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Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders

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Ranking compiled by Lluis Enric Mayans, Founder & Head of ContentHow this is calculatedOrdered by an attribute-similarity model, not editorial opinion.

We filtered the 48 games similar to Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders down to the 39 that fit the “PC” category. Hexen: Beyond Heretic, Borderlands 4 and Iron Grip: Warlord top the list, ranked by affinity and similarity score to Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders.

iRank84/ 100

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GenreShooterSubgenreFPS
Tags
DarkSoloMultiplayer
Year 1994Dev id Software

Quick answer

Within the “PC” category, the closest game to Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders is Hexen: Beyond Heretic — scoring 78/100 on our similarity scale. Borderlands 4 and Iron Grip: Warlord follow close behind.

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The best games like Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders on PC

39 similar games foundUpdated May 2026

Handpicked by our similarity algorithm, these are the titles with the highest gameplay match to Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders. Each one has been evaluated across 11 real attributes — from combat style and progression mechanics to world structure and visual perspective — so every recommendation is based on how the game actually plays, not just its genre label.

#1Hexen: Beyond Heretic
Hexen: Beyond Heretic
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerMeleeRangedDarkFantasyFirst Person
Steam👍 87%· 757RAWG👍 75%· 110IGDB37· 2
Year 1995Dev Raven Software · id SoftwarePlaytime ~1hOn PC · PS · Apple Macintosh

✓ Fits the first-person shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and deep RPG systems

≠ Stands apart with puzzle design, combat magic and horror setting, while skipping co op

While you were battling the evil forces of D'Sparil, the other Serpent Riders were busy sowing the seeds of destruction in other dimensions. One such dimension is the decaying world where Hexen takes place.

Genre100Tone100Visuals100Combat84Setting68Game mode52
#2Borderlands 4
Borderlands 4
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opFirst PersonSci-Fi
Steam👍 59%· 79KIGDB87· 4OC82· 140
Year 2025Dev Gearbox Software · 2KOn Xbox · Switch · PC

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and deep RPG systems

≠ Its own twist: adventure storytelling and setting scifi, while skipping dark, oppressive atmosphere

Where it drifts furthest from Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders: setting.

On reception: its Steam reviews are mixed, against very positive for Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders.

Released 31 years after Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders.

Genre100Game mode100Visuals100Setting0
#3Iron Grip: Warlord
Iron Grip: Warlord
ShooterFPS
Co-opSoloMultiplayerMeleeRangedFantasyFirst Person
Steam👍 85%· 448MC59
Year 2008Dev ISOTXPlaytime ~1hOn PC

✓ Fits the first-person shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and melee combat

≠ Where it differs: brings real-time strategy, tower defense planning and setting scifi, while skipping deep RPG systems

Iron Grip: Warlord invigorates tower defense with first-person shooter elements to give a new twist to the genre. It puts you in the heat of the battle, fighting off hordes of AI-controlled invaders. Play alone or with friends, in a diverse and challenging struggle to save all of Atelia.

Released 14 years after Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders.

Genre100Combat100Game mode100Setting81Visuals67
Quake II
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opRangedMeleeDarkFirst Person
OC89· 25
Dev Head Games PublishingOn PC

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Its own twist: horror setting and setting scifi, while skipping deep RPG systems

Where it drifts furthest from Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders: setting.

Genre100Combat100Game mode100Tone100Visuals100Setting0
DOOM 3
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeRangedDarkFirst Person
Steam👍 89%· 8.3KRAWG👍 77%· 632MC87IGDB86· 6
Year 2004Dev id Software · Bethesda SoftworksPlaytime ~1hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Fits the first-person shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Stands apart with horror tension, survival mechanics and tower defense planning, while skipping deep RPG systems

DOOM 3 is a first-person shooter, the third installment in the series, serving as a reboot to the previous games. ###Plot As the game is set in a science fiction universe, the events span accordingly.

Where it drifts furthest from Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders: setting.

Same studio: id Software.

Genre100Combat100Game mode100Visuals100Tone78Setting0
Left 4 Dead 2
ShooterFPS
MultiplayerCo-opSoloRangedMeleeDarkFirst Person
Steam👍 98%· 1.0MRAWG👍 85%· 3.4KMC89IGDB89· 5
Year 2009Dev Valve Software · Electronic ArtsPlaytime ~9hOn PC · Xbox · Apple Macintosh

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Stands apart with survival mechanics, horror tension and horror setting, while skipping deep RPG systems

Everything the first game did plus melee weapons, daylight campaigns and special infected that force the team apart rather than just damage it. The AI Director still shapes every run. It absorbed the original so completely that the community split never healed, and the campaigns lean on finale set pieces that become rote once you know the safe corners.

Where it drifts furthest from Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders: setting.

Released 15 years after Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders.

Genre100Combat100Tone100Visuals100Game mode85Setting0
theHunter Classic
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opRangedMeleeFirst Person
Steam👍 59%· 44KRAWG👍 25%· 117IGDB67· 3
Year 2014Dev Avalanche Studios · Expansive WorldsPlaytime ~1hOn PC

✓ Both are first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and ranged combat

≠ Stands apart with sports simulation, deep simulation and adventure storytelling, while skipping deep RPG systems

A hunting simulator far more patient than its arcade cousins: animals track scent and sound, and a session can be hours of walking before a single shot. That deliberate pace is the entire point. It is also free-to-play with most maps and weapons behind purchases, and the pacing will bore anyone expecting a shooter.

On reception: its Steam reviews are mixed, against very positive for Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders.

Released 20 years after Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders.

Genre100Visuals100Game mode92Combat91
Aliens vs. Predator
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeRangedDarkFirst Person
Steam👍 91%· 21KRAWG👍 62%· 422MC68IGDB74· 4
Year 2010Dev SEGAPlaytime ~3hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Its own twist: survival mechanics, horror tension and adventure storytelling, while skipping deep RPG systems

Three separate campaigns — Marine, Alien and Predator — each rebuilding the game around a different body: the Marine's motion tracker and dread, the Alien's wall-crawling, the Predator's cloak and vision modes. The Marine campaign is the one that holds up. The other two are short and thin by comparison, and the multiplayer that carried it in 2010 is long dead.

Where it drifts furthest from Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders: setting.

Released 16 years after Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders.

Genre100Game mode100Visuals100Combat86Tone81Setting0
Quake
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opRangedMeleeDarkFirst Person
Steam👍 97%· 15KRAWG👍 88%· 487MC94OC87· 37
Year 1996Dev id Software · SEGAPlaytime ~1hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Where it differs: brings horror tension, strong narrative focus and horror setting, while skipping deep RPG systems

id's follow-up to Doom, and the first with true 3D movement — rocket jumps, full vertical aim, and a Lovecraftian gloom scored by Nine Inch Nails. The movement still feels quicker than most modern shooters. Long-time players tend to prefer a source port to the official re-release, which quietly altered difficulty tuning and is treated as a compromised preservation job.

Where it drifts furthest from Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders: setting.

Same studio: id Software.

Genre100Combat100Visuals100Game mode87Tone84Setting0
Left 4 Dead
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeRangedDarkFirst Person
Steam👍 96%· 67KRAWG👍 87%· 1.7KMC89IGDB85· 7
Year 2008Dev Valve Software · Electronic ArtsPlaytime ~5hOn PC · Xbox · Apple Macintosh

✓ Fits the first-person shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Stands apart with survival mechanics, horror tension and strong narrative focus, while skipping deep RPG systems

The AI Director is the whole design: it places hordes and items based on how well you are doing, so no two runs of a campaign play the same and tension stays authored without being scripted. Four campaigns only, which is thin, and the sequel superseded it so completely that finding populated servers now takes patience.

Where it drifts furthest from Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders: setting.

Released 14 years after Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders.

Genre100Combat100Visuals100Game mode88Tone80Setting0
World War Z
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeRangedDarkFirst Person
Steam👍 83%· 31KIGDB74· 12OC71· 129
Year 2019Dev Saber Interactive · Focus EntertainmentOn PS4 · PC · Xbox

✓ Both are first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Its own twist: third-person shooting, adventure storytelling and survival mechanics, while skipping deep RPG systems

A co-op horde shooter whose swarm tech is the draw: hundreds of zombies climb over each other into structures, and the class system rewards coordinating rather than scattering. Levels are short and replayable. The shooting itself is functional but unremarkable, and the campaign chapters are thin connective tissue between the set-piece swarm moments.

Where it drifts furthest from Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders: setting.

Released 25 years after Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders.

Genre100Combat100Tone100Game mode80Visuals61Setting0
Killing Floor
ShooterFPS
Co-opSoloMultiplayerRangedMeleeDarkFirst Person
Steam👍 95%· 69KRAWG👍 59%· 856MC72IGDB68· 5
Year 2009Dev Tripwire InteractivePlaytime ~5hOn PC · Apple Macintosh · Linux

✓ Both are first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Stands apart with survival mechanics, horror tension and strong narrative focus, while skipping deep RPG systems

Wave-based co-op against slow, heavy specimens, built around a between-round shop and perks that level by playstyle rather than by menu. Weapon feedback is meaty. It shows its origins as a mod — level design is functional rather than crafted, and later waves come down to holding one corridor while a friend welds the door behind you.

Where it drifts furthest from Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders: setting.

Released 15 years after Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders.

Genre100Combat100Visuals86Game mode83Tone82Setting0
69
Heretic
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeDarkFantasyFirst Person
Year 1994Dev Raven Software · id SoftwareOn PC · Mac

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Stands apart with combat magic, historical setting and setting medieval, while skipping deep RPG systems

Where it drifts furthest from Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders: combat and setting.

Genre100Game mode100Tone100Visuals100Setting46Combat33
Shadowgrounds
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opRangedMeleeDark
Steam👍 81%· 1.6KRAWG👍 28%· 94MC74IGDB75· 2
Year 2005Dev FrozenbytePlaytime ~2hOn PC · Apple Macintosh

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Its own twist: horror tension, adventure storytelling and setting scifi, while skipping deep RPG systems

Shadowgrounds breathes fresh air into the action genre with explosive combat sequences, an innovative weapon upgrade system, and an intriguing storyline.

Where it drifts furthest from Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders: setting and visuals.

Released 11 years after Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders.

Genre100Combat100Tone100Game mode87Setting0Visuals0
The Expendabros
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeRanged
Steam👍 97%· 18KRAWG👍 70%· 391IGDB80· 1
Year 2014Dev Free Lives · Devolver DigitalPlaytime ~1hOn PC · Apple Macintosh

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and melee combat

≠ Its own twist: adventure storytelling, precision platforming and offline, while skipping deep RPG systems

The Expendabros is a crossover game based on Broforce gameplay and featuring characters from The Expendables 3 movie. In the basis of both games lays the roast of the 90s movie cliches about unstoppable warriors, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis and the others.

Where it drifts furthest from Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders: visuals.

Released 20 years after Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders.

Genre100Combat100Game mode87Visuals0

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