Heretic is a dark-fantasy first-person shooter developed by Raven Software with help from id Software. It came out for DOS on 29 December 1994 as shareware. It runs on a modified Doom engine; development began in March 1994, with John Romero as executive producer and Brian Raffel as director.
Raven added ideas Doom did not have: an inventory of usable items such as health potions and the Morph Ovum, which turns enemies into chickens, the Tome of Power for secondary weapon attacks, and the ability to look up and down and fly. GT Interactive distributed the DOS and Mac OS versions, and R-Comp published a RISC OS port. The 1996 retail edition, Shadow of the Serpent Riders, added two episodes and was the first official European release.
The source code was published in 1999 and placed under the GPL in 2008. On 7 August 2025 Bethesda released Heretic + Hexen, made by id Software and Nightdive Studios, with a new episode, Faith Renewed.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | HereticShareware release with three episodes, sold by mail-order registration. | MS-DOS | Dec 29, 1994 | id Software | 1 |
| NA | Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent RidersRetail edition adding two episodes; Wikipedia lists 22 March 1996 for North America. | MS-DOS | Mar 22, 1996 | GT Interactive | 1 |
| EU | Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent RidersFirst official European release. | MS-DOS | Mar 31, 1996 | GT Interactive | 1 |
| WW | Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent RidersSteam re-release. | Windows | Aug 3, 2007 | — | 1 |
| WW | Heretic + HexenKEX Engine re-release by id Software and Nightdive Studios; also on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Switch. | Windows | Aug 7, 2025 | Bethesda Softworks | 1 |
Also known as: Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders WW1Heretic + Hexen WW1Еретик RU2
Box art by region
NA Heretic
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: Wikipedia.
Version differences
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ContentShadow of the Serpent Riders (1996)
The 1996 retail edition, Shadow of the Serpent Riders, adds two new episodes, The Ossuary and The Stagnant Demesne, to the original three; Raven offered a free patch to upgrade the original.1
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ContentOriginal shareware
The original release came with three episodes and support for DWANGO online multiplayer.1
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ContentAll DOS versions
A hidden, unofficial episode called Fate's Path can be reached with a cheat code; only its first two levels are playable, and the third has no exit.1
Translations
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Spanish Official
Bethesda Softworks2025WindowsReleased
Heretic + Hexen includes Spanish for Spain and for Latin America.3
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Japanese Official
Bethesda Softworks2025WindowsReleased
Heretic + Hexen lists Japanese among its supported languages.3
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Russian Official
Bethesda Softworks2025WindowsReleased
The 2025 Heretic + Hexen release lists Russian among its languages on Steam and GOG.3
Where to play legally today
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GOG Purchase
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Steam Purchase
Heretic + Hexen
2025 KEX Engine release of Heretic and Hexen
Checked: 2026-10-133store.steampowered.com
How to run it today
Buy Heretic + Hexen on Steam or GOG; it runs on Windows. Raven released the source code in 1999 and under the GPL in 2008, which led to community ports for Linux, Amiga and other systems; they still need game data from a purchased copy.
- Heretic + Hexen on GOG gog.com
Best version
The GOG edition of Heretic + Hexen includes both the 2025 KEX Engine release with the new Faith Renewed episode and the original DOS version of Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders.4
Reception
Heretic alone sold more than 500,000 copies, and Heretic and Hexen together about 1 million units by August 1997. Computer Gaming World gave it 5/5 and GameSpot 7.6/10; PC Zone praised the inventory system but criticized the level design.1
In lists
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
Spotted a mistake? Write to atlas@old-games.net.