Heretic + Hexen (2025 version) review

Warning this is going to be an lengthy review blog entry. Please take as many breaks as humanly possible.

Hello everyone I'm XboxClown89, I had a strong gut feeling. Nightdive would follow Doom + Doom II with Heretic + Hexen. Funny enough, shadow dropped at the same convention the following year. They released Heretic + Hexen with if you own older versions on Steam or GOG. You automatically own the newest version plus it's on Game Pass.

Heretic (1994)

Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders (1996)

Heretic: Fate Renewed (2025)

Heretic is virtually a more fantasy classic Doom style game. Just like the first two Doom games. Heretic broken up into five episodes with the later two episodes from it's expansion. I felt there's some rather impressive map designs. Some of them simply blew me away. The enemies to a degree will remind you of several Doom enemies.

The same also can be said for comparing the weapons. Heretic in all honestly isn't that different from Doom. You could even say you're actually playing those with newer, fantasy theme levels. I am not kidding it feels nearly identical. I would even say it's among the best Doom clones I ever played!!! I have reasons to prefer Blood, Duke 3D & Killing Time over this.

You got to find three different colored keys. I really liked each key has a notably different design. This also was among the first FPS games to have aiming if you could believe that. Heretic was created on a modded Doom engine. You can expect a lot of enemies getting often overwhelmed. Some levels are virtually packed with em it's ridiculous.

I may not finished the classic DOS version before playing this. What I did play I can confirm they absolutely nailed it!!! We aren't even talking about mod support done similar to Doom + Doom II either. The maps now featured key items that pops up at you. Now this was a rather nice touch. You likely going to get lost in these levels.

This small change heavily impacts the game play. There's some creativity within the levels. I can confirm it does just enough differently to stand out from Doom. Sure you can expect similar ambushes to occur. Some rather cool secrets you could discover. The bosses do stand out in their own unique way. Like Duke Nukem 3D, some of them later becomes recurring enemies.

I do wanna say Heretic: Fate Renewed is among the best newer campaigns Nightdive done. This is already among my favorites without question. This by itself justifies playing this newer version. Several aspects of it does feel just enough of the older episodes to fit in properly. Heretic is a game better to take slower than then rushing in.

They also added a few new enemies. Both can be rather annoying at times. You get these mummy guys that fire projectiles faster than other enemies. The huge charging club guys are the worst. When you're in a tight area with limited options. Just imagine a small room filled with em be like? Of course modding for these games I wouldn't be surprised someone already done that.

There's a new weapon that's rather hidden. Yes there's an achievement/trophy finding it as well. The boss is virtually the main antagonist again nothing special. I still say check this new Heretic episode out soon. You may be surprised how great this campaign actually is. Some of my favorite maps within Heretic without question.

Simply going slower prevents many bad situations from happening. You also get some traps including ambushes that's difficult to survive. I'm glad this isn't Shadow Warrior or Quake being so critical about those. I am playing this with a controller done perfectly. Plus they even included particular stuff you pick up.

You can customize your controls to directly use that item. Which is pretty amazing Doom + Doom II or none of the previous FPS remasters they done has that!!! Heretic has a good level of challenge that could be overwhelming for some. I would recommend playing on one of the easier difficulties. These games can get rather brutal on harder difficulties especially Hexen.

Some may also carefully follow a video guide. I will confess I barely done that with playing all of Heretic. I also chosen to play all of that without cheats. I wanted to give Heretic more proper respect. I can also say they made sure the enemies aren't too tanky either. For those not familiar with the term don't worry I'll explain.

Some of these older FPS games like Killing Time on harder difficulties. Virtually made enemies have higher health. To the point you could risk running out of ammo trying to kill an handful of enemies. I greatly appreciate they fixed that problem. Heretic is a classic for FPS fans needs to play. I also played with the newer soundtrack absolutely amazing!!!

Hexen (1995)

Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel (1996)

Hexen: Vestiges of Grandeur (2025)

Hexen is technically a bit of an indirect sequel. Although along with Hexen II, these games with their expansions makes up the Serpent's Rider trilogy. Heretic II which isn't currently available on any service takes place after all that. Back to Hexen, you get a choice to play as one of three classes. Each of them has a notably different experience.

For reference I fully played through Hexen as Fighter. Whose the most direct in combat with little to no magic. The other two default classes are heavily magic theme. Maybe I just wanna feel like a beast ripping apart enemies. There's another critical change to help differ it from Heretic. Similar to Quake II and Kingpin: Life of Crime, Hexen broken up into several hubs.

Basically each hub is a few levels that's all connected to each other. Which does allow back tracking through em. After awhile this can get rather tedious. I also felt some of the later hubs ended up being more straight forward. I also felt the enemies differ more than in Heretic. Let's put it this way if you were struggling in Heretic.

Here's something I picked up within a couple hours playing Hexen. One hub felt like two to three episodes of Heretic in scale. In a sense that means Hexen may have fewer levels than Heretic. At the same time, Hexen levels are impressively quite larger. Some of them are some of the most complex levels from the 90s I ever seen!!!

Don't even bother trying Hexen this game can get rather brutal at times. I confessed I played these on one of the easier difficulties. The actual levels are among the finest on Doom engine I ever seen. No really there's some rather impressive level designs here. Keep in mind, I'm only talking about the main game right now.

I also absolutely love the animations. Like when you throw an hammer at a long distance towards enemies. It's so satisfying when they die from that attack. Which also another achievement/trophy I didn't know about before I ended up getting true story. There's a couple bosses with the most being in the final hub no surprise right?

There's some clever puzzles that even puts the finest I seen in Heretic to shame. I won't disrespect Heretic like many people currently doing right now. You easily could confuse Doom II for the original Doom. But here it's impossible to confuse the two games. In all honestly, they do so many things incredibly differently.

The maps are great with key items being a little more notice. Not the same way as Heretic within the same compilation though. Then again you get a larger variety of key items than simply three keys respectively. Hexen is a game that blew my mind the deeper I went into it. This game is truly amazing in what it does.

I also love cut scenes from it's console ports are used. Instead of it's original in game text of what's going on. I should point out Heretic in this compilation it's the first time it's on consoles. This would be the fourth time Hexen gotten onto them. Also being one of a couple games to be on PlayStation 1, Nintendo 64 and Sega Saturn respectively.

There's a huge learning curve I won't sugar coat about that. Even carefully following a video guide. I actually ended up playing a few sections blind. I still ended up finishing the game though. I just missed out on a hidden level in the final hub. Up to a point I thought this was one of the essential levels. Until I found access to the last tomb I needed to explore.

Hexen really put in so much effort to stand out from Doom. It's sorta like Killing Time being more of an open world game. The major difference is Killing Time didn't do the hubs concept. Although this going to feel a lot like that. I do like every major levels has something important you gotta do. Some of them you are going after important key items to help get you closer to the bosses.

The final hub makes you face three bosses oddly similar to the characters you play as. Speaking of your characters, originally which class you chosen that's all you get in a run. Thankfully they added a new feature allowing you to swap between the classes. Which is a rather cool feature indeed. The final boss I gotta be honest was a bit disappointing.

I had more trouble dealing with a lot of enemies than the actual boss himself. His attacks were quite easy to counter as well as predict. Hexen took me a couple hours to get through. I would say a worthy sequel that deserves more respect. This game does nearly everything better than Heretic. At the same time with it's major changes to be more of an unique experience than a Doom clone.

Hexen can get confusing if you are playing all of this blind. I strongly recommend using a great guide written or video. You still may get a little confused though. I sure did at times having to figure out what I missed while watching this video guide I used. Hexen is a game more enjoyable if you use cheats. Without em Hexen can be rather stressful at times.

Just when you thought Heretic gave you a lot of enemies lol. Now that's child's play to the later sections of Hexen. This was a surprisingly ambitious FPS game for it's time. Somehow it held up amazingly well. Hexen can truly be a lot of fun once you know what you're doing. Easily among the best Doom engine games I ever played!!!

Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel felt like Spear of Destiny's Mission Packs. Except it was done way better!!! There's three hubs that felt like the original five shorten but also made tougher. If you were great at the main game. This was meant to challenge your determination. Some aspects of the expansion was used in the 90s console ports.

Like many 90s expansion packs you will face the same bosses again. I actually felt they were made surprisingly a little easier. Not necessary being push overs you still can easily lose em. It's a bit weird the second major boss fight being a lot sooner within the second hub. This also had some of my favorite levels in the compilation by far.

This is among the best 90s expansions for an FPS game I ever played!!! I was mostly playing as Fighter I'm gotten very used to at this point. I have trouble playing the other two classes. The key items are virtually the same as the main campaign. Don't worry this campaign offers plenty of surprises. Don't disturb Eric's Tomb it'll kill ya lol.

I'm actually serious I done that then quick save. Which kept leading to deaths until I realized. Thank god for auto saves indeed. This restart as soon as I reentered this level. Which means I had to do a lot of stuff again. I did end up finishing the second hub not long after that. In every Hexen campaign, your overall time is clocked from start to finish.

I guess it's up to you which you prefer. A lot of levels but each one having their own times or every level counted altogether? Hexen is like more medieval Doom before they actually done that!!! I gotta be honest this was quite an impressive remaster. Hexen was a true challenge but they done a lot of games through KEX Engine.

They just recently announced Outlaws out of no where. Before this was System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster. You can tell how much these games truly made to Nightdive. Of course, a lot of older fans were quite happy with their work. Hexen is easily among the most mind blowing I played. We still haven't talked about it's new episode yet.

The final boss for Deathkings of the Dark Citadel. It turns out to be the three similar bosses to your classes. Plus a lot of enemies within waves while the main section kept going down. Following each wave until you gain access to the final portal. This is among the most challenging sections in the entire compilation game.

Hexen: Vestiges of Granduer is like that but all rolled into one huge hub. It's a bit ridiculous every major key item appears in this new campaign. Somehow these levels are truly amazing stuff. Just when you thought they couldn't do anything more. They kept finding ways to constantly surprise you. This almost fell like you're playing the main campaign within one section.

Obviously you can save then pick it up later. But what I actually meant is you got so much to memorize. I wouldn't blame you if your head already having an pounding head ache. Even prior to attempting this campaign. If you were quite confused before. Well get ready for more of that. This newer campaign is easily one of the finest I ever seen within a newer version of an FPS game.

Even comparing it to Heretic's new episode. This is even better than that I'm not kidding. If Hexen already had you begging for mercy. Don't even bother playing the expansion or this new campaign. Hexen more likely wipe the floor with ya. This also has a lot of back tracking. Thankfully it's just one hub this time around.

You get to face all the bosses again with a few more encounters than I expected. The same final boss of the main campaign. I kinda felt he was a little easier here. This newer campaign really didn't disappoint in the slightest. I'm really impressed Nightdive pulled all of this off!!! Hexen is going to stand out for years to come.

Conclusion

Heretic + Hexen is a worthy spiritual successor to Doom + Doom II. Heretic is virtually just like the first two Doom games. Just more of a fantasy theme with some minor changes. It's not what I personally call they took something. Repainted then called it something else. It just plays incredibly similar to those Doom games.

At the same time, it does just enough to help stand out from them. More true regarding Hexen a vastly different beast in comparison. They heavily expanded on stuff from Heretic. In nearly every possible way Hexen is superior. Heretic is a bit easier to play as well as figuring stuff out. Hexen is more about overwhelming multiple ways.

Testing to see how well you adopt to many situations. The later Hexen campaigns can be quite unforgiving at times. Originally I was going to clearly follow video guides. I ended up figuring stuff out to a degree on my own. Once in awhile I looked them up through guides. Hexen is Heretic on a lot of magic steroids!!!

Heretic can pack in enemies but that's child's play to Hexen!!! This is among the most insane amount of enemies not including respawning enemies. Which I didn't activate that option to clarify. I possibly seen in an FPS game for a long time. It's not very endgame Serious Sam overwhelming though. This felt like one hub could've been an entire classic Doom campaign.

If that doesn't tell you it's a lot of enemies. I'm afraid I don't have anything else. Nightdive really knocked this out the park. Even if I didn't get this free I'll still love this!!! This is currently among my favorites they done. I slightly prefer Killing Time: Resurrected, Doom + Doom II and Quake II respectively.

What this does have over Doom + Doom II is more consistent level designs. It's no secrets a lot of campaigns within that were made by a lot of people. You can clearly tell how their levels differs from each other. All Heretic levels felt just about right. All Hexen levels felt truly amazing possibly mind blowing at best.

I do enjoy the newer soundtrack as well. You get five campaigns filled with greatness!!! Some of the finest 90s levels I ever played within the genre. The two newer campaigns are among my favorites in Nightdive remasters to date. Especially Hexen: Vestiges of Granduer it's a must play. Sure the expansions felt like some concepts get reused.

Somehow you quickly realize the developers had ideas to keep it refreshing. I do love using the maps with Hexen having a lot of key items. It's truly amazing they packed in this much content. It's technically fewer than some of their FPS remasters. But for what this is you already going to spend hours playing.

If I had to pick my favorite campaigns on top of my head. Both the newer campaigns and Hexen's main campaign respectively. To be fair, all of Heretic prior to that new campaign was solid as well. But as soon as you get deep into Hexen you sorta forget about it. The best possible way to explain it is simply experience both of them yourself to witness the changes yourself.

My least favorite campaign was Hexen's Deathkings of the Dark Citadel by far. As an expansion it does live up to the challenge. Just imagine the main Hexen campaign shorten with increased difficulty. You really don't wanna start this compilation with that!!! This expansion can be rather unforgiving. Possibly causing rage quitting to a degree or flat out giving up altogether.

This is a great game to get your anger out in as well. Especially using cheat codes in Hexen just to make yourself feel a little better. Hexen is a major step up from Heretic. Heretic is a great starting point when playing this compilation game. You really don't wanna start things in Hexen you'll be sorry!!! I do have a few notable complaints despite being more minor than anything else.

Parts of saving your process can be a little confusing. I actually had a few times my saves didn't work. Thank god auto saving got me through that. Then auto saves are directly following which save you're currently working on. Let's say you were working between two campaigns. Which I confessed I was regarding Hexen's expansion and newer campaign.

I made the mistake of overwriting my auto save when I didn't want to. The good news I was able to prevent fully losing process with one of those campaigns. The bad news is I ended up starting a new game on the final hub section of the expansion. Which ended up being a huge mistake. As previously stated Hexen doesn't take kindly to you at all.

Back tracking is not as much of the experience for Heretic than it is for Hexen. Some people may get turn off by all the back tracking. Hexen also has some of the most complex maps I ever seen in the genre. You may wanna consider following an guide. Even the biggest maps in Heretic pales to comparison to the smaller sections within hubs for Hexen.

With the possible exception of areas right before you fully enter the hub sections. Which are a bit of a nice size despite things. In Heretic, process is strictly within levels. In Hexen, procession is shared across hubs. Which could end up being very over whelming at times. I also confessed I even gotten burnt out over this.

I took a few days before I came back to finish the last two Hexen campaigns. All these campaigns will take several hours combine to get through without cheating. I really felt in most aspects they done a truly fantastic job with this remaster. I actually wanna play their remaser of Hexen 2 in the near future. I highly recommend checking out Heretic + Hexen.

Bonus

Usually I would've ended by finishing off my review. But I figured since I did predict this remaster coming from the same convention being Quakecon. I felt I should do another prediction on the spot. I kept coming back to Return to Castle Wolfenstein remaster. Which also could include console exclusive content.

My second guess would've been Wolfenstein 3D + Spear of Destiny. Possibly adding more levels on top of that is already insanity. The main reason I felt Return to Castle Wolfenstein being the more likely option. Wolfenstein 3D is currently available on many services right now. Some of those added in Spear of Destiny that includes the two terrible Mission Packs.

If they really wanna wow people this Wolfenstein remaster could be it. Return to Castle Wolfenstein I felt deserves such an treatment. They even brought back PO'ed of all things. Sure why not bring this back too? I really felt with the right changes this could be the greatest Wolfenstein game in years. I don't think it's going to be Quake IV yet.

My thoughts on Death Battle: Hulk vs Godzilla

I took some extra time to think about this.

Hello everyone I'm XboxClown89, a day after my tenth wedding anniversary. It was great for anyone wondering we ended up getting this!!! For an episode I really didn't want. Somehow they made the actual episode much worst than I possibly imagine. I won't sugar coat exactly how I feel about this Death Battle episode.

For starters, I personally didn't care for Hulk's appearance. I know it came from Marvel Rivals, a popular licensed online multiplayer. Even I confessed a lot more characters looked way better than Hulk in that. I actually prefer his look in Hulk vs Broly over this. Ultimately his original 3D model in Hulk vs Doomsday was my favorite.

Godzilla has some decent models during the fight. I actually wasn't crazy for the fight song. Usually that's among a few things I like within my least favorite episodes. Let's be honest that song doesn't care to Hulk's previous fight songs on the show. This ended up becoming one of those episodes that left me too many questions with not enough answers.

Obviously they went the distance with nearly using every major version of both characters. A route I deeply criticized even back in Tournament of Champions. I am now glad I voted for Spike vs Revy over this!!! Somehow I felt virtually the same as Spawn vs Ghost Rider. I know what I'm about to say is quite rude.

I felt some of their researchers I question how they view things. Indirectly some episodes ended up becoming worser than the exact opposite overtime. For me, this was one of many cases the researchers let me down. In a way I'm glad Hulk won so I didn't have to hear them saying. "Oh Hulk just a bigger human concept."

In another way I suppose I should've been a bit happy Hulk won. In all honestly I heavily criticize how they reached their conclusion. They played off a ridiculous concept with one notable flaw in their entire argument. Hulk had to kept dying while hitting Godzilla with a particular device that's an gauntlet repeatedly.

Now wouldn't this mean every death Hulk gotten simply delayed the inevitable? You gotta remember Godzilla can absorb radiation. Therefore, in theory every single time Hulk dies like that. Godzilla should've kept getting more Gamma radiation to delay the process of ending him for good. They even given Godzilla his Ultima factor that's truly ridiculous.

This by itself even directly stated by them should've made how Hulk won impossible. The best simple way of explaining this it's rather complex well as a bit confusing. Ultima Godzilla exists across an multiverse. As long as the Entity exists, it's avatars being Godzilla can easily come right back. Now going back to what I was just saying.

The Green Door may ultimately gets it's power from an dimension outside multiversal reach of the Entity. At the same time, it would be possible for the Entity to reach it through Hulk instead. Not only that, the Green Door has limits. Indirectly they just confirmed they were wrong about Hulk vs Broly. They stated if Hulk couldn't come back to one universe.

He could've been sent to another universe instead. Which by itself would've made the ending to Hulk vs Broly inaccurate. Hulk may have limitless strength with a few characters failed to test him. Hulk still has some limitations to a degree. Keep in mind going this route both being truly ridiculous. I'm very surprised Godzilla wasn't given toon force from a particular cartoon version.

In a weird way I felt they made Hulk win. Simply to make Hulk fans happier. He previously loss two fights. One of which he should've won Death Battle!!! It almost felt like Aang vs Edward Elric in that regard. I know a bit of an controversial statement. In a way you also could've said that about Shadow vs Ryuko.

Except Shadow actually would win in a fight against her. They did get Shadow vs Mewtwo quite wrong. I'm very up for a rematch on that one. I knew Vegeta was too much for him. Just glad people don't want an remaster of that episode. Hulk vs Godzilla technically is slightly better than Shadow vs Mewtwo.

Of course that's not really saying much at all. It's more or less a slight preference than anything else. In a different term it doesn't suck as close as bad in comparison. I never went into Hulk vs Godzilla with actual hype. I'm personally glad I never did now. If I had any they easily would've been broken. The level of disappointment I could've had would've been much bigger!!!

It's virtually like you waited all year for Christmas. You're dying in hopes to get the one present you wanted all year long. But among opening your last present you don't get it at all. You would've been lucky to not be given coal for Christmas instead. In this particular case, I rather had my socking filled up with coal than watching this Death Battle episode again!!!

In a text they heavily down played Godzilla's crossovers with DC and Marvel respectively. Assuming those versions of the characters being a bit tone down. I still think Godzilla destroying both all star super hero teams an truly amazing achievement. Obviously the more recent Marvel crossovers were ignored.

I was partly expecting Hulk Godzilla or one of Hulk's Hulk characters to show up. Yes believe it or not, Hulk has his own Hulk inside of him. Which might be confusing to some to take in. You also gotta realize Banner has a lot of multiple personalities. Suddenly such an concept makes sense. I actually felt Godzilla was notably better portrayed.

The actual fight animation was a little better than expected. But again I really prefer Hulk's previous fights. I even prefer Godzilla vs Gamera over this. Seriously what's about the multiverse concept ruining everything recently? Honestly, I should've known this was going to be an over complex episode. Research wise it's technically better than Madara vs Aizen.

I still felt episodes like Obito vs Vader better researched than this!!! I was a little surprised most categories were a tie. Although considering both their track records it makes perfect sense. These two are truly amazing power house characters. If I gotta be more brutally honest. This reminded me of a much better similar concept episode.

Reverse-Flash vs Goku Black which was done to perfection!!! Virtually no questions left unanswered with everything else done just right. This was similar because both had to figure a way to break the loop. Then ultimately taking out their opponent for good concept. I always knew I wasn't going to like this episode.

End of the day I don't hate Godzilla by any means. He just one of those characters you gotta be prefer which versions you like. Zilla is not Godzilla even Toho agrees. This episode actually gotten me a bit heated. Saitama vs Popeye which also was a truly ridiculous episode was done way better!!! At least I could be happy Popeye won that!!!

I mean wow Death Battle if it's not every other episode. It's more every two to three episodes I felt like this. Your research just isn't consistent anymore. I also felt they went too hard in both their analyze sections especially Godzilla's. Not even half way through his. I strongly felt oh okay Death Battle that's enough!!!

It's almost like they either trying to prove an point or they wanted to freak people out more. Simply going really over board with how truly broken Godzilla or rather this composite version is. The worst part is I only was interested in seeing what's going to be the next episode. I didn't like we had to wait an extra week for this either.

I will say this though I'm quite excited for Ruby vs Maka!!! Now that's going to be well worth the wait. Hulk vs Godzilla to me just wasn't even worth discussing with my friends in all honestly. It's sad I don't even wanna to talk about it with them. It's not my least favorite episode of the season. Currently it's among them right now.

My thoughts on the final lineup for Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection

Hello everyone I'm XboxClown89, yesterday they finally confirmed the reminder of the lineup for Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection. I also wanna talk about the additional stuff they revealed since then. I actually gotta a lot to discuss here. I'm still quite hyped for this upcoming compilation game.

The lineup for Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection

Mortal Kombat 

Arcade

Mortal Kombat

SNES

Mortal Kombat

Sega Genesis

Mortal Kombat

Game Boy

Mortal Kombat

Game Gear

Mortal Kombat II

Arcade

Mortal Kombat II

SNES

Mortal Kombat II

Sega Genesis

Mortal Kombat II

Game Boy

Mortal Kombat II

Sega 32X

Mortal Kombat 3

Arcade

Mortal Kombat 3

SNES

Mortal Kombat 3

Sega Genesis

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

Arcade

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

WaveNet (Arcade)

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

SNES

Mortal Kombat Trilogy

PS1

Mortal Kombat 4

Arcade

Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero

PS1

Mortal Kombat: Special Forces

PS1

Mortal Kombat Advance

GBA

Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance

GBA

Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition

GBA

They stated they haven't figured out how to emulate Sega Dreamcast. I know a lot of MK fans are upset for Mortal Kombat Gold's exclusion. I do think they may add that in eventually. I still felt like those people when MK1 on Sega CD didn't make it in!!!

Look I know it's virtually an updated MK1 Genesis port. This still among the most favorite console ports of the 90s. To me, that not being in there is inexcusable!!! I'm fine they didn't include the other handheld versions of the first three MK games. MK3 in particular for those wasn't great.

Obviously not surprised the two spin off MK games during the Arcade era gotten in. I am glad we can rewind in PS1 games. I don't know if Gex Trilogy started that trend or not. I'm just thankful because I grew up with that Sub-Zero game it's brutal!!!

A lot of the stuff they confirmed is very decent. Actually some of it I didn't even see coming like a mode to practice Fatalities. They also confirmed a regular practice mode as well through social media. I partly remembered stuff about a very rare Arcade version of UMK3.

This version was quite limited to the point. Many MK fans either doesn't even know it existed or simply forgotten about it altogether. One of the earliest MK online gaming experiences if you could believe that. Parts of that concept actually done years later by Arcade 1Up funny enough.

They did release their own MK Arcade cabinet. I recalled seeing it once at Walmart. This version also made Noob Saibot playable. Among his first playable appearances within the franchise for that matter. We are very lucky to get that included. Of course I gotta point out the obvious regarding the lineup.

This was meant to relive the classic MK Arcade era. They even said on their social media the years they were representing. However the GBA games on a few accounts would be against that. For starters Mortal Kombat Advance was 2001 a few years after 1997.

We also getting two altered GBA versions of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. For those not familiar with the franchise. The console version of Deadly Alliance marked the franchise moved away from arcades altogether. My biggest guess why they're in this compilation is they didn't wanna emulate em. A follow up PS2 MK collection knowing those MK games going to be quite an challenge to pull off.

Maybe they were included to make up for some of the most wanted MK games not being included. In a sense we're getting MK 1-5 when it's suppose to be MK 1-4. Mortal Kombat Advance mostly gotten in for a laugh or two. It possibly also gotten in because this was the only opportunity they had with the game.

I love they also included looking up character's stories within the compilation. They also going to break down Midway's Arcade history. I actually felt everything else is absolutely amazing work!!! The lineup is still mostly solid with a few not being great.

Then again I'm simply happy Digital Eclipse making this. Most of them you can play as Scorpion!!! Not sorry MK1 I'm angry about that!!! I do think future paid DLCs going to be quite high demand from people. This is going to be the single most ridiculous MK game I'll ever play period!!!

I'm really happy Sega 32X port of Mortal Kombat II included. I'm even happy MK1 on Sega Game Gear made it in as well. I do like the game selection screen. I even liked you can differ the search for MK games. Like if you wanted to play a particular port you can limit the search to find it.

I also felt two of the last confirmed MK games would've worked better. If the leaks were that bad to ruin their announcement. Also they should've revealed MKT after those along with WaveNet version of UMK3. Which would've been way sicker than they actually done!!!

Where it stands this is currently among games I want the most this year without question. This has so much going for it. I am curious to see how much of the lineup holds up. Not only that I really wanna see the MK team talk about it's history. This is going to end up as my new favorite MK game until the day I die.

My thoughts on trailers for The Toxic Avenger (2023 version)

Hello everyone I'm XboxClown89, I gotta make a short announcement before I get right into things. I'm taking a longer break from Heretic + Hexen. I will confirm I only gotten two hubs left within Hexen portion left to play. Originally I really wanted to wait until I seen The Toxic Avenger (2023 version) movie.

They just kept coming out with trailers recently. Yes I'm caught up with all of them including the retro style trailer a few hours ago. I even watched this promo about an energy drink as well. I also checked I surprisingly didn't review any of the previous Toxic Avenger movies wow!!! I may have to change that very soon.

They kept showing a lot of the same footage. At times we slowly getting to see new footage not shown before. Kevin Bacon being the main antagonist was a nice touch. I didn't even expect Elijah Wood playing the right hand man. I guess The One Ring corrupted him after all lol. I do respect they made a new main character that becomes the Toxic Avenger.

Who cares if he's a bit short!!! This guy ripping up the bad guys like it's nothing. I also respect how closely they wanted to recreate classic Troma style with the franchise. For those not familiar with the franchise it's not for everyone. There's some truly ugly moments with some of the most disgusting in history of cinema.

Literately on a daily basis for the Toxic Avenger. This would be Toxie's five live action movie but sixth overall. Toxic Crusaders show had a movie but that's more of a few episodes edited together. I personally don't consider that a movie neither a true representation of the franchise. In a way Toxie like The Punisher in a few ways.

Both of them hunts down and kills criminals. They also widely known for their brutality. Toxie isn't afraid of taking on a corrupt mayor like in the original movie either. He even took on the devil in another movie yeah!!! Toxie is meant to be a parody towards super heroes. He ended up as a rather unique take on the concept.

Let's put it this way Toxie isn't boring. You would be amaze what this guy could do. Sure it took getting mutated to become an hero. Which might've been inspired by the ninja turtles. Toxie by himself dramatically lower the overall crime rate. Some criminals be luckier to serve out their death sentences than running into him.

I know some might compare him to Captain Planet or similar characters. In terms of clean up after your messes as well as your environments. Toxie just looks like someone you don't question. You simply clean up your mess or else Toxie rips you to pieces literately. This is why I love Toxie so much. He isn't like Deadpool, Michelangelo or The Mask though.

He isn't that kind of an parody super hero. He directly parodies being mutated. Which led to him becoming an super hero despite his appearance should've been freaking people out. Some of the most interesting characters are done just differently enough to stand out on their own. Personally describing the character in a nut shell.

I am kinda hoping Lloyd Kaufman cameos in the movie. This was his baby after all, he should be a part of it. The last live action Toxie movie was Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV back in 2000. We waited twenty five years for a new live action Toxie movie. I already felt this is going to be among the best of them.

Which is quite rare for me to say regarding one of those movies I kept hearing about for years. I'm quite impressed with what was shown within all those trailers. To me, this seems quite faithful to the source material. I do see ways they are differing things to make it their own. Unrated version is going to be a must watch for me.

The reason it took a little longer to hit theaters. Until last year, no movie companies wanted to distribute the film. Considering the franchise it's based on. A lot of big name companies rather distance themselves than taking a huge risk that may not end up well. I'm just glad the movie finally coming out. They sure made Toxie uglier than expected.

I quickly came to like this more than his classic look. Not to say I dislike either appearances myself. But the newer one just more on the lines how I view someone mutated by toxic chemicals. You would expect for someone called Toxic Avenger to be the biggest jerk. He's actually a surprisingly decent person that puts others before himself.

I do wanna talk about his energy drink video. For those that haven't seen the video yet. A small group of guys goes up to a group of ladies. One of them nearly drinks a can of soda. I simply love how Toxie confesses how truly disgusting he is. At the same time, he plays off like he doesn't care. He came to make a great point about the dangers of drinking soda.

In all honestly, the sugar amount is fine. Cafferine could have some affect on your health. There's some acids within those. Which would've been my highest point why not to drink em if I were Toxie. I also liked he doesn't care what he's doing to one of the guys. You might need a barf bag for this. It's a weird educational parody video I liked a lot.

I kept getting more hyped by these trailers to see this Toxie movie!!! Some were more interesting than others within their unique way. So far the newest retro style trailer and uncensored movie trailer among my favorites. This unlikely hero making a huge distance in a corrupt town. It's also crazy two people working together are portraying the character this time around.

It's a bit confusing to explain how that's being done. But I will give respects to both of them for truly pulling off the character well. I know some might call this The Toxic Avenger 2023, Toxie 5 or True Toxicity of Hope something crazy like that. Just going by the trailer I felt this possibly better than the last three Toxie movies including Toxic Crusaders movie.

My favorite before this Toxie movie was surprisingly The Toxic Avenger Part II. Which was a movie with so much footage. The other half of that footage was used to make The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie. I always been a bit funny discussing Toxie 3 though. "Toxie 3 was the devil!!!"

Yes that was a joke inspired by The Waterboy you're welcome. Troma and Full Moon Productions are among the last famous low budget movie companies. I bey Kaufman quite proud they're making a remake among his greatest films. I can't imagine how truly happy this making him. The Toxic Avenger (2023 version) should be a fun time for the right people.

I don't think it's going to be in theaters long. I do think they may get the movie on streaming services sooner than expected. Partly due to the extra time it took getting to theaters. I am quite excited myself we're finally getting a new Toxie movie. Plus Toxic Crusaders game coming later this year. The hype for the character very high right now.

This should be an home run or what Saints Row reboot should've been. These movies were meant to be funny to a degree. You also should expect some truly mess up moments to happen. But the fact we're getting a bigger budget remake speaking volumes. Such an concept didn't exist for a long time. Now we're making history with Toxie once again.

I do think they are going to truly deliver a great Toxie movie. I will personally judge it after I watched the film. This already making me forget about The Crow remake not sorry. I also hope they make a sequel as well. I am rather curious to see where things goes from here. Regardless, if you're willing to take a chance or simply want a different take on super heroes.

You should give this Toxie movie a try. I also love how they're going about the newer Toxie character. You actually have more reason to care about what happens to him. Just based on what's shown in the trailers. Plus, the crazier stuff we get to see him do to the bad guys I love it!!! This even has a huge chance becoming my 2025 Movie of the Year I'm not kidding.

Swords & Souls Legacy Collection (2025) review

Warning this is going to be a rather long blog review post. Please take as many breaks as humanly possible while reading all of this.

Hello everyone I'm XboxClown89, quickly I want to confirm a last minute change. Stuff suddenly came up prior to buying today's compilation game. The original plan was to buy Gex Trilogy for my tenth wedding anniversary. Officially that's moved back for my birthday.

Don't worry I'm going all in when the time comes. In the mean time I hope those about to read this review entry enjoy. You can tell I really wanted to play this compilation game. I figured to literately go in all reviewing it purely out of fun.

I also wanna confirm I didn't just buy it for that one game. This had a rather interesting lineup of games. Swords & Souls Legacy Collection came out mid July on Steam. It's a collection for five classic flash games made by two cousins. The same publisher as Decision Legacy Collection being Armor Games Studios.

Swords & Souls (2015)

I figured to take my sweet time reviewing each game within the collection. I knew exactly which game to kick things off with. Swords & Souls has to be among not only the greatest flash games I ever played. But among the very best games I played period!!! I also will confirmed I did find the original flash game version through Newgrounds website.

It took me a long time to fully completionist that game. I never expected I would do the entire process again. Neither did I expect to do it way faster in comparison. We're talking within twenty fours of my purchase I checked. For me I'm not used to a game that's heavily centered on training.

Usually I find it boring to a degree. Although I do recall some fun similar experiences. Somehow each training section done just right. I personally felt I struggled the most with strikes. You also get to join money to unlock stuff. Some aspects of this reminded me of a game I reviewed earlier this year through GOG.

Chicken Assassin: Reloaded except it's not a clicker style game. Every training section has a few similar variety that's all done incredibly differently. You also can take on the arena for thirty waves. There's a Survival section to keep you replaying the section. You also got to do well enough to unlock the true final boss.

Strength is heavily striking apples at faster paces. Block is using your shield to block apples from hitting you. Accuracy is using a bow for target practice. Dodge is literately all about timing to avoid taking hits. Critical tests your patience to deliver critical damages. I should mention Critical is mostly done through your mouse unlike most of them.

I simply love each training section has different style of controls. Which ended up being a rather unique experience. It's also possible to quickly knock out Combo challenges if you have enough combo build up prior to getting them. I really love the style of using an bow in this as well. Which sorta reminds me of Rambo 3 on Sega Genesis when you face the bosses.

You literately look like you're using a bow in this cool first person style. Hard to believe all those training sections occurs in the same room right? I will confirm some will take a little longer getting a bit better at than others. You just don't know how incredibly addicting these training sections are. The best part is you can do terrible at challenges to still gain experience for those stats.

If you're new to the game you wouldn't know who it is. What if I told you he's been with you the entire time!!! No really this Scarecrow that training you is the real final boss. You also go through several forms of currency as well as equipment. I love there's a few sections to check out what you unlocked. You can buy stuff for your home as well.

My favorite being your equipment that's a rather long room. The controls for the most part are quite decent. I actually don't have a single major issue at all. Even considering at times lag inputs to a degree. It's not entirely game breaking either. I also loved they reference some of the other games within the collection.

Unlike Decision Legacy Collection, they added in a link to Swords & Souls: Neverseen. It's presented on the map screen on the right. I also noticed some animations were notably sped up a bit. It took some time getting use to the speed within training sections. Later unlocking the option to use Turbo Mode for faster variations of them.

You also can use money to include your total bank earnings. When you nearly bought every equipment. At the store there's an option for experience points. Which you'll get for every ten thousand coins. A very large amount of experience points. Although you could get much more through collecting clovers. Clovers often pop up through training.

Clovers among feeding em to a mushroom whose your pet. Randomly gives you stuff with popped animation means nothing. Ideally you can get a lot of free stuff you could use in the arena. You also get quickly get money as well as experience points. Let's put this way a ridiculous amount of clovers. There's a huge chance you'll fly through a few levels at best.

A lot of your enemies seems to be from Rogue Souls series. Including Rogue himself among many opponents. I also noticed a particular hat belonging to the guy in The Soul Driver. The money earning is quite decent for the most part. Personally here's what I recommend to truly get started. Trust me this will be somewhat time consuming but worth it in the end.

Quickly unlock all five training sections. Try to spend a lot of your time training hard. Even if you kept failing challenges. Your additional experience from these sections still helps you out. There's no true ending to the game for anyone wondering. It's mind blowing how truly great this game turned out to be. They really went the distance with this!!!

This by itself earned enough respect it's much more than an flash game. No it's a game you really should play before you die. If it's not on your list you may wanna consider adding this soon. I really can not say much more about the game that already haven't been said thousands of times. Seriously if you don't believe please consider giving this a try.

The Soul Driver (2011)

This was SoulGame Studio's first flash game. This was a short but fun driving game. Very quickly some aspects reminded me of other games. For examples, you are mostly getting from point a to point b. But you often deal with cops & mobsters. There's a lot of hazards on the road to test your driving skills. You can collect coins to upgrade your car to a degree.

There's ten levels with the last being easily the most difficult by far. This level goes on a lot longer with the game throwing everything it's got at you. If you do finish the final level be proud. I had to replay this one level a couple times. Luckily they were kind in selecting the five achievements. Don't expect em to be that easy to get though.

A handful of them I took several attempts to get. One in particular I ended up getting during an failed attempt at a challenge. Yes this game also offers an short challenge mode. I just wish they made it clear what the minimum for bronze, silver and gold requirements are? The controls are quite decent with amazing accuracy.

I simply love you get to drive crazy in general. Helicopters drops mines that also can affect other enemies. Huge birds that drops mess in hopes to partially blind you. Considering this was the cousins' first flash game together. It's actually much better than expected. It's simple with just roughly the right level of challenge.

Then again I also felt challenge mode is quite repetitive in comparison. I would have to say my favorite aspect is the animations. Like seeing cop cars crashed into things taking em out is so satisfying. You also get to hit & run people on the road. This would be a great game to start playing the collection with. To me it's more fun than Dash of Destruction.

You know a free XBLA game someone won an Doritos contest to make. Sadly that XBLA game gotten delisted since then. This is notably more satisfying to play. You actually can tell how good some of the upgrades are. I also love you can speed up or use boost. Which you can refill cheap making that a good option.

The Soul Driver is a great time for anyone wanting to cause chaos on the road. The ultimate goal of the game is escape into Mexico. I felt the cousins did a great job designing the game. It may get repetitive to a degree. At the same time get it done will make you quite happy. I highly recommend people check this game.

The Gentleman (2013)

The Gentleman is one of those you gotta adapt to all kind of situations puzzle games. This game will test not only your skills but how creative you can be. Some of these levels with some aspects of the controls taking a little longer getting use to. The learning curve is a very huge one. For the most part you have to unlock doors.

Not like Hotel Mario on CD-i though. Some doors requires keys or surviving until time unlocks em. There's some rather interesting animation. The artwork itself truly stands out within the levels. Can you believe there's fifty levels? Easily one of the most ambitious flash games I ever played!!! Thankfully you can easily use level select.

Which helps regarding achievement hunting this collection game. The gold times are ridiculously shorter than you expect. The most being thirty seconds notably longer than majority of them. This also confirms most levels aren't long either. There also are a few boss levels as well. I am glad these bosses has a health bar.

A rather huge health bar at that to know my process in them. You can easily fail by getting touched. This is more meant for speed runners than anyone else. Yes it can get repetitive but beating some of the harder levels. In all honestly feels truly amazing when you do so. It actually felt like those were well earned.

Without question one of the most interesting games within the collection. Just right level of creativity within the levels. Very few of them felt a bit similar. But majority of them are vastly different experiences altogether. This game kept blowing my mind how great it truly was. The Gentleman is perfect if you want variety within the game play.

Just expect more towards adapting to the levels than anything else. During an 1st playthrough you won't know what may get thrown your direction. Trust me when I say a lot get thrown to see if you have the skills to win or not. I also love the game points at breaking reality jokes. One of my favorites being "an Gentleman doesn't care about gravity."

Some of these levels are incredibly strict. Even doing the smallest thing wrong forces you to try again. Thank god for limitless chances right? The bosses largely defeated by jumped on their heads. In a weird sense you face one boss twice. But the later variation you face a second, smaller bat with em. Some of them has a very notable learning curve.

The final boss is among the easiest I felt. But considering how frustrating the last few levels are. It's almost like the developers felt bad they made those levels too hard. I won't sugar coat this the hardest game to complete in the collection. It turns out the final boss is this cat you kept seeing through out the game.

Now I see where a similar concept done in Swords & Souls came from. This has the most confusing everything controls within the collection. After you go through portals your controls swapped. Which is rather annoying within games. Timing is insanely critical if you wanna get far in this. You are forced in some of the later levels go in with a huge leap of faith.

Hoping regardless what's in your path you somehow made it through. I will give credit the levels that alter perceptive to a degree are rather cool looking. There's a particular level I absolute dislike with a strong passion. Level 47 is an absolutely nightmare to get through. I tried so many times to get through this level.

I didn't skip any levels at all which had a set number how many you could've skip. I nearly had every level done with gold by the time I finished the game. I guess what I have with the game is a love/hate relationship. I love so much about the game compared what really gotten under my skin. For what it's worth The Gentleman isn't a bad game at all.

This game expects absolute perfection nothing lesser than that. I thought games like Contra series was brutal in comparison. Plus you got to constantly learn things during an 1st playthrough. More than you're actually expecting to make it even harder to finish. I would say this is great if you wanna play something different.

Rogue Soul (2012)

The first Rogue Soul is virtually endless hit & run platformer. There is an ending but you can actually continue after first watching that. The controls are quite decent just roughly where you want em. It's a rogue-like experience with the levels even among after using continues changes. Despite that it's a surprisingly shorter length game within the collection.

I do like you can unlock stuff for your room. A feature later done in Swords & Souls. You play as Rogue who wants to be the most wanted man. There really isn't much of a story at all. What you need to know is unless you have armor. You can fail from taking one hit. It's possible to find more armor around the levels.

It's a rather faster pace game not in the style of Sonic the Hedgehog. I would make a joke but Shadow the Hedgehog game already exists!!! You gotta think fast as well as react nearly as quickly. There's a little of a learning curve regarding some of the enemies. You can give flowers to women that gives you additional jumps.

I love the famous Assassin's Creed style Leap of Faith to end levels on. The actual achievement hunting will take a bit of time after figuring some stuff out. It's quite doable to say the least. I also love you can customize your character to a degree. The developers did a great job making you feel like an actual rogue.

There's virtually no bosses at all. If you actually wanna see the ending to the game. You need to score at least 5000 coins. You can then die to trigger the cutscene. Then a paper gets added to your room allowing you to simply rewatch the ending whenever you want. You do need to get that ending if you wanna attempt the challenges.

This is a game among a first look you would think. "There's no way I could play this!!!" After a few hours stuff becomes second nature to you. In all honestly, this is a good beginner game within the collection. It's just right balance of everything. I should also point you there's a huge possibility of dying a lot as well.

Rogue Soul turned out to be a rather cool game. Screw the fact it originally was an flash game. I believe this deserves more respect than it's getting. You also get a few ways to attack enemies. Including the classic jump on enemies trend. I felt this game held up amazingly well after all these years. Without question make sure you play this one.

Rogue Soul 2 (2014)

Despite the similarities in game play from the first Rogue Soul. This follow up step up huge time here. You get a lot of upgrades that betters your chances. You get ten levels with several objectives. I actually completed all ten fully before I attempted replaying level 10 on an faster setting. Not only you get to customize your character being Rogue again.

You also can unlock additional modes to offer more variety within the game play. You get challenges as well as an Survival mode. There's also Arena which I don't currently have in my save. But I'm a little half way there to getting it though. There's some rogue-like aspects to keep the game interesting. Now when you give ladies a flower.

Several power ups could be given to you. All of them notably helps you out. My two favorites if I had to choose has to be Magnet & Infinite Ammo. Magnet for a short period pulls stuff you can collect. Even at a notable distance while you can keep focusing on finishing the levels. There's a few bosses that all differ from each other.

Thankfully all of them has a health bar with their names included. There's an actual story this time around. Rogue takes on an cult with their leader being the final boss. I simply love his name, Dark Zoul is a play on the game series Dark Souls. Some of the unlockables is references to the other games in the collection.

Yes there's a notable learning curve. It's just not The Gentleman level of strict though. Sometimes you get hit when you felt you shouldn't. Then again you do get a particular upgrade. Where among taking hits at random doesn't register the hit. Instead counts it as you dodge em which is kinda awesome. You can tell they gotten quite creative with this one.

Rogue Soul 2 is a worthy successor. I also love additional jumps as well as parachutes automatically given. This also means you can use em more often than in the first Rogue Soul. Changes like this heavily impacted the game in a great way. In all honestly, it was quite amazing they pulled all of this off so well.

I should point out there's three caged old men you can rescue in the levels. Some of them are quite tricky to get though. I simply love among first finishing a level. Any of the objectives you completed stay done. You have no idea how truly annoying some games can be not doing that. I felt this is easily one of the best games within the collection hands down!!!

Now I wanted to do a quick ranking. You already given enough to go on prior. I am aware some people's lists could differ to a degree. Majority of them will have the same exact number 1!!! All I ask for in return is please don't bitch thank you. This was actually trickier to do than Decision Legacy Collection. I carefully analyze each game before the official ranking was given.

Ranking

5. The Gentleman

4. Rogue Soul 1

3. The Soul Driver

2. Rogue Soul 2

1. Swords & Souls

Conclusion

I finally get to talk about the game selection screen. I personally felt this is simply being too great. I know some may point out it's a little weird the order they were placed. They aren't placed by years or genres either. I really prefer the game selection screen more than Decision Legacy Collection's. Which wasn't bad for what it was either.

There's just something I love so much in comparison here. Each game has an added return to game selection screen option. It's hard to believe I waited for months to play this. I can honestly say I'm quite satisfied with this collection. I know the usual criticism of you could possibly play these on websites free.

Some even felt it's price is a little too much. A little much wow oh okay. It's $9.99 or $10.49 the same as Decision Legacy Collection. If we went by two dollars a game that's great value right there. There's not much actually added though. Let's be honest, the insane amount of content. You simply already happy with you bought.

You can see the amazing level of creativity that went into each of these flash games. This has to be among the best compilation games I played off Steam in years. I am dead serious I didn't find many big issues. The achievements are quite well selected. Occasionally there's a few that's going to piss you off. I officially finished achievement hunting this collection.

The best part is it's perfectly ported that I could easily play this collection for years. Regardless what major changes Steam does to their service as well as computers getting more ambitious in scale. They absolutely knocked it out the park with this. I been wanting to support more indie developers. Thankfully my ranking confirmed my top 3 favorite games within the collection.

Even as great Rogue Soul 2 was it just wasn't Swords & Souls!!! I know a lot of people don't expect much from flash games. These classics are way better than the ones you may know of. All of them I felt held up amazingly well time wise. I also loved we're going from 2011-2015. 2015 so happens to be the year I gotten married.

As of this year, I'll be married to my amazing wife for a decade. Several aspects of this collection felt fitting for my upcoming tenth wedding anniversary. Swords & Souls Legacy Collection is a must within your Steam collections. I would buy this again on GOG as soon as I had the chance honestly. This is easily one of my favorite 2025 games I played this year by far!!!