HHW Gaming Review: ‘Hellboy Web of Wyrd’ Is A Valiant Attempt At A Roguelike That Falls Short

It’s been 15 long years since Hellboy’s last video game. That’s a hell of a drought for fans of Big Red, so you can imagine the excitement when Hellboy Web of Wyrd was announced. Sadly, this game doesn’t do much to satisfy that thirst for a video game based on the iconic character.

Hellboy has jumped off comic book pages into multiple films that are either beloved or extremely hated based on who you ask. The last time we saw Hellboy in a video game was 2008’s Hellboy: Science of Evil, based on the Guillermo Del Toro films and was not met with much fanfare.

This brings us to Web of Wyrd. It doesn’t go the typical route developers would take with a Hellboy game and make it into a generic brawler. Instead, Upstream Arcade shook things up, putting Hellboy into a roguelite adventure.

In the game, the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense’s best agent, Hellboy, and a team of agents are sent to a mysterious house in Argentina after a series of spikes of psychic activity happen around the world.

Once inside the Butterfly mansion, Hellboy discovers the Wyrd, an alternate dimension filled with creatures and monsters that a fan of Hellboy would be used to seeing Big Red take on.

The mansion has doors or portals that will transport Hellboy to different biomes, offering players unique challenges and monsters.

Where This Game Shines

Hellboy’s deep red figure perfectly blends with the blacks and other mute tones, making Web of Wyrd players feel like they are playing an interactive comic book.

Hellboy Web of Wyrd’s most obvious win is its look and feel. The game looks like it’s ripped off the pages of Mike Mignola’s comic books.

The 3D cell-shaded design of Hellboy and the world around him looks stunning. Hellboy’s deep red figure perfectly blends with the blacks and other mute tones, making Web of Wyrd players feel like they are playing an interactive comic book.

Another win for Web of Wyrd is enlisting the late Lance Reddick to voice Hellboy. Many actors have given life to the demon summoned to destroy the Earth, turned heroic paranormal investigator.

While many still associate Ron Perlman’s voice and likeness to Hellboy and, most recently, David Harbour is a lackluster reboot, Reddick’s smooth voice brings a new cadence to the character that works as he travels the Wyrd and discovers new items and obstacles. At the end of the game, you will feel cheated by knowing Reddick will no longer voice the character due to his untimely passing. 

We can add this performance to Reddick’s long list of accomplishments in the video game space.

HellBoy Web of Wyrd’s Rougelite Spin

Initially, exploring each biome and taking on its enemies is fun, eventually leading to a second level, where a boss battle awaits. Things get tedious deeper into the game when you have to revisit each biome you have already beaten the first time that now has an additional challenge.

Playing the game, I couldn’t help but immediately compare the game to Hades due to its rogue-lite feel, but with some twists on the popular game genre.

Like in Hades, your character can choose different weapons and charms, but your choices are minimal. Hellboy can choose from his trusty hand cannon or pistol, a grenade launcher, and a shotgun before embarking on your runs.

Each weapon, including Hellboy’s massive fist, can be upgraded and help you in fights by adding perks like freezing your enemies for a couple of seconds.

During runs, you will also get blessings from witches that will up your stats.

Web of Wyrd doesn’t want players to beat the game in just one run; instead, developers break them up into chapters, and in between, you will talk with B.P.R.D agents around the mansion to help push the story along.

Death in the game is handled much differently. Instead of starting from the beginning, Hellboy is “tethered” to the Wyrd because he can’t necessarily die and will be sent back to the Butterfly mansion.

Your runs will also help Hellboy become more powerful, so even if you die, your specs are not reset, so the game encourages you to keep going.

Initially, exploring each biome and taking on its enemies is fun, eventually leading to a second level, where a boss battle awaits. Things get tedious deeper into the game when you have to revisit each biome you have already beaten the first time that now has an additional challenge.

I found this decision on the developer’s part to be baffling. Still, I can see if some appreciate the additional challenge while understanding some are frustrated by going back to the same biomes again.

Final Verdict

Hellboy Web of Wyrd, by no stretch of the imagination, is a terrible game; believe me, I have played way worse. It’s an ambitious game that is just okay when it’s all said and done.

It’s short and sweet, coming in at roughly 11 hours to complete, and makes a valiant attempt at putting Hellboy in a genre many never thought of utilizing him in before.

There are some high points, like the game’s look and stellar choice in voice casting, but Lance Reddick did all he could to carry a story that leaves much to the imagination and fails to live up to Mike Mignola’s comics.

The gameplay is rough; navigating the beautifully designed biomes can sometimes feel empty, especially when backtracking to areas you missed on initial runs.

Combat is fun, and some moments will have you saying this is the Hellboy action I have been looking for, but those moments are not enough to put this game in the pantheons of other roguelikes like Hades.

But for $19.99 (the game is currently on sale on Steam), it’s worth checking out if you’re looking for a game to pick up and get through quickly.

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Photos: Upstream Arcade / Good Shepherd Entertainment

*Steam key provided for review by the publisher.*