Heretic: The Official Strategy Guide

Wow. 

[update some details after playing game more]

I'm covering both of the classic fantasy shooters, Heretic and Hexen, in one go since you can now find both games in a new package to buy on ALL current systems, including PC and the Nintendo Switch. My coverage for each will have a few unique examples, like mentioning details about each guide, but largely both comments will read the same. Those new to these games will want to start with Heretic (1994) and then move on to Hexen (1995), because on the box to Hexen it even states, "beyond Heretic." So that is supposed to clue you in to Hexen being the sequel to Heretic. The original Heretic will play a lot like Doom -- most weapons will function the same and some enemies are similar, you clear out the levels of enemies, gather keys to unlock doors, and use that to find the pad that activates the level exit. Very similar to Doom in structure, but there are also differences, like having an actual inventory that you can use to heal and equip other items, like a ring of invincibility, a tomb of power, and a way to fly.

Can I use This Guide with the Heretic + Hexen Collection? Yes. This guide should go along great with the newer release of this from Nightdive Studios, because you can still play those original games the way they were originally designed. Heretic + Hexen bundles together both games in an enhanced restoration of the original games developed by Raven Software in 1994/1995. Both games have been updated with performance improvements, the soundtrack has been completely redone for both games by Andrew Hulshult, local and online multiplayer with cross-play, coop in the campaigns, built-in mod support, and a slew of enhancements. You got support for 4K resolutions, widescreen displays, frame rates of up to 120 fps, controller support, bug fixes, a Vault containing concept art and other assets from the original games, and a "game balance toggle" enabling players to switch between the original or enhanced gameplay. New accessibility options have also been added, including improved legibility, contrast and FX adjustments, and text-to-speech features. You can even toggle between the new and original soundtracks.

But Wait... There's More! Remember when I said enhanced gameplay? By default, they will have these new modifiers ON, which completely rebalances the way each game plays. This is great for new players, but veterans will wonder what's going on until they learn these are activated at the start. Like the bow in Heretic fires slower now, and the ammo count is 30 instead of 50, but it also fires more projectiles and it does more damage. You see, the original game had RNG damage, so you couldn't predict how much damage you would take OR even do to enemies. Like the amount of damage that a weredragon would do was highly randomized, but in the new version they still have some randomness to them, but they mostly destroy you now. It can take 1-2 less shots to kill them, but the random damage would often help you out a lot, so changing all these values makes the game play way different than before. You see what I mean about changing the overall balance? The levels use many new textures, which work really well since the original Heretic was made with only around 90 textures in total. But they also changed some areas and the locations of things, so they won't look or play the same as before. They did these "enhancements" to the levels, the enemies, the items, and the weapons. The result is that this new Heretic + Hexen bundle makes both games feel like less of a slog to get through since the weapons hit harder now, but they also upped the enemy counts, so you'll still spend extra time fighting monsters. It is a more inviting setup for new players, and the levels flow a bit better than before, but veterans can toggle each category of enhancements Off or On in the menus.

The new Heretic + Hexen bundle includes the three originals campaigns; "Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders," "Hexen: Beyond Heretic," and the "Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel" expansion. And Nightdive Studios made two all-new episodes with help from id Software. You can now play the all-new "Heretic: Faith Renewed" and the all-new "Hexen: Vestiges of Grandeur." You defiantly get a lot of content for the price.

In the Heretic: The Official Strategy Guide you got about 244-pages, but they are black & white, so while you get some nice maps, they are covered with numbers and letters representing ALL the different items, ammo, weapons, enemies, and doors and secret panels to use. Yep, you don't get any icons or symbols, but that's the way some guides were back in 1994. The author really helps you out with how to deal with the different monsters and how to calculate how much damage you might be doing (yes, the damage you deal is also randomized to a degree). Most of his strategies will still work in any version of the game, but the enhanced version will play differently overall, since you will find more monsters and their strengths will vary. Also, some maps like E5M3: Quay have been seemingly completely redesigned in the remaster, to the point where the old walkthrough will be kinda useless. And in E4M1 they changed the position of the maulotaur, who was in the initial courtyard in the third room with the sabreclaws. Now he's placed inside the central cistern of that courtyard, where he can teleport to the main area and constantly follow you around the entire map. The idea is that you can now telefrag it, but some find this harder to do than how they handled him before. Despite all this, author Ed Dille knows this game well, and he covers each level of the main campaign in more detail than I've seen anyone else do. This is a great guide written by an outstanding professional.

Thanks for preserving this, @Areala. With the new Heretic + Hexen release from Nightdive Studios, hopefully more will be able to play these games. Including me. Heretic 2 and Hexen 2 might be next, but Nightdive wanted to preserve the originals first.