Hedon

Hedon's gameplay bets on unhurried exploration of non-linear maps, reading scrolls, and immersing yourself in the atmosphere, rather than nonstop enemy shooting. You'll have to jump a lot, explore vertical spaces, and search for secrets. Each zone is unique:

• Mines: A tutorial level with no firearms, where only an axe is available.

• Forest: Territory of hostile cultists, where you find the first ranged weapon — the spike thrower — though ammo scarcity forces you to combine it with melee combat.

• Underground Orc Settlement: A huge location where it's easy to get lost. An automap with the ability to place markers, plus key hints, comes to the rescue.

• Factory / Forge: A level with a World of Warcraft-style aesthetic and crafting.

The world is filled with multi-stage quests. At times, crafting items from many components can feel overly complex, uncharacteristic for GZDoom-based games, and the lore, like quest details, can sometimes be hard to keep track of. The exploration style is reminiscent of Hexen in places, which means you can wander the maps for hours.

The combat itself isn't particularly remarkable: you have about half a dozen weapon types, such as a melee axe that can also be thrown; the spike thrower for ranged combat; a powerful shotgun with an alternate flamethrower mode; a rocket launcher with an alternate mode that reduces area damage but increases precision damage; an energy weapon that fires ricocheting orbs; and a grenade launcher that releases poison gas for crowd control.

The arsenal also includes consumables: time-freeze crystals, turrets, lava-protection rings, and invisibility or stoneskin potions.

This game served as the starting point for the now-commercial game Hedon Bloodrite, which is effectively an expanded and completed version, incorporating both a fully reworked first episode and a large-scale second chapter.