Heretic and Hexen Shareware in a Browser — Source Port Setup Guide

Heretic and Hexen shareware in your browser — a source-port setup guide Partial — via a Win32 source port, not the DOS original

Guide updated July 2026 · Runs via Wine 1.7.55 (Win32) + WebAssembly · Requires your own copy

Heretic (Raven Software, 1994) and Hexen: Beyond Heretic (1995) are the gothic-fantasy cousins of DOOM — same lineage, same fast 2.5D engine, but with spellcasting, inventory items, and looking up and down. Here's the honest part up front: the originals are DOS games, and ExeBrowser runs Win32 programs. The DOS .EXE will not boot here on its own. What does work is a small, free, modern Win32 source port — Chocolate Heretic or Chocolate Hexen — paired with the shareware/demo WAD. The engine is light software rendering with no DirectX, so a source-port EXE runs cleanly on Wine + WebAssembly. It's a two-piece setup (port + WAD) that you load yourself — we don't host the files — which is why we rate this partial rather than one-click.

Runs in your browser tab with WebAssembly + Wine — nothing is uploaded. Click the screen to capture input; press Esc to release the mouse.

About the game files: Heretic and Hexen are commercial games by Raven Software, published by id Software / GT Interactive. The engine source code was released under the GPL in 2008, which is why free, modern source ports (like Chocolate Heretic/Hexen) exist. The game data — the shareware/demo WAD files — remains copyrighted and was not given the same explicit "freely redistributable" license that id granted DOOM's first episode. So ExeBrowser does not host these WADs. Bring your own copy: get the shareware/demo from a legitimate source such as the Internet Archive, or buy the full games on Steam. Do not download "cracked" or "full version free" copies of the registered games.

How it works & what to expect

Heretic and Hexen are built on a derivative of the DOOM engine: software-rendered 2.5D, no hardware 3D, no DirectX. That's exactly the kind of workload ExeBrowser's emulated x86 + Wine handles well — frame rates are usually smooth on a modern laptop. The catch is the platform: the games id and Raven shipped in 1994–95 were DOS programs, and there was never an official Win32 build the way DOOM got DOOM95. Run the DOS HERETIC.EXE straight into Wine and it simply won't start.

The fix is a source port. Because Raven open-sourced the engine (GPL, 2008), projects like Chocolate Heretic and Chocolate Hexen rebuilt the original game as a tiny 32-bit Windows EXE that reads the original WAD data. Drop the port EXE and the WAD in one folder, load that folder here, and you get the real, faithful game running in the browser.

What you need: the port plus a WAD

This is a two-file job. You supply both pieces; ExeBrowser supplies the runtime.

1. The engine	A Win32 source port — Chocolate Heretic for Heretic, Chocolate Hexen for Hexen (free, GPL). Both are small 32-bit EXEs.
2. The game data	The shareware/demo WAD: `HERETIC1.WAD` (Heretic shareware) or the Hexen demo WAD. You bring this from a legitimate source — see the box below.
Best Wine variant	Win32 (default). If the port misbehaves, try the r18 engine.
Era / origin	DOS 1994–95; runs here via a modern Win32 source port, not the original EXE.
Expected result	Source port + shareware WAD: plays well. Original DOS EXE alone: will not start.

Step by step

Download a Win32 build of Chocolate Heretic or Chocolate Hexen (the win32.zip from chocolate-doom.org) and unzip it.
Obtain the shareware/demo WAD from a legitimate source (see the licensing box) and copy it into the same folder as the port EXE.
Click ▶ Play above to boot Wine on this page.
Use Load your own copy → a folder and select that folder so the EXE and WAD load together.
Pick the source-port EXE as the entry and click Run in Wine. Click the canvas to capture input.

Heretic adds an inventory (Enter to use, [ and ] to cycle) and the ability to fly and look up/down — a step beyond DOOM's controls.

Heretic vs. Hexen — and what's NOT included

Heretic shareware gives you the full first episode, City of the Damned — five levels of elf-vs-undead carnage with the iconic Wand and Phoenix Rod.

Hexen shipped a four-level demo (the start of the Seven Portals hub) rather than a classic shareware episode — it's a free demo, not a full free episode. It also introduced the class system (Fighter/Cleric/Mage) and hub-based puzzle progression.

The registered Heretic episodes, Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders, the full Hexen, and the Deathkings expansion are all commercial — not included and not hosted here. The much later Hexen II is a different beast: it uses the Quake engine (true 3D, hardware acceleration) and is unlikely to run usefully under this 32-bit software-only setup.

Frequently asked questions

Can I play Heretic online in my browser for free?

Yes, with two free pieces: a Win32 source port (Chocolate Heretic) plus the shareware WAD. The source port is free and GPL-licensed; you supply the shareware WAD from a legitimate source. ExeBrowser then runs the port in your browser via Wine + WebAssembly — nothing to install.

Why won't the original Heretic or Hexen EXE run here?

Because they're DOS programs, and ExeBrowser runs 32-bit Windows (Win32) programs. There was never an official Windows port the way DOOM got DOOM95. The practical route is a modern Win32 source port that reads the original WAD data — that's a real Windows EXE and runs cleanly.

Is it legal to play the Heretic shareware and Hexen demo here?

The source-port engine is open-source (GPL). The game data (WADs), however, is still copyrighted by Raven / id and was not given DOOM's explicit free-redistribution license, so we don't host the WADs. Bring your own from a legitimate source like the Internet Archive, or buy the full games on Steam. Avoid cracked or 'full version free' copies.

Will Hexen II run in the browser?

Almost certainly not usefully. Hexen II runs on the Quake engine — true 3D with hardware acceleration — which is far heavier than the DOOM-style software renderer Heretic and the first Hexen use. ExeBrowser has no DirectX/OpenGL acceleration, so a 3D Quake-engine game is a poor fit.

How fast does it run?

The engine is lightweight 2.5D software rendering with no DirectX, so once you've loaded a source port it typically plays smoothly on a modern laptop. ExeBrowser emulates an x86 CPU inside WebAssembly at roughly 10–40% of native speed, but DOOM-family games are light enough to feel fine; older Chromebooks and tablets may lag.