Hellboy, Mike Mignola’s wonderful comic book creation, has been met with mixed results as a video game leading man. Games like Hellboy: Dogs of the Night from 2000 and Hellboy: The Science of Evil from 2008, which was a tie-in game adapted from the 2004 movie, received mixed reviews from both critics and fans alike. This has left the state of Hellboy as a game property in strange places. Since his successful cameo in Injustice 2, Hellboy Web of Wyrd is the first time in almost fifteen years he’s had another shot at having his own solo game, and it’s a great one.
Hellboy Web of Wyrd is a roguelite action brawler and is meant to be frustrating. The beauty of playing as Hellboy in this game is you don’t need to know much about him. If you haven’t read the comics or watched the movies, you will still end up understanding the story. In fact, the Hellboy you play in Web of Wyrd felt like a character you can instantly connect with, similar to meeting a newfound friend. By suggesting Hellboy Web of Wyrd is meant for both long term fans of the character and newcomers, developer Upstream Arcade has certainly succeeded at making this game approachable for all types of players.
The story follows Hellboy, a paranormal investigator working for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.). He undertakes a mission to find a missing B.P.R.D. agent at the Wyrd, a mysterious place that is surely not good news. Entering the Wyrd, I was immediately struck by the gorgeous art style of the game. By recreating Mike Mignola’s famous art from the comics to the screen, Hellboy Web of Wyrd undoubtedly captures the magic of experiencing a comic book in real time.
The Wyrd is a massive playground serving the main plot of the game. It consists of different levels that offer various enemy types and environments. The enemies are brutal and by no means easy to shake off. There were times when I simply ran away from them to conserve Hellboy’s health and, yes, to my surprise they followed me, forcing me to fight them off. The different levels, however, are all similar in terms of exploration. I found myself easily getting lost at times while navigating my way through each of these maze-like levels.
Exploring the Wyrd is highly recommended. From finding keys that unlock doors to treasures to collecting clues allowing you to learn more about supernatural lore existing within the Wyrd, these are just some of the exploration goodies you will come across. There are two types of in-game currencies in Hellboy Web of Wyrd that can be collected during exploration. They can be used to awaken shrines, unlock and upgrade abilities, weapons and charms to make Hellboy stronger during each run.
Hellboy Web of Wyrd neatly incorporates a bit of Norse and Middle Eastern mythology by introducing the Norns and the storyteller Scheherazade. They’ll support Hellboy in his quest to defeat a greater evil that is slowly destroying their home within the Wyrd. They help him by offering power-ups in the form of boons that grant Hellboy an advantage while facing enemies. This concept immediately reminded me of another famous roguelite game, Hades. The boons do support Hellboy to an extent but don’t overpower him during combat.
The combat feels like a mix between Hades and soulslike systems. The game offers players tutorials about the combat controls and basic movement skills in the start, but they were so quick and rushed I ended up more confused than trained during the first few hours. Web of Wyrd is fast paced and by no means easy. Big Red’s fists are the number one weapons during combat. However, as Hellboy navigates through the levels of the Wyrd, he will come across various enemy types who seem to be getting stronger to punch.
The key to getting successful attacks is by building up combos. This can be done with close range melee attacks, successfully dodging and performing counter attacks, and using the gun and charm as support to not break momentum. Hellboy’s Right Fist of Doom acts as a heavy weapon and has its own “Payback meter” that fills up whenever an attack is blocked or he sustains a powerful blow from an enemy. Once the meter is filled, his right fist glows, indicating he can perform a special attack.
Apart from his fists, Hellboy is supported with a weapon and a charm that can aid him during combat. There are three types of guns and three types of charms that can be unlocked and upgraded. These guns and charms can be equipped depending on your play style and preference. After trying out all of them, I settled with the pistol and shield charm because they felt balanced. However, there were times when I got bold and equipped the grenade launcher.
Dying in Hellboy Web of Wyrd is not a bad thing. Yes, it can be maddening, but, being a roguelite game, the more you die, the better you get. The game by no means expects you to be good at it from the start. In fact, there is a trophy for dying enough times. Being transported back to The Butterfly House, which acts as the main hub in the game, the best way to progress, I realized, is by upgrading your abilities and weapons before heading back out. And trust me, it worked and got me progressing further than before. So, dying in Hellboy Web of Wyrd, as much as it pissed me off, made me better at the game.
Like any game, Hellboy Web of Wyrd has a few shortcomings. First, the game was repetitive with its boss fights. Each level has a boss fight and as I defeated them to progress further in the story, I realized I had to again fight the same bosses in the next chapter. This was a bit infuriating as in my mind I had already successfully defeated them. Sometimes, Web of Wyrd felt like it was throwing too much at me all at once. For example, there was a time when I had to face four waves of enemies locked in a single room. And once I did, the next area again had the same enemy types. This felt exhausting and, frankly, a lot to handle.
I did face some technical hiccups, like my game crashing three times during important moments, forcing me to start my progress all over from the beginning. I played with the Day One patch installed, so hopefully issues like this get patched out by further updates.
Being a roguelite game, Hellboy Web of Wyrd has the element of replayabilty even after completing the story. Once you beat the main story, you are given an option to replay each level and automatically unlock a feature called “Modify Wyrd” which appears before starting a level. This feature gives you a set of three challenges to choose from and you can either select all three or less than three of these challenges. This is a fun time specially for players who like a little extra difficulty in their video games.
The highlight of Hellboy Web of Wyrd apart from its art style is the voice acting of the late Lance Reddick as the titular hero. Hellboy’s interactions with other B.P.R.D. agents at The Butterfly House felt fun, personal, and wholesome. Not to mention, his funny one liners elevated the game for me. They couldn’t have cast a better actor to voice Hellboy because, by the end of it, you will wish you had a friend like him. Lance Reddick, you will be missed.
My time with Hellboy Web of Wyrd was an array of emotions. The game made me laugh, twisted my face in annoyance, and left me with a sense of satisfaction all at once. But most importantly, I had an enjoyable time. Till the end, it managed to keep me engaged and not many roguelite games can do that. The overall story feels true to the comics and pretty straightforward so even non-comic book readers can follow it easily without confusion or looking up decades worth of source material. From the rhythmic thumping music to the fast paced combat system, if you want a game that will give you a rush of adrenaline, Hellboy Web of Wyrd is for you.
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