Most enemies exist in several varieties: some have additional range attacks, others have ghost forms and are impervious to certain weapons. Enemies include gargoyles, golems, undead knights, sorcerers, ophidian beasts and more. Keys must be found and buttons pressed to advance. The goal in each level is to find the exit, killing everything standing in one's way. Every episode consists of nine levels, one of them a hidden one. The hunt for D'Sparil begins in the City of the Damned, continues in the alternate dimension of the Hell's Maw and comes to an end in The Dome of D'Sparil. Like DOOM, Heretic consists of three distinct episodes, playable in any order, the first being available as shareware. It uses the engine from id Software's DOOM and transplants that game's first person shooter gameplay into a fantasy setting. Heretic is the first game in the Heretic / Hexen franchise. Now, one of the last remaining Sidhe must take the fight to D'Sparil himself, being the only hope his world has left. The retribution is swift and hard, and most of the elves are destroyed. He sends the armies of the Seven Kings against the Sidhe, who have no choice but to extinguish the Seven Candles, vanquishing the armies. With most of their work done, the two elder Riders leave, leaving only D'Sparil, the youngest and weakest Rider, behind to oversee the oppression. Only the ancient Sidhe elves are immune to the Riders' influence, which led to them being branded heretics. Their mysterious power makes people obey and follow them like sheep. The world has been attacked by the three Serpent Riders from the Abyss.

Heretic game powerups