After finishing Heretic (well, it is true that it's more or less fantasy-theme Doom clone, but very enjoyable at the same time) I've taken first Hexen and... Well, so far I think I've met most levels (a lot of backtracking, a bit hard to assess), but I don't have anymore strenght to finish even the first hub. The amount of wandering on every level, getting back etc. has made me at some point a bit confused. I've left the game for not more than a couple of days, and I can't even tell anymore at which point I am, what I've done and what I didn't (except for the fact that I'm after those repeating raids on the level with steel doors and levers in four corridors, that level was a bit painful, but I've managed to activate all levers).

I've finished in my life some cryptic and hard games. Don't get me wrong, I think that Hexen has a lot of good stuff, I like the idea of classes with unique weapons set, I like this dark fantasy atmosphere etc. But I feel that Hexen has drained from me initial enthusiasm for this title. I guess that it's pointless to even try sequel, since it's basing on the similar "rules" of gameplay.

I'm not happy about it, Hexen has plenty of good stuff, but I feel that game's design has beaten me.

If somebody has similar story to share, please feel free to do it in this thread, I would be a bit relieved with the fact that I wasn't the only one.

The first hub in Hexen IS a toughie, but it's not impossible. There's a lot of back and forth, and you really need to do it in as few sessions as possible. If you take a couple of days then come back to it, you'll probably forget what the last switches you hit did and what area had a new event happen or door open etc.

Pay attention to the messages that pop up when you hit switches, save often (the Ice Caves have quite a few insta-death traps), and remember that if a new door opens in the hub, that's usually where the next area you need to go is.

Can't remember which area it is off the top of my head (Dark Woods or something, maybe?), but at one point there's a small river that's flowing into a dark cave. If you use a torch, it looks like instant death, but if you jump into the hole it's actually a level transition to... some kind of sewer or swamp. Again, fuzzy memories after not touching the game in a couple of years. Again, save before dropping into any holes, just in case.

Another tip that'll serve well for the entire game is to do the classic secret finding technique: Push or use every wall that looks a bit different. Also, check your map often, since moving walls, doors or walls that you can actually push by walking into them tend to stand out.


Finally, if the first hub in Hexen is giving you trouble, you might be tempted to try the expansion pack, Deathkings of The Dark Citadel. DO NOT DO THAT. Deathkings takes the mazelike elements of Hexen, cranks it to 11, replaces real doors with hidden doors, and throws logic out the window.


Hexen 2 is more straightforward in general, with a few kinda cryptic puzzles that aren't so bad because of the smaller areas and actually giving you a general idea of what to do. More of an adventure game in complexity, really. Like, dig a hole to find a key, find three ingredients for a potion, etc. The Egyptian area, though, can burn in digital Heck. I don't think ANYONE has managed to solve one particular puzzle in Egypt legit.

Yeah, doesn't help that the hints are wrong :P Obviously, either the designers or programmers had some kind of miscommunication between themselves back then.

But you can just brute force it (I did). You can get one half correctly from the hints (that one seemed obvious to me,) and then it's just a matter of trying the 12 options on the other half.

I had more trouble with the breakable wall not breaking the fist time I tried hitting it and then spending hours running around before I just randomly tried hitting it again and it broke for some reason :/

I definitely support the suggestion that Hexen II handles its puzzles rather better than does Hexen I.

Where the latter might tell you that you've "completed 1 part of the puzzle", or that "a door has opened somewhere" (or something to similar effect), Hexen II either has related elements close by each other, or otherwise gives specific, useful hints (even in-engine camera-cutaways at times).

I did find two problems with the puzzles in Hexen II, I will say:

First, there seems to be no available reminder of where anything is. In particular, no map that I found, let alone one annotated with things like location-names or locked doors.

Thus, while I might know that I was supposed to go back to some place or another, I might not remember where that place was, leaving me wandering for a bit.

And second--and especially in Blackmarsh, the first hub--there are a few items that don't give much indication of where they're supposed to go. Specifically, there are a few keys encountered, and no inventory-labels given for them to remind the player of what they're supposed to go to.

Still, I do think that I found the puzzling in Hexen II far less tiresome than that in Hexen I!

So, in short, if you're finding the puzzling found in Hexen I to be unpleasant, I would suggest nevertheless trying Hexen II: I think that it improves that aspect.

Wow, this was... unexpected. I've decided to try finish it with walkthrough, but actually had a bit of a problem, in which place I am. But it turned out, that all I had to do was... Going out of the level I currently was, back to the main hub, and... Main gate were ready to be opened, and exit was very close.

In fact, it turns out that I've even made almost every step to reach secret level (only things I had left to do was gathering torch).

It was a bit unexpected, but I'm happy that I've decided to return to this game anyway. Seems like I was doing better than I've thought.

On the other hand - still can't say that I like this cryptic model with multi-tracking (comments after pullling levers/etc are not always that helpful), but at least I can now try second hub and see if I'm managing better or not.

Thanks a lot for everyone who gave there opinion/advices, I'm glad that you've convinced me to return to Hexen :)

As someone who played these games as a kid and replayed them a few years ago - hard disagree. In particular the "Egypt" hub is brutal when it comes to puzzles.

People saying the Hexen 2 puzzles are less demanding... what? They're much more about finding small specific objects to combine into other weird objects for purposes that are relatively obscure. Hexen 1 was a key/switch hunt.
To OP: After the Seven Portals hub it gets a little bit easier, not only because you will (hopefully) have stocked up on resources, but also because the puzzles aren't as obscure. The one I had the biggest problem with in Hexen 1 was the Guardian of Steel switches, but I was only 10 years old, so...
Which class did you pick OP?

I've picked Cleric, so far it's not bad, aside from rather mediocre melee weapon, at this moment I've got his two other weapons (serpent staff and firestorm), so it's not bad. At this moment I'm in the second hub, which on the one hand seems to be less "multiple paths", but at the same time has harder to find portals to new levels.

I'm especially confused about that building which suddenly starts to launch fireballs and poison darts, I'm not even sure if there is anything worth to explore at my point, after I've found there firestorm (so far I've visisted one level, gathered there one key, then solved the "puzzle" with unlocking entrance in the part of hub with weird tower in the middle).My luck - when I've done the last thing, game crashed (I'm using gzdoom), so I have to "unlock" it again, but now at least I know how to do it. Will see, how will go my progress further.

I guarantee you that there is something to explore, nothing is weird in Hexen without reason (as far as I remember...). I think Cleric becomes really enjoyable, especially after Firestorm. His fourth weapon is also the most powerful and fun in the game IMO. All classes have their charm though.
Last time I played through it, it became a nice little one-two hour adventure every other evening. Plenty of puzzles I could not remember and enjoyed discovering again. I think you can really appreciate the creativity in the level design and what they did with the engine.

Hexen 1 has simpler puzzles, it's true--but they're far more cryptic. You may be told that a door opened somewhere--but not where. Or that you've completed 1/xth of the puzzle, with little more information. And so on.

Hexen 2 has more complex puzzles, but they're clearer: A music-sheet goes with a pipe-organ. Raw glass goes with a grindstone. And so on. And where they're less straightforward, they either tell you what they want, or show a cutaway indicating what they did.

Naturally, much of this will vary from individual to individual: what one person finds intuitive another might find far from it, and vice versa.

Speaking for myself, I'll happily take Hexen 2 puzzles over Hexen 1 puzzles, I do believe.

I agree with this point; the H2 puzzles actually will tell you what you are looking for; the contrary is something I find quite charming about H1, it feels like a good old fantasy adventure where everything is hidden and buried, there is a nice mystic charm to it. H1 feels a bit more deserted, ancient ruin like; while H2 feels more populated. Neither are bad points. I guess most who enjoy H1 will enjoy H2 and vice versa.

I will say though that when you turn a switch that affects some place, usually it refers back to something that changes in the current hub, and it is often clear once you see it. But I guess by now OP has either embraced it or capitulated.

That's very fair, all. This is, I daresay, very much a "personal taste"/"how your mind works" thing: the puzzles in Hexen I will be more natural and/or appealing to some than others, and similarly the puzzles in Hexen II. ^_^

Hexen 1 is not so bad once you get to know it XD I finished it several times and last on hardest difficulty and almost always got stuck a bit somewhere... Specially in hub 3,Heresiarch's Seminary. Kinda a semi open area, you have to look for some gems in a hub filled with switches and secrets... Hexen even sometimes hides puzzle parts in secrets if i remember, a bit dicky move but... eh.

And in 4th hub i think there are some odd or buggy event triggers... Almost made me quit few times. If i remember correctly after the dungeon key or axe key door.

I don't blame you for givin up... Atm goin through hexen 1, expansion and i think it's even worse and harder... I think it was the same with Heretic's expansion.
It's basically if you want more Hexen 1 but harder. Specially in Locus Requiescat where those damn reviers spawn constantly (apparently they spawn in waves and can be eventually cleaned out) and doin puzzles around them.

Tryin to go through it on hardest difficulty with a mage cause if game wants to cheese so will I.
Not sure if you can sequence brake puzzles but also got stuck and gonna skip it for now and move to hexen 2. Other than egypt and a bit the roman hub, it's way better.

If you have the will and time, it kinda helps to lower the game audio and put a podcast or such in the background and just search away and get lost in the levels till you find stuff.

You pull a lever, "somewhere something in one of the levels has changed. Have a look around and try to find what it was." Thanks Hexen :P