*hit a switch*
one sixth of the puzzle has been solved on the seven portals
*hit another switch*
one sixth of the puzzle has been solved on the seven portals
*hit a switch*
one sixth of the puzzle has been solved on the seven portals
*hit another switch*
one third of the puzzle has been solved on the seven portals
*hit another switch*
one half of the puzzle has been solved on the seven portals
Deathknights does this sometimes, but not all the time, strangely, and I don't think vanilla Hexen does it at all, from what I've see so far.
While I agree the obtuse "puzzles" are stupid, the thing about them is that if you already know what you're doing going into it the puzzles don't factor much into your enjoyment of the game, positive or negative. I think that's what the guy saying that it takes time to start enjoying Hexen meant. That's not an excuse for Hexen's behavior when it comes to lack of good setpiece moments or great fights, as in my opinion the hallmark of a great game is its ability to be noob friendly but still appealing to vets who've played through it a thousand times and while it may be enough to make the vets happy, you need help if you're a little nublet.
Deathkings remedies the getting boring for vets part because it has lots more monsters to fight, but some of the puzzles are still a little obtuse. But, some of the puzzles are improved. I remember the map Brackenwood, part of the first hub, being an example of how loads of monsters that you can't safely engage makes even the dullest puzzle far more interesting. Don't wanna be too specific, but a warning to the nubs: Watch the skies. And the water. And the everything.
However, worse than the puzzles in my opinion is some of the enemies themselves. There's a few who exist for no other reason than to be a stumbling block in the flow of combat and only annoy me. Centaurs, stalkers and their ranged capable cousins are the big issues for me. For centaurs, it's how they react to even the tiniest hit by putting up their shield, which makes you have to hit something else until the stubborn bastards put their god damn shield down. Stop being a pussy you four legged freak, I wanna kill you. As for stalkers, at least you can SEE when a centaur is being annoying. You may not figure out a more accurate direction than "somewhere in the swampy stuff" as an answer to where those slimeballs are coming from before they've already hit you once or twice, and the only way to get rid of them is to get close. The ones that throw ranged stuff never stay up long enough to get hit by most of the ranged weapons in this game from a distance where you can dodge their slimeballs, and the ones that can only claw you will only pop up to do so. This is okay for the Fighter, who can reliably kill one in one or two swings of his mighty axe, but for the Cleric who's got a bit of an issue with hard-hitting weapons until green mana fueled ones come into play and the Mage who has a similar problem and is specifically designed to not be close to things, this serves only to be a source of massive frustration.
