With today’s news, we have something that initially sounds bad, but is OK for most gamers. The original versions of Heretic and Hexen have been delisted from Steam. Plus, ACA NEOGEO Selections Volumes 7 and 8 have been announced for Nintendo Switch!
Heretic + Hexen Released on Steam and GOG
To coincide with QuakeCon 2025 that began on Thursday, August 7, the original versions of Heretic and Hexen were delisted from the Steam storefront. It was thankfully replaced with a new version of those well-known FPS titles. In their place is a new Heretic + Hexen.
These are not spoken of as remasters or remakes, but rather as enhanced restorations and releases. Both games look similar to their originals, but with higher frame rates and resolutions available. Depending on your hardware, the games can now be played in 4K with up to 120 frames per second.
Other new features for the games include,
- New, optional remastered versions of the soundtracks
- Online cross-platform deathmatch and co-op for up to 16 players
- Local split-screen deathmatch and co-op for up to 8 players
- Community-published mod support with an in-game mod browser
- Vault section containing concept art and unused sprites
- Two new episodes, one for Heretic and Hexen, respectively
- Plus, a lot more accessibility options
This is all great to see, and impressive. This is a way to respect the original source material while improving the games for modern audiences. Even more than all that, the original DOS versions of the games are available for the Steam version of this game.
Although a number of Heretic and Hexen titles were delisted last week, HeXen II is still available on Steam with a regular price of $4.99. This new Heretic + Hexen package has a regular price of $14.99 and is available on Steam and on GOG, among other places. To learn a lot more about this release, please see the release notes on Steam.
ACA NEOGEO Selection Volumes 7 & 8 Announced
Our other news for the day is the announcement of ACA NEOGEO Selection Volumes 7 & 8 for Nintendo Switch. Like the previous collections in the series, they include 10 games each, and are basically a way to have Arcade Archives games on Switch systems without having to buy them individually from the Nintendo eshop.
Both volumes are scheduled to be released on November 6, 2025 and will cost approximately $42 plus applicable taxes and shipping fees. By the way, both links are to the sales pages from Play Asia, as are the cover images you see in this post. Note: None of the links below are affiliate links.
Volume 7 includes,
- Fatal Fury Special
- The King of Fighters 2003
- King of the Monsters 2
- Metal Slug 5
- Pleasure Goal: 5 on 5 Mini Soccer
- Power Spikes II
- Prehistoric Isle 2
- Puzzle Bobble
- World Heroes 2
- ZuPaPa!
Volume 7 link: Japanese cover version.
Volume 8 includes,
- Art of Fighting
- Blue’s Journey
- Crossed Swords
- The King of Fighters ’99
- Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle
- Metal Slug 2
- NAM-1975
- Puzzle Bobble 2
- Super Sidekicks 2
- World Heroes 2 Jet
Volume 8 link: Japanese cover version.
While I don’t think the list of games above are particularly amazing, I am glad that volume 7 has The King of Fighters 2003 and Metal Slug 5, which are the last games in those respective series to be released on Neo Geo hardware. Meanwhile, volume 8 is valuable to me because it has a number of earlier games on it, such as Blue’s Journey, Crossed Swords, and NAM 1975. The latter of which I definitely want to play. KOF ’99 was also a title I enjoyed on the Sega Dreamcast, so I’m glad to see it here. K’ was one of my faves back in the day!
If you want to know all the games that are on these ACA NEOGEO Selection Volumes, please see my guide I just wrote in preparation for this news report!
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