Nearly 30 years later, Hexen II Is getting a surprisingly big upgrade

Hexen II is getting another way to run on modern PCs, with Hexenwail bringing a new OpenGL renderer, updated controls and a wider range of graphics settings to Raven Software’s 1997 fantasy shooter. Built on the Hammer of Thyrion engine, the project focuses on the technical side of the game, from how it draws environments to how players configure their keyboards, controllers and displays. It’s a fairly substantial update. Hexenwail introduces OpenGL 4.3 rendering, support for contemporary operating systems and an expanded settings menu. There’s Steam Deck support, too, alongside options for custom game content and alternative soundtracks.

Hexen II was never a typical fantasy shooter

Raven Software released Hexen II in 1997, with id Software handling publishing duties. The game followed Heretic and Hexen, trading conventional military shooter settings for a fantasy campaign built around magic, melee weapons, character classes and environmental puzzles.

It ran on a modified version of the Quake engine, but its structure differed from id Software’s first-person shooter. Players explored interconnected levels, collected experience points and developed their characters through combat.

Four playable classes offered different approaches to fighting: Paladin, Crusader, Necromancer and Assassin. Each came with its own weapons and abilities, giving players a choice of combat styles across the campaign.

The story followed the conflict with Eidolon, the final Serpent Rider, across settings inspired by medieval Europe, ancient Egypt, Mesoamerica and classical antiquity. Its Portal of Praevus expansion arrived in 1998, introducing new content and a fifth playable class, the Demoness. Hexenwail keeps the original game structure intact. Its changes concern the engine running underneath it.

A new OpenGL renderer changes how Hexen II runs

The biggest technical addition is Hexenwail’s OpenGL 4.3 renderer, which replaces older fixed-function rendering methods with programmable shaders. The engine uses batched world rendering and hardware-instanced models to reduce rendering overhead. It features improved depth-buffer precision, addressing technical limitations associated with older 3D graphics systems.

For players, there’s a broader selection of display settings. Hexenwail supports multisample anti-aliasing, FXAA and anisotropic texture filtering, alongside adjustable brightness, contrast and exposure. Rendering resolution can be set anywhere between 25 and 100 per cent of the selected display resolution, offering more control over performance and image quality.

Other options include shader-based fog, underwater distortion, transparent water, skyboxes and adjustable lighting. Preset display modes provide different combinations of graphics settings, including configurations closer to the original game’s appearance. External texture support permits replacement artwork for environments, models and interface elements without changing the original level geometry.

Better controls for modern PCs and handhelds

Hexenwail uses SDL3 for input and platform support, bringing updated keyboard, mouse and controller functionality to Hexen II. WASD movement and mouse aiming come configured by default. The engine supports scan-code-based keyboard bindings, which accommodate alternative keyboard layouts, including AZERTY.

There’s a revised menu system with mouse interaction, searchable configuration options and adjustable interface scaling. Players can change field of view, set frame-rate limits and configure mouse filtering without editing configuration files manually.

Controller support covers Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo gamepads. Analogue-stick settings, rumble functionality and automatic device detection are included. Hexenwail offers several heads-up display layouts, making the interface more adaptable to different screen sizes. These options extend to handheld PC configurations, including the Steam Deck.

Mod support and more audio options

Hexenwail provides an integrated mod selection menu for launching additional Hexen II content. The engine supports multiple game protocols and expanded entity limits, accommodating modifications with more complex environments and gameplay systems. Supported projects include Wheel of Karma and Storm over Thyrion.

Players can maintain separate configuration settings for individual modifications and select installed content through the interface rather than changing launch parameters manually. The audio system has received attention, too. Hexenwail supports OGG Vorbis, Opus, MP3, FLAC and WAV files, alongside MIDI playback and several tracker music formats. Players can use alternative soundtracks and custom map music without depending exclusively on the original CD audio arrangement.

Where Hexenwail runs and what you’ll need

Hexenwail supports 64-bit Windows and Linux, with Linux installation options including Flatpak and Nix. A browser-based version is available, offering local game-data import and offline operation after installation. The desktop renderer requires OpenGL 4.3-compatible graphics hardware.

Hexenwail doesn’t include the commercial Hexen II game files, so playing the complete campaign requires data from a legitimate installation. A separate three-level demonstration version is available through the project’s installation tools.

It’s an alternative engine implementation rather than a remake. Hexen II’s campaign, character classes, weapons and level design remain in place, with Hexenwail concentrating on the graphics, controls, audio and compatibility options surrounding the original game.

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