Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Game
Game2025
Heretic + Hexen
Developer id Software, Nightdive Studios
Step into the definitive re-release of two dark spell-casting shooters that shaped the genre. This enhanced restoration makes Heretic™ + Hexen™ available to new audiences and long-time fans with expanded accessibility across more platforms and languages than ever before. From the Steam store page
219 reactions from 1 source (Steam reviews) · newest Oct 7, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
91
LovedLoved
199 positive · 20 negative
95% range 86–94%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 199 | 20 | 0 |
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
1,836 of 1,936 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
A beloved remaster of classic fantasy FPS games, with some divisive design.
Players overwhelmingly praise the remaster for its quality-of-life improvements and faithful preservation of the originals. Many note that Heretic is a fantastic fantasy-themed Doom-like, while Hexen offers deeper RPG elements and class-based gameplay. [7][27][31]
However, some criticize Hexen's obtuse level design and backtracking, which can be a slog. A few also find Heretic a slower, less interesting Doom clone, and note the absence of Hexen II. [28][36][25]
Praised Remaster quality · Gameplay improvements · Nostalgia
Criticised Hexen level design · Heretic being derivative · Missing Hexen II
Summary drafted by an AI model from the 36 reactions it cites ([n] links open each post), then checked by code: every paragraph cites real posts and every quote is verbatim. Written Oct 8, 2026. Method
Reactions
60 of 219 · most liked firstmicrosoft please release raven software from the COD mines so they can work on actual games again
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Most innovative gameplay of 2025. 10/10. The primary goal of this review is to highlight the state the game industry is in.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Kids these days, they all play Minecraft and Fortnite. But back in my day, we played... HERETIC and HEXEN! Two truly wholesome video games for children of all ages. This is another great addition by Nightdive to bring these '90s shooters back from the dead. Please support them! (I didn't support them because they gave them to me for free)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The best part about revisiting old games in remasters, such as this and others Nightdive puts out, is it just goes to show how much the majority of modern AAA games have stagnated or even regressed over the years. To think Heretic + Hexen has more soul, personality and meaningful content than most of the tripe we've been seeing in recent years is truly a testament to how these classic bangers still stand the test of time, and in other ways have gotten even better with age. Needless to say…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Attention Doom players. You may think that it is the ultimate game, but there is something that you may not have known about. Ravensoft used a modified Doom source engine to make their own game called Heretic to give it a medieval theme. With the success of that game, they modified that engine to make an even better game called Hexen. How these games are better comes to three factors. The first is that Doom looked like it is in 3D, but it is only pseudo-3D since you never aim…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After fully completing every aspect of Heretic Hexen here are my thoughts: Heretic Overall fun to play. Would a younger generation like it? I would say yes, anyone can like Heretic. Straight forward, good enemy variety, lots of relics and weapons to use against enemies. Tome of power is a very fascinating aspect that changes how well weapons work vs different enemies and expands the weapon roster. Down side is that its hidden behind a somewhat uncommon item. Later game chapters can be…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →good remaster but actually credit raven on the store page
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Another Nightdive home run. Feature rich remaster, and plenty of meat on the bone. Heretic is a fantasy reskin of Doom. If that sounds appealing, you have good taste. Hexen is Heretic but more interesting level design and varied weapons (if you swap class). If that sounds appealing, you have immaculate taste.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An amazing quality of life upgrade to 2 great games. Hexen still has painfully confusing level design but a lot of the cryptic elements are explained to make for a better experience. Just do yourself a favor and start with Wizard for a ranged weapon then change class on lv2 if you want
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played this game in my childhood as a young girl couldn't get past the first few levels just cause I was so so young but now i'm 27 and currently playing through the whole game and the deeper levels are just so cool and the fact they remade it to play better and have better visual of the demons and maps just makes me really happy. Recommend playing this if you liked the old Doom games.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I load this up and suddenly I'm 9 years old again. Nostalgia is the purest drug on the market and this game hits like no other to an old timer like me hahah!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The old school games never cease to amaze me. These games are a blast. Heretic and Hexen can at times surpass the original Doom and that is no small feat.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Open the dark vault of Heretic world. Very important treasure was uncovered once more and that is Heretic. This is one of the most important games brought back from old era and done with a justice. From one of the greatest developers Raven Software now you to can enjoy this remaster in fully high pixelated god tier design. There is nothing to complain about in this enchanted remaster but only give yourself to the full fledge craftsmanship. Improved movement and mouse controls just do wonders.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This review is about Hexen. I beat heretic multiple times growing up and its a great fantasy grim dark doom clone, but that's what it is, a DOOM clone. Even all the weapons behave the same as doom and this is not a bad thing, its just that Raven Software took this criticism to heart and created Hexen. To call Hexen a DOOM clone though would be a disservice. The game has spells, inventory management, puzzles, backtracking and the ability to swap between the fighter, cleric and mage all with…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good old Heretic and Hexen, I never thought they'd remaster these games. All the graphics (old-school pixels), sounds and gameplay are intact, with a few enhancements. (In Hexen you can now switch classes in-game). Of course Hexen's annoying backtracking-searching-for-switches is intact as well. The new campaigns are welcome additions as well. Now please remaster Heretic and Hexen II so the collection will be completed.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What a classic. Let's start with the original games. Heretic is basically Doom but with a fantasy theme. At least at first sight, since there's a lot of changes and gameplay mechanics that manage to distance enough from most 90s FPS. The most obvious one is the inclusion of an inventory where you can stash consumable items and activate them at any time. These items will give you cool advantages like invulnerability, a teleport back to the start of the level, bombs, and a secondary fire mode…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This remaster made me speechless... Don't let the appearance fool you. Heretic and Hexen are classic games, and it can be just as brutal and as challenging as the latest FPS games. One bad move or one slow reaction could get you annihilated in seconds, especially when you play on the hardest difficulty. Take it from me...
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Update the games needed with some questionable decisions for good measure. Hexen has been probably my favorite shooter of all time and I used to play it on GZDoom a lot. It had a couple of issues though, the Mage balancing, scripting errors and so on. They all have been addressed in the way I would address them, you can even tune down the overuse of blinking textures in heretic. Absolutely fantastic job, they couldn't have done better... ... and then there are some weird decisions. They…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played so much of the Original Hexen on steam. Usually it's sad when a Steam entry gets removed. However NOT in this instance. Everything about this version is just endless improvements. SHIELD ON CLERIC is such a minor change that has such a MAJOR impact for the better. It's such a great introduction. It's so fun! I was born in 2003. So I grew up on COD. And yet Hexen in STILL by FAR the best FPS game I've played in my life. It's Dark Souls + Doom. Heretic = 9.0 = 10 Hexen = 10 = 10 BUY…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Another pretty good remaster from Nightdive, this time actually a bundle of 2 games. First Heretic, which is pretty much Doom but Fantasy and with usable items and which imho is the way better game in the bundle. Here the remaster is mostly flawless. Some maps got reworked, and enemies are less bullet spongy, also some weapon and item balancing is better. If you, for some reason, don't want this, you can individually turn these changes off before starting an episode. Also the remaster contains…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Add Co-Op saving, that's it. That is all you have to do. One of my favorite games of all time, it really is a shame.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Heretic+Hexen is basically a near identical twin to Doom and Doom II. More like a medieval version of Doom. Instead of using guns, you're using magical wands, crossbows, and swords/maces/axes. Hexen is modeled a little differently than Heretic. You have the option to swap between three different character classes. You can even change between the three classes at certain points during the game to try them all out to see which one suits you best. The graphics are great, the controls respond…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I feel a little bad about giving this a negative review, since there is no question that the devs have done a very good job upgrading these titles for modern systems and adding all of the extra features you would expect, so if you already know that you like either Heretic or Hexen then by all means buy this; you should not have anything to be disappointed about here. But, since I know this group probably already has bought this, it would be pointless to write a review directed at them. For…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The re-release is good, and free to those that own the originals. The games themselves are, as they've always been, aggressively tedious. Heretic is a Doom reskin with slower, clunkier gameplay, more annoying and less interesting enemies, and a really uninspiring weapon roster. Hexen leans a bit more into the RPG style with multiple characters with their own skills, but the level design is almost fascinatingly bad. The game's second level is diabolical and probably the most overt roadblock…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Absolutely. Its basically medieval fantasy Doom. I admit its much heavier on map based puzzles and backtracking but a fun experience with a few people with you who want to figure it out. Nightdive continues to revive older games time after time and do it the right way.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love everything in the pack, except the secret level in Vestiges of Grandeur. Someone has to say it - it's too much, it's like one of those fan-made WADs with giant, humongous level. Such style can work in Doom and Heretic, but not in Hexen. It just feels very wrong in here. This level actually left me with a bad aftertaste from otherwise very strong Vestiges of Grandeur expansion, I recommend to skip it in your playthrough.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Another gold FPS. Heretic is a magical clone of Doom, filled with a variety of items that never let you down, and even lets you fly. Hexen, on the other hand, allows you to legitimately jump and switch between four classes within each level. And the RPG and Adventure mechanics here are absolutely the best, even after playing the original game through DOS long time ago, I still spend too much time wondering which switch I need to activate first to continue or unlock the obstacle ahead. The…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Certified hood classic of a series, I hope Hexen II and even the lesser-known Heretic II get the remaster treatment as well!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Heretic is good, but if you only want Heretic and don't care about the new episode, don't bother with this port. On the other hand, this port is, in my opinion, the definitive way to play Hexen. The new map markers, mid game class select, and the Cleric's new shield make Hexen significantly more fun to play. If you've ever wanted to play Hexen, but couldn't get into it, I recommend giving this version a try.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Crazy good remaster/rerelease of both games. Was expecting a another DOS emu dump like most of the retro favorites that hit steam, this is anything but. Achievements, controller support, even ultrawide support. The devs who put this out deserve more credit for the effort that went into getting it to a modern state.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Giving it a negative review because Pocket Plane killed off all of my interest in finishing the Heretic part of the package. "Oh, a cool new weapon to spice up your arsenal", well it is only available in the secret level of Pocket Plane, which is accessible after two thirds of the new campaign. I had no problem completing all of the preceding levels on the 4th difficulty with no save-scumming, and didn't have to retry more than two times per level. Now my one and only auto-save slot is taken by…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Remake without respect.. Microsoft's remake without understanding.. For game after 30 years release.... It took a lot of effort to break Hexen like this I will describe playable classes with a description of difficulty. Cleric is a class for beginners.. There are some minor issues at beginning. However, with Serpent Staff, the game becomes imbalanced, as it fires for 1 mana and grants vampirism in close combat.. With Wraithverge, battles end - spirits take them all out without any…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's soo good I keep coming back to try and beat it on hardest with all secrets. All the games in the bundle, EPIC.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Heretic is a great game, satisfying shooting and weapons, interesting enemies and great level design. Hexen was not for me, too obtuse and navigating the levels was a slog. The combat was fun though.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Coming out of nowhere, Heretic + Hexen is an excellent game for fans of classic FPS, packed with extras, great gameplay, and many multiplayer modes to enjoy, along with achievements and development bonuses. It missed some opportunities, such as bringing Hexen II to the table and improving the weapon-switching system, but it still remains a great game. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3584606943
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lack of perspective correction made me motion sick within minutes. Nightdive did this with Rise of the Triad. This is a basic accessibility feature and neither Nightdive nor Microsoft care to tackle it. Open source variants managed to fix this long ago but Nightdive also broke compatibility with existing community-maintained source ports. I'm aware that I'm in the minority for being this susceptible for motion sickness but I know I'm not the only one.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Perfect Remaster of the original games and a great way to play in 2025 and later. The fact that we also get two new episodes is bomb and greatly appreciated. They are also great despite my dislike of the secret levels. This is 100% worth it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This remaster actually made me love Hexen. As a kid, I couldn’t get beyond the first level and found the puzzles confusing because there is a lot of backtracking through labyrinths and finding obscure switches. The remaster adds waypoint markers to make navigation easier while not telling you the solution to the puzzles. The new episode added to the remaster “Vestiges of Grandeur” is peak Hexen experience. I felt immense satisfaction getting through to the end. It is like the final exam of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played the HECK out of Heretic back in the day. Whether it's better than the original Doom isn't a question: it absolutely is. All due respect to Doom's place in gaming history, but Heretic just did it better across the board. This version runs great for me, and being able to play it with a modern WASD + mouse setup is just what was needed. As for Hexen, only now can I say that I get what the developers were going for with this one. So far as I know, this is the early FPS genre making its…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Heretic is fine, Hexen is boring. Even with the tweaks and map markers, you'll spend half your time wandering around looking for hidden switches with nothing to kill. X does not always mark the spot, it might just send you in a loop. It needs something like the compass they added to Quake 2. It does get easier in the 3rd and 4th hubs. My long play time is from leaving it open all day and going back to it when I'm feeling up to tolerating it. The new Hexen levels aren't much better. They don't…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →great way and best way to enjoy the classic heretic and haxen games is like doom but dark fantasy style highly recommend it
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Awesome game collection like Doom, and also the way going around blasting monsters was fun to do in the game and the music more intense and got good atmosphere of a fantasy theme I love this game collection.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Some of Nightdive's best work (which is saying something). The QOL additions make all the difference, the new Hexen episode is the best in the series, and giving the cleric a shield and guard counter was brilliant. Bring the homies too; somehow it seems to have aged even better in co-op
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have only played the Heretic content so far. Loads of content and the updated balances make this significantly more enjoyable than the original release.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Among my favorite shooters ever, this pair of Doom engine games now receives a fine and dandy port that lets the gracefully-aged visuals stand tall and proud (That said, the FMVs from the Playstation version of Hexen did get a worthwhile makeover for this). Nightdive did one better and added a new episode of maps to each game, along with gameplay and level adjustments addressing the warts both titles originally had (but which purists can freely disable). Heretic's new levels even come with a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Where Heretic is a fairly run-of-the-mill doom clone, not without its own bells and whistles, this collection really shines in Hexen and its expansions. Hexen is a brilliant early entry into the genre of light action RPG. Outstanding sound effects and remastered music throughout bring the world to life; this possessed, rotten, haunted world. Excellent remastering retains the look and feel of late 90s fast-paced action while updating it exactly where it needs to be. The remastered OST is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The problem with a lot of these ancient relics is that they were never actually fun to begin with. They were just novel—there was nothing else like them, so bored cavemen played them out of sheer desperation. For us in the future, there are infinitely better games out there, and the pathetic achievement percentages prove most of you feel the same. I'll probably finish it one day... but only if I force myself to endure that dusty, overrated slog.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What the ♥♥♥♥ is with the audio in this? It's completely blown out and distorted. *So, you need to disable hands-free telemetry for your bluetooth headset. That's what is causing the audio issues. It happens in all modern Id releases.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After Id Software self-published Doom in 1993, they decided to try their hand at publishing the works of other developers, specifically, a trilogy of titles from Raven Software. Heretic came first in late '94 and became popular through the shareware distribution model that Apogee had pioneered several years earlier. Based on a modified Doom engine, Heretic brought some sorcery to the FPS genre, and was the first shooter to feature a robust inventory of powerups that could be collected and used…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →9/10 An excellent remaster of two classic cames. Similarly to what was done with the original Doom games, Heretic + Hexen is a re-release of these two games, with modern controls, improved graphics, gameplay enhancements and two new episodes for both Heretic and Hexen. It's an easy way to replay the classic games with modern controls and easy access to multiplayer. Gameplay enhancements mostly come from some weapons being improved - mostly, in Heretic, the Hellstaff now seeks out enemies,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game collection consists of 5 (6, but Shadow of the Serpent Riders expansion is combined together with the main game into one) different entities. They're all very similar in gameplay, but highly vary in quality. Heretic This game is a classic. It is super fun, the music is awesome, the game well balanced and all around a great old-school shooter. I love the weaponry, I love the level design. Shadow of the Serpent Riders expansion is a lot harder than the main game and the first level…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fantastic games, Heretic is fantasy DOOM, and Hexen is an entirely different beast. Both are very fun in different ways, if you enjoy DOOM you'll enjoy Heretic, if you like puzzles and an interesting twist in boomer shooters, you'll enjoy Hexen. Both have stellar visuals, fluid gameplay, and are overall a great time.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Yeah, this was fun 30 years ago.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After 20 years I managed to beat Heretic !!!!!!!! Hexen I couldnt pass the 1st level :DDDD
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Highly recommend this for the single player campaign. The new stages are great, and the new enemies are put to excellent use to keep the pressure on. There are some glaring flaws with the port, however, and some should have been quickly picked up by QA, like the crosshair being grossly misaligned. I've also heard reports of Co-op being broken, if this is what you're after, I'd recommend confirming if this is fixed before picking this up.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great ports, the Andrew Hulshult remixes slap throughout, Heretic is great, Hexen sucks - a story as old as time
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The modern controls, remixed soundtrack and quicksave feature make playing these classic games delightful. However the quality of these games is highly questionable, or unballanced. Heretic is quite fun, the door buttons/keys puzzles are reasonably comprehensible, the DOOM guns reskinned as various magic wands are good. The game holds together and flows nicely. Hexen, on the other hand, is bad. Levels spanning multiple areas connected through teleports make no sense and trying to find the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Anything that makes Hexen playable is worth it. Heretic still slaps.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The mouselook is embarrassingly awful for the remaster. Play both games using UzDoom or GzDoom instead.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Got this to play co-op. 4+ hours in and the host crashes. Ownership of the lobby is not passed to me, i just dc. No saves, no ability to rejoin. 75% of chapter progress gone. Aint nobody got time for that.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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