In 1995, the PC gaming market was still owned by a little game called DOOM and the scores of other first-person shooters that emerged in its wake. One of those games was Heretic, a fantasy-themed adventure developed by Raven Software. However, the team's next project wasn't simply another corridor shooter. HeXen: Beyond Heretic innovated in ways that pushed the genre forward, even suring id Software's own releases. Despite being one of the premier FPS franchises at the time of the genre's origin, the HeXen series now languishes in obscurity, and that's just one reason why it deserves a modern, PS5 or Xbox reimagining by a talented team like Bluepoint Studios.
HeXen was not only a great step forward for shooters at the time, but it is a vital link between the simplistic, DOOM-style action games and the more complicated first-person adventures to come, like Thief and Half-Life. The game had three selectable characters, each with a unique set of magical weapons. It carried over the groundbreaking inventory system from Heretic, and it broke new ground itself with hubs of interconnected areas. Hitting a switch in one stage didn't mean opening a secret door around the corner; it meant opening up new possibilities on an entirely different level. While it all wasn't perfectly implemented, the features on offer were complex in fascinating ways.
It is in these imperfections where a HeXen remake could truly shine. As it stands today, players are so far removed from the complex mazes of retro shooters past that playing through HeXen without some sort of walkthrough is daunting. The controls for a few parts of the game, particularly switching between inventory items, could also use an update. Shooters have come a long way since the early '90s, and even the most diehard fans of shooters like HeXen would it id's DOOM reboot found a way forward for the retro FPS that makes sense in a modern context.
Why Bluepoint Games Should Remake HeXen For PS5
Original HeXen developer Raven Software is still around as a studio under Activision, but it's much different than it was when it made the seminal fantasy FPS. Many of the developers who worked on games like HeXen have moved on to other companies, such as Roundhouse Studios, and the team that remains mainly s Activision's annual Call of Duty releases. A new developer would need to step in and take over the main effort to create the game, and there are few better at remastering classics than Bluepoint Games. While its last two releases have been Sony titles far removed from the fast action of a retro FPS, the team does have experience in the area, and seeing one of the '90s classics reworked in the same way as Bluepoint's Shadow of the Colossus would be a sight to behold.
There's also the issue of who could allow a new HeXen to come to market. It's likely that both Activision and id Software - as well as future id Software parent company Microsoft - would need to be involved in a new HeXen game's publishing rights. Bluepoint currently has strong ties to Sony, too, making the situation even more complicated. However, in a world where all of these publishers could come together to make a deal happen, the resulting product would DOOM Eternal and the rest of the retro FPS boom.
Even if Bluepoint Games isn't the studio to do it, HeXen: Beyond Heretic is a prime candidate for an out-of-nowhere revival. The series name still carries enough weight to mean something, but it's been out of the public eye long enough that a reemergence could be anything the developer wants it to be. If nothing else, the legacy of Heretic and HeXen deserve a better end than a trademark dispute, and perhaps that better end will come, one way or another.
