Forgotten FPS sequel Heretic 2 gets a 'reverse-engineered sourceport' that fixes bugs, improves the framerate and adds 'lots of cosmetic improvements'

Corvus shoots a fire arrow in Heretic 2 — (Image credit: Raven Software)

Classic boomer shooters Heretic + Hexen received a lavish overhaul courtesy of Nightdive Studios last year, making these classics of the 2.5D FPS era much more accessible on PC. Playing the sequels to Raven Software's early shooters is not so straightforward, however. Hexen 2 is available to buy on Steam in its original, unvarnished form, but the only way to play Heretic 2 is to summon an evil demon and sell your soul for a boxed copy.

This is a shame, because Heretic 2 is the most unusual entry in the whole Heretic/Hexen coven. The sequel breaks rank with all the others by being a third-person action adventure rather than a dedicated FPS. Released in 1998, it received decent reviews at the time, praised for its large, complex level design and grisly 3D action.

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Naturally, you need the original Heretic 2 game data in order to run the sourceport, specifically a copy updated to version 1.06. I can't help you with finding a copy of the base game, but the patch is available via PCGamingWiki. Once you've got the right version, you can either overwrite the Heretic 2 binaries with their Heretic2R equivalents, or copy the Heretic2\base folder to the Heretic2R folder (though without the .dll files).

The big question, of course, is whether or not we're likely to see Heretic 2 get a rerelease at any point. At the time of their respective releases, Heretic 2 and Hexen 2 had different publishers (the former Activision, the latter id Software). But since both companies are now owned by Microsoft, a follow-up to Nightdive's double-barrelled release of the original games isn't out of the question. If it does happen, we'll likely find out about it at QuakeCon, as that's when Nightdive has announced all its other id Software-related remasters, like Quake, Quake 2, and the first two Doom games.

Rick has been fascinated by PC gaming since he was seven years old, when he used to sneak into his dad's home office for covert sessions of Doom. He grew up on a diet of similarly unsuitable games, with favourites including Quake, Thief, Half-Life and Deus Ex. Between 2013 and 2022, Rick was games editor of Custom PC magazine and associated website bit-tech.net. But he's always kept one foot in freelance games journalism, writing for publications like Edge, Eurogamer, the Guardian and, naturally, PC Gamer. While he'll play anything that can be controlled with a keyboard and mouse, he has a particular passion for first-person shooters and immersive sims.

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