Prepare to suit up and take down your enemies in John Wick Hex from the team at Bithell Games, out now on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
John Wick Hex is a fast paced turn-based strategy game centring on everyone’s favourite killer of boogeymen. While some people may feel that a property like John Wick would make a good first-person shooter, the team at Bithell Games have managed to perfectly turn the fluidity and speed that Wick is known for into a turn-based strategy game that feels action packed. Players move through levels on a hexagon based grid with their actions being noted as “time taken” on a bar at the top of the screen. Enemies also have a time bar just below the player’s which allows you to plan your approach depending on their actions. An enemy may be planning to draw his weapon and shoot Wick allowing the player not enough time to fire first but perhaps enough time to roll away or even disarm their opponent. All actions take differing amounts of time from firing weapons, reloading, healing yourself and even just standing or crouching. Once a level is completed it can be replayed back at full speed in a fluid action scene demonstrating John Wick’s skills.
Levels are diverse and stylish, leaving each one’s approach in the hands of the player and their own particular style. Slow and methodical is often a winning strategy, with players made to think always a few steps ahead just like our protagonist. Carrying out certain moves will require the use of “focus” meaning that Wick will often need to take a short break and recompose himself before he can continue. This can be done at any time but allowing your focus to drain in the middle of a fight can prove to be fatal. Patience is certainly a requirement to playing John Wick Hex as levels can often be difficult and go from bad to worse in an instant requiring multiple playthroughs to get right.
Those familiar with the John Wick lore will love all the subtle nods to the movies and expansion of the universe in general, while newcomers are in for some exciting discoveries about these popular characters. The game has a wonderful comic book styling to it, featuring bright neon lights and dark dingy alleyways, that feels perfect for this kind of action. John Wick Hex offers a lot in the way of replayability and will push a lot of players to their limits while trying to get that perfect playthrough.
Not for the faint of heart or low on patience, John Wick Hex is a fantastic game with a lot of style and charm that might just push back a little too hard for some players to fully enjoy.
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Mat Panek, Chief Reporter
Retromancer – Collector, repairer & fan of retro games & tech. Atari to Amiga, Nintendo to Sega! LD, Zip, Beta and a proud dad! One half of the TiredParents on Twitch.
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Disclosure: John Wick Hex [EPIC Games Store] was kindly provided by Power Up PR for this review.
By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.
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