Hexen

Hexen: Beyond Heretic arrived in 1995 as the follow-up to Heretic, built on an enhanced version of the Doom engine by Raven Software and published by id Software. Where Doom and Heretic were largely linear corridor-shooters, Hexen tried something more ambitious: a dark-fantasy first-person action game structured around interconnected hub levels, where flipping a switch in one area might open a door or collapse a wall somewhere else entirely. That backtracking-and-puzzle layout gave it a distinct, sometimes disorienting identity among mid-90s shooters.

The other big departure was the class system. You picked a Fighter, Cleric or Mage at the start, each with completely different weapons and pacing, which gave the game real replay value. The engine also introduced polyobjects (moving walls and swinging doors) and scriptable events via ACS, technology that would influence level design in later id-engine games. Its Gothic aesthetic of ruined castles, swamps and crackling magic was heavier and moodier than Heretic's.

Today Hexen is remembered as both a cult favorite and a game people bounce off, mainly because of its cryptic switch-hunting. Played with a modern source port and a bit of patience, though, it's a fascinating snapshot of the moment shooters were reaching toward exploration and RPG ideas before Half-Life and Deus Ex arrived. The combat still feels satisfyingly crunchy, and the atmosphere remains genuinely oppressive in the best way.