoned new life with a release today thanks to QuakeCon
Bethesda have announced that in partnership with Nightdive Studios, they are bringing Hexen back, well Heretic and Hexen. The release, which is available today, not only brings the two original games back, but all their original DLC and some new DLC. Check out the reveal trailer below.
The release includes the two base games but also DLC, in fact there is a lot. Here is everything that is included:
Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders
Hexen: Beyond Heretic
Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel
Two all-new episodes created in collaboration between individuals at id Software + Nightdive Studios:
Heretic: Faith Renewed
Hexen: Vestiges of Grandeur
With all that, there are 117 campaign levels to play through and 120 multiplayer levels, ensuring there is a lot of game contained within. What makes this sort of funny is that last year, as part of our Forgotten Franchises series, we had these games included within the Activision group, as Raven Software is owned by them, completely forgetting that id Software owned the IP.
As this is a Nightdive Studios release, this is not just a basic port, the collection takes advantage of all the features it can. These are the callouts from the developers.
Online cross-platform deathmatch and co-op for up to 16 players
Local split-screen deathmatch and co-op for up to eight players
Toggleable, enhanced Tome of Power soundtrack by Andrew Hulshult
Community-published mod support with an in-game mod browser
Improved performance with multithreaded rendering supporting up to 4K resolution and 120 frames per second
A Vault section containing concept art and unused sprites from the development of the original games
Accessibility options, such as updated user interface, improved legibility, contrast and screen FX adjustments, and text-to-speech features
Modern controller support
Weapon carousel for faster weapon switching
Game balance toggle (original / enhanced)
Quick Save / Load support
Widescreen support
Many engine fixes for bugs present in original versions
Translated into 12 new languages: French, Italian, German, Spanish, LATAM Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Polish, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese
One of the big additions is that the game supports 120fps, which means if you have the hardware, then the games will run even better.
It is not just about playing the old games, the release also includes what is called the Raven Vault, which is where players can find art for concepts, monsters, weapons and more.
Finally, anyone who owns the DOS releases on Steam, GOG or Windows Store, will get a free upgrade to the new versions, just like Bethesda have done in the past. The best part, existing saves also carry across. There are more FAQs that you can read on the Bethesda site, else search on your platform of choice and start throwing spells once more.
The collection is out now for Xbox, PC, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, there is no specific Nintendo Switch 2 version, but it is listed as compatible with.
