Thoughts On Hexen?

[Denim Destroyer]

Over the years I would, on occasion, start Hexen telling myself I will play through the whole game, but in reality never leave the first hub. For some inexplicable reason I felt dedicated to Hexen the other day and decided to power through the first hub with some assistance from a walkthrough. I guess hub one was a speedbump for me since I had trouble putting the game down until I eventually finished the game. Overall I have to say the game is enjoyable but like Heretic I have a few qualms. What I would consider the most glaring issue is level design or lack thereof. Too much of the game is nothing but narrow corridors plagued with tanky enemies, was hoping the devs would have learned from Heretic but oh well. Speaking of tanky enemies, fighting Centaurs is annoying let alone the five thousand I encountered since I picked Cleric. I would have been fine with Raven reusing enemies from Heretic if it meant fighting less Centaurs. Most of the complaints I see directed towards the game focus on puzzles and switch hunting which really wasn't an issue for me.

Anyone else feel the same about Hexen?

Edited October 31, 2020 by Denim Destroyer

[seed]

It's a great game, in fact the best in the series IMO, but I can see why it isn't everyone's cup of tea. It requires the player to really look everywhere to find their way through, but if you take your time with it, it's pretty damn great. Also full of atmosphere, moody music, and good, if perhaps lacking, combat.

[DynamiteKaitorn]

Hexen is... iffy with me. I don't hate it completely but it's far weaker than Heretic.

 

Something I love about hexen is that all 3 classes have to approach a situation differently. Fighter is tanky and fast but it close-combat and, maybe it's just me, lacks health items often. Mage is slow but all of his weapons are ranged, allowing him to pick off enemies from a distance. Downside is, he's frailer than a dried up twig. Also mage's levels have different enemies in them in general. As for cleric? Quartz Flask + Mystic UM + Mystic Ambit Incant + Serpent staff = HEALTH GOD.

 

Another unique thing about Hexen is the use of polyobjects and scripts. Sliding walls, swinging doors, etc... can now be performed. You can also have breakable glass that shatter upon being hit, instant moving floors/ceilings that don't need to use a famous engine bug, spawning in enemies, etc... Technologically speaking Hexen is a POWERHOUSE compared to Heretic.

 

But than again, it's the same game that has Castle of grief. A level filled with so much stupidity I get a headache just trying to figure it out. In fact, that's my biggest annoyance with Hexen. The puzzles themselves. "One Third of the puzzle has been solved on the seven portals." Great except I can solve more than 1/3 of the actual puzzle... dafuqingtons?

 

One more point, Hexen's weaponry is fairly sporadic. The tier 1 weapons are all brilliant in their own little way (cleric probably having the weakest). Tier 2 gets over shadowed by the Serpent staff, tier 3 only mage does well mostly (hammer explodes but it has a small delay). Tier 4 themselves are also usable with a multi-projectile shot from the fighter, ghosts of wraithverge eat everything and the mage straight up becomes the revedoot from Doot Twoot: Heww on Urf.

[SirJuicyLemon]

The hardest part for me about Hexen it's one of it's most interesting characteristics: the hub system and the way the levels are placed. This makes the game kind of slow compared to Doom or Heretic which are clearly more linear. So while it could be seen as fun and innovative to make a puzzle with different doors opening in different parts of the hub, it's quite a headache most of the times if you can't find it in the first place, or at least for me because I suck at remembering places, or even notice what changed since the last time you visited after you pressed some switch.

 

I remember having narrow corridors inside some caves, and while it could have been annoying most of the times, you can take advantage of it by using flechettes when monsters are coming for you. Also, it highly depends on your playstyle and the class you choose: I guess a mage would be done for most of the times when he is surrounded (unless it has some of the powerful weapons), but the fighter would have not much of a problem against those tanky bastards. And the cleric is quite good when he has the 2nd weapon which can lifesteal when used as melee weapon. The harsh part was when you had to fight against many of those centaur guards with shields as they can deflect your attacks and you can harm yourself. But with some experience you learn not to be to hasty and attack when the right time comes.

[leodoom85]

Hmm......having dejavu with these topics lately......don't get me wrong, I played the shit out of Hexen with an incomplete version from a bundled disc on PS1 and that took me forever to finish it without saving and dying and to learn every fucking corner of the game to know what's good and what's bad but, I'm still impressed that new players want to discover this game, which is good.

 

You know, Hexen is a mixed bag for many, many, MANY players that I'll put pros and cons of the basic stuff without going much to details that can talk for the entire day:

 

Pros:

• Classes to play. Fighter, cleric or mage.....pick your poison.
• I think music is an upgrade from Heretic since the musician took more liberty to create something appropiate for the stages.
• Most of the weapons and items are useful. I use them frecuently, especially flechettes and health flasks. Same for the bracers.
• Atmosphere in some maps, including ambient sounds.
• ACS that evolved what we have today.

Cons:

• The maps. You are forced to learn every single aspect of the map and that goes with the next point...which is....
• Switches to progress. Well..........................no words needed for that one. I, too, felt to that travesty but, that was for the better. Props to you if you finish the game without a guide or with the help of someone. Worst example is the fourth hub. You know that pain...
• I have nothing with most of the monsters but I know that every single one of you, including me, hates the centaurs and his fucking big brother, the slaughtaur with such passion that it could be the FIRST thing to mention in a hate list (or second, after switches if you like). Second, Korax. Scripting SOB that it's a joke. I'd take Heresiarch over Korax anyday.
• Related to the switches and the maps, the messages are too vague to follow, which you MUST go back and forth to see if anything happens...

[Avoozl]

I enjoy the Hexen games much more than the Heretic games, especially more than Heretic 2. Hexen 2 is my favorite.

[whirledtsar]

Ive played through it a few times. Overall very good game but flawed in some areas. The combat isn't bad - it's actually more satisfying than Heretic to me because the enemies are much less spongey. The amount of enemy variety is good on paper, but they made a mistake by only using Wendigos and Reivers in one map each, so the variety isnt as good as it could be. Its cool that the weapons are unique compared to Doom&Heretic, but some of them are a bit too gimmicky/unreliable considering you can only have 4. But unlike Doom where combat was king, I think the atmosphere & exploration are of equal or greater importance in Hexen. And there is a lot of good level design in the game. Non-linear maps are one thing, but entire non-linear episodes are very satisfying to explore & complete. Its too bad the last hub had pretty uninteresting maps and almost no inter-connectivity between levels. The switch-hunting really isn't as bad as some people say, the issue is you have to pay more attention to your surroundings than one might expect from an old Doom-engine fps. "A door has opened somewhere" is a bit of a meme, but in reality the game actually always tells you where the door opened, so you just need to follow its directions.

Making maps for it is fun with the dark fantasy theme and all the scripting possibilities, but it can be difficult to create satisfying encounters because they play so differently for each class. Eg. centaurs are reasonable to fight as the fighter but a chore as the cleric. Its not like Doom where you know every player will experience the same thing.

 

Hexen 2 is great too, Ive actually played through that even more (half a dozen times at least). They improved the combat and implemented more clever puzzles (as opposed to switch hunting).

[Senor500]

I actually like the combat in Hexen, at least what I've played of it, but it's level design and puzzles made me stop at the second hub, it really tires me out a lot, I love the music, atmosphere and the enemies but the puzzles really stopped me from playing.

[Maximum Matt]

Man, Hexen sucks

[Spectre.Charles]

It's okay, really okay.

The level design isn't that great and I get bored playing for some reason, which is weird because normally I love FPS games even if they're just mediocre like Hacx (1.2) or Deus Ex Invisible War. Maybe it's because I'm not big into medieval styled fantasy, but I'm huge into sci-fi, so my mind is less forgiving of the flaws?

[Darth Tyus]

14 hours ago, Denim Destroyer said:

Over the years I would, on occasion, start Hexen telling myself I will play through the whole game, but in reality never leave the first hub. For some inexplicable reason I felt dedicated to Hexen the other day and decided to power through the first hub with some assistance from a walkthrough. I managed to play through the remaining four hubs over the next several days which culminated in me finally finishing the game yesterday. Overall I have to say the game is enjoyable but suffers from several things that holds it back for me. The most notably is how much of the game is nothing but narrow corridors plagued with tanky enemies. Had Raven made more of the game like the swamp with its open areas I think Hexen would be more fondly remembered. Everything else about the game like music and puzzles are all good and it is shame to see such mediocre levels hold back what could be a much better game. 

Anyone else feel the same about Hexen? Most of the complaints I see directed towards the game focus on puzzles and switch hunting and not the level design.

Heretic and Hexen is on my list of favorite games I never played before 😅 if you know what I mean. I really want to get into it but I heard the same complaints about the level design.

[ronaldo0070]

What ruined Hexen for me is that there's too many Ettins and Centaurs, they're super bullet sponges and they slowdown the pace of the gameplay really hard.

 

I still managed to beat Hexen as Cleric without a walkthrough, very confusing hub system but still manageable.

Edited March 26, 2020 by ronaldo0070

[Denim Destroyer]

On 3/26/2020 at 5:12 AM, Darth Tyus said:

Heretic and Hexen is on my list of favorite games I never played before 😅 if you know what I mean. I really want to get into it but I heard the same complaints about the level design.

What I believe will determine someones opinion on Hexen is what their stance is on exploration in games. If you don't mind getting lost for any amount of time then Hexen will be the game for you.

 

On 3/26/2020 at 5:30 AM, ronaldo0070 said:

What ruined Hexen for me is that there's too many Ettins and Centaurs, they're super bullet sponges and they slowdown the pace of the gameplay really hard.

Centaurs are where most of my complaints about the enemies in the game come from. Having to stop and wait for them to lower their shield ruins the flow of combat in the games early parts. Hexen also does have a similar problem to Heretic where the enemies are too tanky but the lack of enemy variety in Hexen makes the bullet sponge problem worse. Less type of monsters to fight means you will notice the problems with the enemy roster much faster.

Edited October 31, 2020 by Denim Destroyer

[Gez]

Hexen lacks weapon variety and it has annoying monsters that slow down combat -- centaurs, with their shields, and stalkers, with their dive. Those are the main factors why I prefer Heretic.

[Gunstar Green]

22 hours ago, Denim Destroyer said:

Over the years I would, on occasion, start Hexen telling myself I will play through the whole game, but in reality never leave the first hub. For some inexplicable reason I felt dedicated to Hexen the other day and decided to power through the first hub with some assistance from a walkthrough. I managed to play through the remaining four hubs over the next several days which culminated in me finally finishing the game yesterday. Overall I have to say the game is enjoyable but suffers from several things that holds it back for me. The most notably is how much of the game is nothing but narrow corridors plagued with tanky enemies. Had Raven made more of the game like the swamp with its open areas I think Hexen would be more fondly remembered. Everything else about the game like music and puzzles are all good and it is shame to see such mediocre levels hold back what could be a much better game. 

Anyone else feel the same about Hexen? Most of the complaints I see directed towards the game focus on puzzles and switch hunting and not the level design.

 

Pretty much with you exactly. I can see the good in it but it's not my cup of tea at all.

[Martin Howe]

Too many puzzles and switches - I'm really not interested in that side of the game. Centaurs are an annoyance. Scripts that spawn enemies after you've killed them all. In short, I love the atmosphere and most of the monster roster, but the puzzles make it a chore rather than fun :(

[DavitW]

I like Hexen a lot, the atmosphere in the game is really great, Everything is so desolate and inhuman to the enemies, maps, music and overall sound design. Lots of people say it's confusing but honestly I can't speak for that considering I used a guide for most of my first time through.

[Gokuma]

Seven Portals is just about four portals too many.   It's better to skip and start on the second hub, but you won't be able to access a secret map later in the game if you didn't visit the one in Seven Portals.

 

I beat the game and Deathkings both without a guide in Korax Mod/Korax Heritage where enemies have ridiculous amount of life and Korax has literally 40,000 HP.   Maybe the HP amounts have been toned down in years since, but I don't know.   You have the benefit of additional spells though.   I've found some custom Doom maps to be more confusing.

Edited March 27, 2020 by Gokuma

[Denim Destroyer]

After finishing Deathkings I can tell that Raven had a better idea of what would work with Hexen. The levels are more open and require less backtracking plus the enemy variety is better as they use more of the available bestiary. Overall a pretty solid experience and was more enjoyable than the base game.

[Aku]

It had potential to be one of the greatest games ever, but i always found myself lost with no idea where to go.

When i did get through certain areas it all felt like a major choir rather then a funtime exploring, in some ways i think either a more linear path would of been better , or alternatively more of an open world where there was multiple paths to take , rather then having to figure out the one giant puzzle, in that aspect elder scrolls succedded in where hexen failed.

 

[IvanDobrovski]

Hexen is an alright game. Mechanics wise it's many steps above Doom or Heretic. Puzzles and switch hunting aren't really done well enough, they corrected some of this with Hexen 2 but added more problems so I can't say much about that. The player class options are pretty good but poorly balanced. Cleric is just stupid in general. There are plenty of wonky mechanics with weapons too.

 

Also Centaurs wouldn't be so bad if you could shoot their feet but OLD game so... There's also a very low enemy variety I feel. The use of player sprites as bosses at the end, while story-wise fitting is kind of a cop out.

 

Overall not bad but some of the design choices can be off putting.

Edited March 28, 2020 by IvanDobrovski

[El Juancho]

I hate it so much

[MaxRideWizardLord]

Awesome game. Nice feeling of adventure, sweet exploration atmosphere, lots of amazing puzzles, traps and interesting maps. Hard Mage, overpowered cleric, noobish fighter, but other than that I enjoyed the game far more than Doom series. The weapons for HeXen also awesome, they feel like a gzdoom weapon mod made in 2012.

[Lila Feuer]

Hexen is my favorite Doom engine game that isn't Doom. It's good enough to stand on its own without even needing to play Heretic prior, or Hexen II that followed. The atmosphere and music alone can sell me through the game. Everything else is just bonus like the cool weapons, monsters, items and honestly most of the maps are great.

[Rudolph]

I was going to start a topic about Hexen, but since there is already one, I might bump it instead.

 

Talking about the use of Hexen assets in Heretic makes me want to give Hexen another shot. Still, I wish Raven could have given Heretic a sequel that expands upon the base game, like Doom II did for Doom 1.

 

I would have loved to see Corvus go after the other Serpent Riders next instead!

Edited December 5, 2021 by Rudolph

[Rudolph]

Hum, guys? I need some help here.

 

I am playing Hexen Shareware with GZDoom 4.7.1, but what I assume is the portal to the Guardian of Steel does not appear to be working: I can go through the portal texture, but it does not teleport me to the level. Is this a bug or am I simply unable to progress further in the demo?

[RHhe82]

7 minutes ago, Rudolph said:

Hum, guys? I need some help here.

 

I am playing Hexen Shareware with GZDoom 4.7.1, but what I assume is the portal to the Guardian of Steel does not appear to be working: I can go through the portal texture, but it does not teleport me to the level. Is this a bug or am I simply unable to progress further in the demo?

 

As far as I remember, the demo version (I guess it was never shareware as such) only had parts of Guardian of Ice and Fire, and Steel was blocked by something. I think the bug lies in the fact you could even reach the portal to Guardian of Steel.

 

Mind you, I played the demo back in, what, 1995? 1996?

[Rudolph]

Well, I have acquired the Mask of Fire and I have no idea where else to go now.

[RHhe82]

Just now, Rudolph said:

Well, I have acquired the Mask of Fire and I have no idea where else to go now.

 

I think you just reached the end of the demo, plain and simple. My memory is indeed fuzzy on details, but I think the demo version never really ended anywhere, you just couldn't progress further after the first visit to Guardian of Fire. Guardian of Steel simply wasn't in the demo, of that I'm certain, because I was excited to reach it once I got the game for a christmas present.

[Captain POLAND]

I love the weapons, items, enemies, and environments, but the puzzles and switch hunting were annoying so I ended up using a walkthrough for that aspect.