It’s no secret that the modern gaming industry would be unrecognizable without Doom. This iconic shooter practically birthed the FPS genre alongside its predecessor Wolfenstein 3D, and it’s also responsible for bringing 3D graphics into the mainstream. When developer id Software released the iconic game, they didn’t rest on their laurels. A bevy of sequels and spiritual successors followed suit, and among these was the Heretic trilogy. Hexen: Beyond Heretic, released in 1995, is the second game in the trilogy, and uses a modified version of Doom’s engine to tell a significantly more fantastical tale.
Hexen: Beyond Heretic Premise
The Heretic series, which started with the titular game in 1994, concerns a fantasy world beset by three tyrannical brothers. These siblings, known as the Serpent Riders, have terrorized the various realms of the world. Each game in the original trilogy is dedicated to defeating a specific brother. Hexen: Beyond Heretic concerns the evil Korax, who has taken over the realm of Cronos. You have a choice of three heroes you can use to venture throughout the realm and take him down.
Hexen: Beyond Heretic makes several changes to the Doom formula. The setting is an obvious departure, since it trades the original game’s sci-fi corridors and hellish landscapes for high fantasy. Each of the three heroes has a distinctive playstyle based on their character class, which adds an additional level of strategy and replayability. Hexen also introduced more minor gameplay changes, like the ability to look up and down. It also featured hub levels, modifying the exploration experience drastically from Heretic and Doom.
Hexen: Beyond Heretic Main Characters
Like Doom and Heretic before it, the main focus of Hexen: Beyond Heretic is the explosive first-person action on offer. That said, there are a few major characters to keep in mind while you play the game. Primary among these are the three playable heroes, who each offer different strengths and weaknesses on the field. Here are the most important characters in Hexen: Beyond Heretic.
- Baratus: Playable character Baratus is a fighter, trained by the militaristic Legion to excel at armed combat. True to his character archetype, of course, this gives him a strong advantage in melee combat. His main playstyle consists of closing the distance as fast as possible and tearing into enemies with melee attacks. He has virtually no magic or ranged capabilities to speak of, so carefully navigating the battlefield is vital.
- Daedolon: Daedolon is a powerful mage, and as a result, he exists at the opposite end of the spectrum from his counterpart Baratus. He wields powerful ranged magic attacks that can absolutely decimate foes from a distance. The predictable tradeoff for this incredible power is that Daedolon is undoubtedly the slowest and weakest of the three protagonists. Keeping him safe from melee fighters is essential to success with this character.
- Parias: Parias is a cleric of Cronos’ church, making him a solid middle ground between magic and melee combat. He combines the advantages of his two fellow protagonists by offering a balance between ranged attacks and close quarters combat, but he has a few tricks to help him stand out as well, such as a dangerous poison gas cloud attack.
- Korax: The second most powerful Serpent Rider, Korax is a horrifying and twisted monstrosity. He serves as the main antagonist of the game, and the heroes must eventually slay him to free Cronos.
- Zedek: Zedek is a prominent boss in the game. He wields the Qietus, one of the most powerful weapons you can unlock for Baratus the fighter. As a fighter himself, Zedek mimics Baratus’ playstyle, and is a dangerous and aggressive foe.
- Menelkir: Like Zedek, Menelkir is a boss that belongs to the same character class as one of the heroes, in this case Daedolon the mage. Unlike Daedolon, however, Menelkir has some surprising speed to him, and can dash around the battlefield with startling ease. Also like Zedek, he wields the most powerful weapon in the mage’s arsenal, the Bloodscourge.
- Traductus: Rounding out the trio, this boss is a cleric like Parias. Likewise, he wields the cleric’s ultimate weapon, the Wraithverge, which fires spirits to attack foes. This makes him a dangerous foe in combat, as he’s always one pull of the trigger away from having spectral backup.
Hexen: Beyond Heretic Games In The Series
The Heretic franchise started as a trilogy, with one entry for each member of the villainous Serpent Riders. It branched out to a fourth game two years later. Of course, if you want more than four games, you can turn to Doom. Since the Heretic games use the same engine, they play very similarly, aside from the aforementioned tone and setting differences. That said, the illustrious Doom franchise is much larger than Heretic, and more than worthy of its own article. Instead, here are the four Heretic games in release order.
- Heretic (1994)
- Hexen: Beyond Heretic (1995)
- Hexen II (1996)
- Heretic II (1998)
Hexen: Beyond Heretic Cheat Codes
There is a robust list of cheat codes for you to take advantage of in Hexen: Beyond Heretic. To use them, you simply need to type them in during gameplay. There are two sets of codes for the game. One applies to the full version, while the other is exclusive to the partial shareware demo. Both lists are provided below, courtesy of the Heretic fan wiki.
Shareware Cheat Codes
- Bgokey: This code unlocks god mode.
- Sgurno: Restores you to full health.
- Cstika: Kills all enemies.
- Crinehart: Gives you all weapons, maximum ammo, and maximum health.
- Braffel: Fills your inventory, including the maximum amount for each artifact.
- Mraymondjudy: Unlocks all keys.
- Tmoore: Unlocks all puzzle items.
- Rjohnson: Unlocks noclip.
- Plipo#: Lets you change your player class to the designated choice. 0 for fighter, 1 for cleric, and 2 for mage.
- Bpelletier##: Warps you to the specified level, 01-04.
- Init: Restarts the level, removes all acquired weapons and items, and disables all cheats.
- mwagabaza##: Runs the designated script 01-99.
- Reveal: Input this code once to reveal the map, then twice to reveal enemies and items. Inputting it a third time reverts the game to normal.
- Jsumwait: Shows player coordinates.
- Rrettenmund: Toggles “ticks-per-frame” counter.
- Kschilder: Activate sound debug.
- Pmacarther: Display version info.
- Ebiessman: Temporarily transform the player into a pig.
- Quicken: Kills the player if typed three times in quick succession.
- Rambo: Takes away all weapons except for the starting one.
- Wewin: Automatically wins the game.
Full Version Cheat Codes
- Satan: This code unlocks god mode.
- Clubmed: Gives you full health.
- Butcher: Kills all enemies in a level.
- NRA: Unlocks all weapons, maximum mana, and maximum armor.
- Indiana: Grants you a full inventory with the maximum amount of each artifact.
- Locksmith: Unlocks all keys.
- Sherlock: Unlocks all puzzle items.
- Casper: Unlocks noclip.
- Shadowcaster#: Sets your player class to the desired number. 0 for Fighter, 1 for Cleric, 2 for Mage.
- Visit##: Warp to the specified level, 01-99.
- Init: Restarts the level, removes all unlocked weapons and items, and disables all cheats.
- puke##: Run the desired code, 01-99.
- ~##: Play track ## of a CD.
- Mapsco: Input once to reveal the map, then twice to reveal all items and enemies. A third input reverts the game to normal.
- Where: Shows player coordinates.
- Ticker: Toggles “ticks-per-frame” counter.
- Noise: Opens sound debug.
- Mrjones: Displays version info.
- Deliverance: Temporarily transforms the player into a pig.
- Martek: Kills the player if input three times in quick succession.
- Conan: Removes all weapons except for the starting one.
Hexen: Beyond Heretic FAQ
Is Heretic or Hexen better? The question of which game is better is always at least partially subjective. This is certainly the case here, though Hexen does have plenty going for it. The engine benefits from two years of upgrades since the release of Doom, letting id Software add new gameplay features and refinements. The introduction of three player characters is also a noticeable improvement, adding substantial replayability and player choice. There are surely fans out there with a preference for Heretic, but Hexen definitely has its own advantages.