.

[Defective Dopamine Pez Dispenser]

.

[Awstrd]

I assume you have already played Heretic and Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel. If for some reason you haven',t those should be your first choices.

The only contemporary game like Heretic/Hexen that comes to my mind is the recently released "Autumn Night 3d Shooter". It is a fantasy FPS in a dark fantasy world with handcrafted levels. To my knowledge it does not contain puzzles per se, but it does contain secrets that are somewhat analogous to puzzles. (E.g. you can see additional weapons in seemingly closed off areas, and you need to figure out how to get to the area in order to get the weapon). This game is rather barebones compared to Heretic and Hexen, as I understand it is an indie game made by one person and his/her motive for doing do was to make a game rendered entirely in a computer's CPU without using the graphics adapter to create a 90"s game feel. Still, if you are looking for a new game similar in feel to Hexen or Heretic, this one is probably your best bet. The game has positive reviews on Steam and I have the game myself and am enjoying it. The game is also inexpensive (approximately 5$ USD).

There are several indie games which have passed Steam Greenlight and have yet to be released which appear to have taken at least some inspiration from Heretic and Hexen and which you therefore may want to keep an eye on. If you want to take a look at their Greenlight pages, here is the list:

Project Warlock
Warlock's Revenge
Apocryph
Heterodox

Project Warlock explicitly claims to be inspired from Heretic and Hexen. It, along with Apocryph, will probably be the closest to Hexen. Aside from being fantasy FPS in a dark world, I am not sure exactly how close Warlock's Revenge and Heterodox are to Hexen.

As for your question about whether or not this is dead niche, I am inclined to say no because it appears to me that the above titles show that indie devs are starting to make games similar to Heretic and Hexen since no AAA publishers are making them. Of course, whether any of these indie devs will be able to successfully capture the same "feel" as games like Hexen remains to be seen.

I hope this info helps you. :)

[DwayneYouDerp]

What about Lichdom: Battlemage?

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic?

[DwayneYouDerp]

Originally posted by Vamphaery:

Originally posted by BeaverOfDawn:

What about Lichdom: Battlemage?

I've looked into it, but the concensus seems to be extremely linear shooter mechanics with no puzzle content. (Something some of the other options offered also suffer from, of course.)

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic?

[Rithm Fluffderg]

The thing is that First Person Shooters of the Doom/Heretic/Hexen era were, first and foremost, arcade-style games. You're given a brief story, and you get sent into the action and dropped in with nothing for cutscenes, and the entire point of the game is to kill and get to the end before you get killed, where you move onto the next level.

Hexen played with this mechanic more, though, with the hub-style worlds.

Games have evolved beyond this mechanic to try to be more organic, but for us nostalgic gamers, we aren't craving organic, we're craving what we played growing up. (Which is neither bad nor good, it just simply is)

Fun fact, people are actually worried that the next elder scrolls game will be more FPS than RPG, which is kinda what Hexen is, so the thought amuses me because they're complaining about the modernization of games when the next TES game might actually be more like a classic game than anything else.

That being said, I think a new game like this could work. The market is, quite frankly, suffering from plot fatigue, and I think it's getting close to the time where we can go ahead and start making games that don't really need strong plotlines. Non-linear level design but sequential levels, like Heretic manages, or hub-worlds with a lot of backtracking and Metroidvania-style gameplay like Hexen sort of has.

It is worth noting that someone is making a Quest for Glory 4 3D mod using Hexen and the demo was impressive enough to actually make PC Gamer.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154685327409302&set=gm.1374763535904635&type=3&permPage=1

[srfrogg23]

Painkiller, if you're ok with someone mixing guns into your demon-killing spree. The general atmosphere is pretty much what I would expect out of a "modern" Heretic/Hexen game.

I don't think the level designs are a good match, but the ambiance is definitely close.

[Rithm Fluffderg]

Originally posted by srfrogg23:

Painkiller, if you're ok with someone mixing guns into your demon-killing spree. The general atmosphere is pretty much what I would expect out of a "modern" Heretic/Hexen game.

I don't think the level designs are a good match, but the ambiance is definitely close.

I kinda thought the sword & sorcery/high fantasy setting is what set Hexen apart. if you want a demon-killing spree, I would point more towards Doom than Hexen.

[Astrix]

Ziggurat?

[RubyNips]

Witchaven 1/2

[Unicarn]

Originally posted by DruidicPaladinZachski:

The thing is that First Person Shooters of the Doom/Heretic/Hexen era were, first and foremost, arcade-style games. You're given a brief story, and you get sent into the action and dropped in with nothing for cutscenes, and the entire point of the game is to kill and get to the end before you get killed, where you move onto the next level.

Hexen played with this mechanic more, though, with the hub-style worlds.

Games have evolved beyond this mechanic to try to be more organic, but for us nostalgic gamers, we aren't craving organic, we're craving what we played growing up. (Which is neither bad nor good, it just simply is)

Fun fact, people are actually worried that the next elder scrolls game will be more FPS than RPG, which is kinda what Hexen is, so the thought amuses me because they're complaining about the modernization of games when the next TES game might actually be more like a classic game than anything else.

That being said, I think a new game like this could work. The market is, quite frankly, suffering from plot fatigue, and I think it's getting close to the time where we can go ahead and start making games that don't really need strong plotlines. Non-linear level design but sequential levels, like Heretic manages, or hub-worlds with a lot of backtracking and Metroidvania-style gameplay like Hexen sort of has.

It is worth noting that someone is making a Quest for Glory 4 3D mod using Hexen and the demo was impressive enough to actually make PC Gamer.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154685327409302&set=gm.1374763535904635&type=3&permPage=1

I know this is a month ago, but I just want to say this. I don't think nostalgia is why people are drawn to these types of games, because I've never really played an FPS like Hexen or Doom and I've really gotten into them lately.

I like the level design and the focus on mobility, which is lacking from modern FPS games. These games are technically linear, but they don't feel linear. Modern FPS games lack mobility and feel linear.

[Rithm Fluffderg]

I mean...

"Doom but fantasy" is exactly why I've bought Heretic and not Doom.

Doom itself is fun but I actually prefer Heretic entirely.

[Unicarn]

Originally posted by Vamphaery:

Oh absolutely. I loved Heretic. But Hexen was something a little different and very unique imo. (Though, also a natural offshoot of Hereic, to be sure.)

By the way: While DUSK (episode one available now on Steam incidentally) is definitely a Quake/Doom/Blood/etc. throwback (and a brilliant one at that imo so far,) there are some areas - particularly in one level - that SCREAM Hexen to me. Any fan of Hexen and classic shooters in general should definitely check it out.

It doesn't scratch the Hexen itch I've been describing in this topic... but they definitely (imo) homage it at one or two points, and it DEFINITELY scratches the Quake/etc. itch if you've been looking for something that will.

Yeah, a couple of my friends were linking me videos of it.

I might try it, but I already have Doom 2, Heretic, Hexen, Hexen 2, and Quake to finish...

Oh, and I bought the whole Jedi Knight series so I need to finish that too. Uff da.

[Maht]

NecroVision would be something to check out, if you haven't already.

[Ara Macao]

Originally posted by Vamphaery:

Yeah, Painkiller doesn't really fit the bill for me here (AWESOME game, though.)

The giants, huge open spaces, intense challenge, gunplay, lack of puzzle emphasis (though there were some,) and some of the subtleties (the way certain weapons were used was less than straightforward,) all disqualify PK for me personally.

As stated though, great game. Underrated imo. It felt more like the later stages of Quake 1 on steroids than Hexen to me, though. It was closer to Hexen than some other suggestions, though. (But then, so was Quake... which on balance was not much like Hexen.)

Really for me, a Hexen clone/spiritual successor needs:

• Dark fantasy setting. "Knights and castles" infused with darkness and "demonic" tone. (That's what made it a "fantasy Doom" essentially.)
  
• Magic, melee, swords, axes, etc. as weapons.
  
• Extremely simple, straightforward gameplay and enemy behaviors. Straight Doom style run 'n' gun, but fantasy themed weapons rather than guns.
  
• And yet, slower paced than Doom. More methodical. More downtime spent searching for switches, secrets, etc.
  
• Ebb and flow between completing one area, and then having that area have a tangible effect on another area. Which also leads to backtracking. That was part of Hexen's charm: going back to a previous explored zone, and finding a whole new area had opened up because of what you just did elsewhere.
  
• Lots of moving parts that gave the levels a "living" feel. Traps, hidden passages, enemies rising up out of surfaces etc.
  
• At least three distinct character classes.
  
• Equipment and "deployable" items (poison, powerups that can be carried and activated when needed, etc.)
  
  It was just a really specific vibe, pace, and design thrust. I don't want it to be a carbon copy, mind you. But something that ticks those boxes and brings them into contemporary gaming. (And not a roguelike. Too many retro style games are roguelikes imo. Though, I love STRAFE personally... it's an exception for me. Normally I want hand crafted level design with a clear progression.)

Yes.

I would also say that lack of NPCs and dialoge is vital. There are no humans to converse with in Hexen. Only the occasional dried corpse.

[Rithm Fluffderg]

Out of curiosity, what kind of graphical expectations would you guys have of a theoretical successor to Hexen? Would you prefer high-definition sprite-based like Hexen currently is, or would you want something that basically runs on the latest Unreal engine?
Desaturated, or dark/somewhat desaturated with some colors mixed in for contrast (this is what I consider Hexen - most of the palette is browns and faded greens, but there's enough color that pops out at you to be worth it), or brighter colors (though not candy bright) with an emphasis on the blood and ichor that you'll be splattering all over the place?

[Fuzzy.Bunny]

(1) It seems to me that Hexen was appreciated for what it was, what it did for Heretic and what Heretic did for Doom. Kind of like what Rise of the Triad: Dark War did for Wolfenstein 3D, and what Wolfenstein 3D did for Catacombs 3D trilogy, too.* All of these games built upon the core mechanics of what came before, improved upon then and then added something.

This sort of thing sees me, perhaps like you, too, less interested in the more modern FPS fare. Games like Deus Ex, System Shock 2, and BioShock certainly built upon what Hexen was doing and added their own stamp, branching out in a way that something like Half-Life in is poor gunplay, incoherent level design, and general hype could never hope to hold a candle to.**

I don't think you'll find a fair equivalent because modern FPS games seem to rely on a multi-player component, popularised not so much by Doom but by Quake. Arena shooters seem fill the more fast-paced FPS aspect and battle royale shooters seem to fill the slow-paced FPS aspect. In all of this the aspect of a strong single-player campaign and what necessarily goes into it is lost.

(2) Until any indie developer comes along that has the talent and resources to match their ambition...well, I don't think we'll be seeing anything like a return to form in creative if not innovative FPS gameplay. At least not very often.

And when it comes to setting, dark fantasy is something that is little explored and perhaps because that's seen as 'ARPG' or 'MMORPG' fare. A completely wild shot in the dark, but there it is. Games like Path of Exile, Grim Dawn, and even the Diablo titles certainly have the right atmosphere but do not have the right genre. Further, and as you pointed out, something like Lichdom: Battlemage is missing something, too. It's a strange combination of Painkiller and Borderlands.

No, I don't think we'll see something like the Heretic/Hexen series for some time. But here's to hoping I'm wrong.

_____
*I would argue that Wolfenstein 3D is inferior to even Catacombs 3D, given that you are in effect rolling to hit targets in a way that is more akin to The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. All FPS games in that era had some sort of damage variable, but Wolfenstein 3D hitscan also had an accuracy variable that made it unduly difficult to hit-for-damage at any range and far to easy to be 'crit', viz. be 2-shot at close range.

**Half-Life pushed the notion of scripting and added better AI, but unlike a number of games that came before and after, Half-Life did little else to add to the FPS genre. Thief: the Dark Project, too, added very little beyond better AI.