Title: Hellboy Web of Wyrd: A Faithful But Flawed Game Review

Subtitle: Get lost in Mignola’s aesthetic, but be prepared for repetitive gameplay

Hellboy Web of Wyrd, a video game based on the iconic Dark Horse Comics character, has been released on October 18, 2023. Developed by Upstream Arcade, a team of British developers known for their game West of Dead, the game attempts to faithfully recreate Mike Mignola’s distinctive art style. While the visuals are impressive, the gameplay falls short.

Set in 1982 during the Falklands War, Hellboy explores the Butterfly House, a mysterious mansion tied to psychic energy disturbances worldwide. He must navigate the Wyrd, a dimension ruled by Norse Norns and Scheherazade, to uncover the connection between the two realms.

The game features Lance Reddick, known for his role in Hellboy, as the voice actor for the titular character. Reddick delivers an excellent performance, capturing Hellboy’s world-weary and gruff demeanor. His portrayal adds depth to the game’s roguelike narrative.

Web of Wyrd excels in its recreation of Mignola’s art, with each of the four worlds representing a different locale rendered with simplicity and distinct hues. The use of negative space creates a captivating atmosphere, drawing the player’s attention to the enemies that Hellboy must confront.

Combat, however, is where the game falls short. Hellboy’s moveset is limited to light and heavy punches, along with a gun. While enemy attacks can be blocked or dodged, the lack of variation in Hellboy’s abilities leads to repetitive combat encounters. The enemies themselves also lack diversity, with only a few variations of big, sword-wielding foes throughout the game.

The game’s procedurally generated levels, while visually different, offer little variation in gameplay. The limited pool of power-ups and upgrades further contributes to the repetitive nature of each playthrough. Character progression outside of each run is also disappointingly shallow, with minimal impact on gameplay.

Where Web of Wyrd does shine is in its storytelling. The game cleverly uses its roguelike structure to deepen the narrative with each playthrough, gradually revealing the true villains. The sub-stories within each world and the interactions with bosses add depth and intrigue to the overall plot.

While Hellboy fans will enjoy the faithful representation of Mignola’s art and the engaging storyline, the game lacks the mechanical depth and variety to sustain long-term interest. Despite its flaws, Web of Wyrd holds some promise for fans of the franchise.

Although the game lacks dedicated accessibility features, certain adjustments, such as tweaking enemy cooldowns and adding attack warnings, can assist players struggling with combat timing. Remappable controls are available, but options for colorblind filters and text size adjustment are absent.

Overall, Hellboy Web of Wyrd offers a visually stunning experience but ultimately falls short in terms of gameplay depth.