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HERETIC (PC)
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Publisher: id Software.
Developer: Raven Software. Released: December 1994 - March 1996. Genre: FPS. Posted 2nd February 2023. By Tom Clare © 2023 |
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Heretic can be seen as the bridge that linked Doom and Quake during a golden period of nineties corridor shooters. For id, teaming up with developers Raven Software was a no-brainer. Raven had experience with the earlier Wolfenstein 3D engine from the development of their 1993 role-playing game ShadowCaster and were no strangers to fantasy settings either, having put out their debut Black Crypt a year earlier. By 1994, id’s blueprint had taken PC gaming by storm, meaning Heretic was like a license to print money. A familiar formula, but with a dark fantasy setting, magical weapons and inventive power-ups.
In a nutshell, it’s every bit as fun as this sounds. Playing as Corvus, the meat of the story (such as it is) takes place over the opening three episodes, as the player hunts three corrupting brothers, known as the Serpent Riders. Heretic only has one serious point of contention, so I’ll address it straight away: its theme and lack of originality. There’s no getting around it, Heretic is very similar to Doom. This shouldn’t come as a major surprise: it utilises a modified version of the same game engine and was developed with the assistance of id Software.
Secondary fire, instigated by the Tome of Power, results in some show-stopping moments
More Doom is never a bad thing, of course. It can be argued, however, that the dark fantasy setting never really manages to assert itself, sticking much more closely to the sci-fi locations of the game that inspired it. The weapons are great fun but do behave like palette swaps of the marine’s arsenal. Is Heretic therefore closer to a mod than a distinct entity? To claim so would be to undersell its quality. That said, traipsing through Hell’s levels feels inescapably familiar, and there are plenty of lava pits, tunnels and flickering-light corridors that leave it feeling more like copycat sci-fi than a fully-fledged fantasy.
Make no mistake though, Heretic is a tremendously enjoyable corridor FPS. The mechanisms behind its selection of guns may retread old ground, but the sharp-shooting Ethereal Crossbow, the rapid-firing Hellstaff and the metal ball launching devastation that is the Firemace are tonnes of fun to use. The player won’t mind switching between weapons either, as they all offer something a little different. Tweaks to the game engine allow the player to look up and down, granting a more convincing sense of 3D than previous FPS games. Raven capitalised on this broadening of the playing environment by adding a glut of flying enemies. The various hellspawn prove a huge highlight of Heretic, perhaps topping even Doom for creatively sinister baddies.
Make no mistake though, Heretic is a tremendously enjoyable corridor FPS. The mechanisms behind its selection of guns may retread old ground, but the sharp-shooting Ethereal Crossbow, the rapid-firing Hellstaff and the metal ball launching devastation that is the Firemace are tonnes of fun to use. The player won’t mind switching between weapons either, as they all offer something a little different. Tweaks to the game engine allow the player to look up and down, granting a more convincing sense of 3D than previous FPS games. Raven capitalised on this broadening of the playing environment by adding a glut of flying enemies. The various hellspawn prove a huge highlight of Heretic, perhaps topping even Doom for creatively sinister baddies.
FOCAL POINT: BEST OF ENEMIES
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Heretic’s enemies are numerous, deadly, and awesome fun to fight. There’s the frightening Iron Liches, giant floating skull with red eyes and a rictus grin. They may move ponderously, but don’t be fooled: each is a menace due to their ability to launch walls of fireballs, ice attacks or discombobulating whirlwinds at the player. Disciples of D’Sparil, in their sinister black robes, make a nuisance of themselves by occupying high positions, moving with speed and firing widespread, damaging missile attacks, all whilst chanting in an unnerving fashion. Then there are sabreclaws, dark, lithe creatures with blades for appendages, bearing a passing resemblance to the xenomorphs of Alien fame. Most fearsome of all is the Maulotaur, an absolute tank with huge reserves of health, able to devastate the player with ground-pounding attacks and charge manoeuvres. You’re going to want to bring some big weapons to this gunfight.
The game retains Doom’s trademark speed, razor-sharp controls and adrenalin-soaked action, whilst placing a slightly greater emphasis on hunting for keys and deciphering level layouts. Heretic does a great job of balancing its cerebral and action elements, adding a sprinkling of depth to the environments without compromising the instinctive nature of the combat. Later episodes, notably those added in the complete Shadow of the Serpent Riders release, lean a little more heavily on hidden switches and timed events. It isn’t always clear as to the result of activation and you can be left wandering with no clear path forward.
Heretic includes some nice innovations of its own. Directional water currents are neat, making for some challenging platforming and combat sequences. There are a glut of nifty items that can be found around the levels, with the option to cycle between them via a useful in-game inventory bar. These include the stealthy Shadowsphere, the brilliant Morph Ovum that turns nearby enemies into chickens, and Wings of Wrath, which afford the player a brief period of flight to reach secret areas. Well worth a mention is the Tome of Power, which essentially switches all weapons to their secondary, more deadly form, offering multi-shots, bouncing explosives, flamethrowers and various other collateral delights.
Heretic includes some nice innovations of its own. Directional water currents are neat, making for some challenging platforming and combat sequences. There are a glut of nifty items that can be found around the levels, with the option to cycle between them via a useful in-game inventory bar. These include the stealthy Shadowsphere, the brilliant Morph Ovum that turns nearby enemies into chickens, and Wings of Wrath, which afford the player a brief period of flight to reach secret areas. Well worth a mention is the Tome of Power, which essentially switches all weapons to their secondary, more deadly form, offering multi-shots, bouncing explosives, flamethrowers and various other collateral delights.
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Whilst many of the levels ape Doom's dingy sci-fi appearance, there are still some distinctive locations to be found in Heretic
Whilst the colours are garish at times (particularly the primary blues and reds of the water and the lava), levels look good, with bold location design and an appreciable level of complexity to the structures. The giant castle structures, stained-glass windowed cathedrals and maze-like fortifications that dominate the game make for atmospheric settings. The enemy sprites lack convincing animation in a 3D space, but they’re fantastically designed.
Like Doom, the music is a real mixed bag. The title BGM is the worst of messy MIDI-era audio, whilst some of the in-game music tends to sound pitchy and unpleasant. However, there are one or two nice, brooding efforts that fit the mood effectively and sound effects rate solidly, with a decent mix of blasting effects, death cries and ambient touches such as running water and tolling bells.
Like Doom, the music is a real mixed bag. The title BGM is the worst of messy MIDI-era audio, whilst some of the in-game music tends to sound pitchy and unpleasant. However, there are one or two nice, brooding efforts that fit the mood effectively and sound effects rate solidly, with a decent mix of blasting effects, death cries and ambient touches such as running water and tolling bells.
With five difficulty settings and a whopping 40 main levels spread between the three original episodes and two added as part of the Shadow of the Serpent Riders complete release, Heretic is a mammoth, rewarding FPS endeavour. With dozens of secrets and speedruns galore to content yourself with, it’s one with oodles of lasting appeal. If you have to choose between the two, Doom still trumps it, with its weapons and settings a more comfortable fit. If you enjoyed id’s seminal corridor shooter, however, this is likely the nearest and best you’ll find, outside of the real thing.
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VERDICT
"...the bridge that linked Doom and Quake during a golden period of nineties corridor shooters. Doom still trumps it, [but] this is likely the nearest and best you’ll find, outside of the real thing. Heretic is a tremendously enjoyable corridor FPS." OVERALL: 8/10 |