Hexen: Beyond Heretic

Hexen: Beyond Heretic followed up on Heretic with a modified Doom engine and took players into a dark fantasy world divided into large interconnected hubs that could be freely revisited, even after the player had left an area because of an inaccessible puzzle. Three character classes are available – the Fighter, the Cleric, and the Mage – each with its own set of weapons, combat style, and difficulty, making the game replayable and giving it an unusual degree of variety for its time. Instead of a linear progression from the start of a level to its end, the player must solve puzzles interconnected across several maps, seeking levers, keys, and triggers located levels away from where they are used, which was far more complex than in its predecessors and required keeping notes.

The graphics were built on the same technology as Doom and Heretic, but the level design moved toward a more vertical layout, and the atmosphere evoked dark castles, swamps, ice canyons, and necropolises. The music used MIDI compositions with a dark, medieval tone that complemented the game's grim mood well and changed depending on the specific area. On DOS machines, the game ran smoothly even on less powerful hardware, since it was still based on the proven 2.5D engine, so it remained accessible even to owners of weaker systems. Sound effects such as cracking ice or the distant rumble of gates further reinforced the feeling that the player was moving through a living, interconnected world rather than a sequence of separate arenas.

Hexen was praised specifically for its willingness to move away from straightforward shooting toward more elaborate level design and puzzles, which set it apart from most of the FPS competition of the time, even though some players found the difficulty of navigating between hubs frustrating. It is still regarded today as one of the most ambitious titles built on the Doom engine, and its hub-based level system inspired later action RPG titles.