Hellboy: Web of Wyrd

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While I haven’t gone through a lot of the famed Mike Mignola comics, I’ve come to love Hellboy as most people have, from Ron Perlman’s take on the character from the awesome mid-2000s films and later animated movies (while I did like some parts of it, we don’t talk about the recent David Harbour one). 

Fans have been craving a decent video game of the demon hero for some time now, and thankfully we got Hellboy: Web of Wyrd. It has some quirks to be sure, but anyone who has wanted to play as Hellboy and smash things with his giant hand will have a good time with this one.

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Things kick off fairly quickly as the B.P.R.D. (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense) sends Hellboy (voiced awesomely by the late and forever great Lance Reddick) on a mission to rescue one of their fellow operatives from another dimension known as The Wyrd. Once you’ve helped fight off some easy monsters, you discover the Wyrd is accessible through a rundown place called the Butterfly House.

You’ll have to help Hellboy traverse through multiple portals in the house to access different parts of the Wyrd where each area is randomized, adding a roguelite element to the gameplay. You’ll take down evil monsters to save the world from things that go bump in the night by doing some bumping and smashing of your own.

Speaking of which, controlling Hellboy handles like you’d expect him to, a big red tank smashing his way through things while also being able to dodge, block and parry. The controls feel clunky at first, but you slowly get used to them as you make your way through the levels. You’ll also get access to Hellboy’s signature giant revolver that comes in handy when taking on bigger, tougher enemies that have a barrier around them you’ll have to break through before damaging them.

The graphics are the main thing that will standout upon first playing, as you can tell the developer team Upstream Arcade did their best to make the game look exactly like Mike Mignola comic books. No matter what you’re doing, you’ll swear you’re playing an adventure right inside the comics. The audio side of things is pretty nice as well, as I was shocked to hear Lance Reddick’s always awesome voice coming from Hellboy as I played. He nails Hellboy and his quips perfectly and it’s sad he won’t be able to return to voice him should a sequel come along.

Despite the quirks of clunky controls and an overall budget feel (well technically it is a budget title at $25 and is on sale for $20 as of this writing), Hellboy: Web of Wyrd is as close as you’re going to get with being able to play as the demon hero right from the comic book pages. Lance Reddick does an excellent job bringing him to life, and fans will dig the run and smash gameplay that brings a hell of a good time.