You don’t play as John Wick in John Wick Hex. Not actually. Instead, you play as Keanu Reeves’ choreographer, in shut negotiation with the nice man’s agent. Want Wick to sprint behind cowl whereas throatslamming a goon, then toss them to the ground, seize their gun and shoot a second goon’s ear off earlier than yeeting the empty pistol at a 3rd? That is completely throughout the phrases of Keanu’s contract. Want Wick to dodge an incoming blow, then double-handed-clap-slap his attacker on the cheeks? You’re the boss. Want Wick to leap over a really small object? Ok, so he can’t do this. Union stuff. Lots of paperwork, and no-one desires to let him close to a pencil.
Refusal to do very fundamental stunts apart, nevertheless, John Wick Hex is a steadily comical, tightly-tuned, hyptonising murder-puzzler which is — should you’ll excuse the insensitivity — a doggone blast to play.
First issues first, although — what’s all this ‘Hex’ enterprise about? Well, it’s the identify of the sharply-dressed baddie who turns into the Wickster’s main homicide goal within the game, after he takes J-Dubs’ buds Charon and Winston hostage. This will get proper on John’s wick, and when Hex dumps a bucket of goons throughout all the things in his means, the gun-fu begins.
I solely watched a JW movie for the primary time yesterday, after I’d already completed the game, so franchise followers would possibly get extra out of the plot than I did. From what I perceive, nevertheless, the movie’s tales are largely autos to ferry Wickiam Blazkowick between shootouts, and it’s the identical take care of the game. It works for me.
The plot, a prequel to the films, is delivered by way of snappy comedian strips between levels, during which Ian McShane sounds Bored McShitless as Winston, however Troy Baker’s seething Hex and Lance Reddick’s suave, foreboding Charon greater than make up for it. Keanu Reeves himself is absent, presumably nonetheless recovering from the trauma of being chosen for non permanent deification by the web.
Hex isn’t simply the identify of a villain, although: it’s additionally a reference to the near-invisible grid (highlighted by unobtrusive dots), on which Wick dances with goons throughout the game’s 40+ ranges. Rather than the standard turn-based affair you would possibly anticipate from this setup, nevertheless, all actions are rationed primarily based on time.
Moving to an adjoining area takes 0.four seconds, for instance, whereas taking pictures a pistol takes 0.9 seconds of build-up, then 0.three seconds apiece to fireside two photographs. Shots fired each by and at Wick have a share change to hit, affected by whether or not the goal is shifting. Wick can crouch (0.5 seconds), which makes him more durable to hit and extra correct, though he’ll have to face up once more (0.5 seconds) afterwards, if he desires to stroll as a substitute of roll (0.6 seconds). This would possibly sound difficult, nevertheless it’ll all fall into place by the point you’ve completed the concise tutorial stage.
For extra difficult actions, J-Wix has a useful resource referred to as ‘focus’. You can use it to roll, or to dodge an incoming melee assault, nevertheless it actually begins to outline the circulate of Hex when it’s used for takedowns, or pushes. Takedowns slam troublesome goons into the ground, and mean you can decide an adjoining hex for John to wick his means into. Pushes allow you to thrust an enemy again a couple of tiles (inflicting injury but in addition sending John together with them – an effective way to keep away from bullets), or sprint behind cowl, or cling across the entrance of a nightclub shouting ‘no trainers’ and punting guards out the doorways. Highly really useful, that one.
In every degree, you’re trying to take out screens of goons earlier than they get a shot or a punch off, and weaving round any that do. Throw in rifles and shotguns with completely different injury and time stats, a couple of armoured goons, some bosses that require you to melee their focus down earlier than you get a good hit share, and the aforementioned gun yeetability, and that’s you sorted.
There’s a interval between getting used to Wick’s repertoire, and the game ramping up in issue, the place Hex’s toolset can really feel fairly restrictive. The most secure performs aren’t at all times essentially the most pleasurable, however typically, Hex retains issues difficult and fascinating by making use of a filmmaker’s lens to enemy placement and environmental format. Goons emerge from behind stairwells, elevators, and industrial delivery crates. Sure, you’ll be doing the identical strikes on them, typically in the identical combos, however you’ll by no means carry out a spine-shattering Judo throw on a henchmen into the identical river twice, because the philosophers say.
So, you’ve received Hex the baddie, and Hex the grid, however maybe greater than both of those although, the titular Hex is the curse inflicted on any simulated mortal silly sufficient to step towards John Wick.
The inner rhythms of the prepared/set/motion techniques fully promote the concept of this hitman who has the supernatural capability to storyboard his personal actuality. Combat is a black magic bullets-and-body-slams-buffet, balletic sufficient to make Bayonetta blush. Frenetic and stylish, it’s possessed of a self-awareness that stops simply in need of self-parody.
Austin Wintory’s soundtrack of manic techno and moody, pistols-at-dawn guitar feels integral. So a lot in order that I’d tentatively place John Wick Hex alongside Hotline Miami, Ape Out, Frozen Synapse, and All Walls Must Fall as a piece the place the participant navigates the soundtrack as a lot because the environments. Melodic, rhythmic, and chemically cerebral, it interprets violence not as a ahead hurtle, however a collection of call-and-response couplets.
Then there’s the replays, which, so far as I can inform, the trailers have bought as fluid, cinematic coup-de-gras the place you sit again and watch your completely choreographed motion set-piece come to life. They should not this. They’re hilarious and awkward, and I really like them for it. Wick jankily shuffles between hexes, sidestepping point-blank photographs and crab-walking up stairs, whereas well mannered henchmen wait patiently for him to punch them, lie down, stand up, and do it once more. Audio performs out of sync, Wick lopes round like he’s caught himself in his zipper, and it’s nice.
At least the replays permit you a bit extra time to admire the degrees: labyrinthine golf equipment, mansions and warehouses that really feel like a pure extension of the grid they’re all primarily based on, with out giving up a way of place. One stage has you ducking and weaving behind hexagonal statue plinths. Another has you coming out from behind bushes, slapping fools, then disappearing once more. A snow-dusted hedge maze and a neon-splashed nightclub are highlights, however there’s a continuing effort to vary issues up. Breaking line of sight is without doubt one of the key defensive strikes you’ll be counting on, so it’s reassuring that so many architects within the game’s universe have gotten John’s again.
Those similar architects might have finished with only a bit extra allowance for setpieces, although. The closest you’ll come to an environmental hazard is elevators. Press a button. Wait out a timer. Get attacked by some goons whilst you’re ready. Nice shock the primary time, however there’s an excessive amount of of it. Have John Wick set fireplace to an enormous pile of cash once more and provides {that a} timer. Have him defend a canine rescuer for 20 seconds whereas all of the canine escape via a particular canine escape hatch. Whatever.
Another factor that’s enjoyable the primary time however will get more and more boring is what occurs if you’re surrounded by two or three goons. It at all times finally ends up going like this:
Punch goon one, which stuns them, supplying you with time to punch goon two, which stuns them, letting you punch goon three, by which era goon one is simply waking up once more. I’m unsure whether or not that is some unintentional oddity with the timeline, or fully deliberate. Either means, the game rewards you for ending ranges shortly, so it most likely didn’t need me to maintain counting on it. Still, should you supply me cheese, Mr Bithell, I’ll take it. It does make from some nice replays.
The weapons aren’t vastly thrilling, both. Every gun however the fundamental pistol and later, a carbine rifle, felt very situational and a tad gradual to swimsuit the best way I ended up enjoying. Given I used to be enjoying a personality who’s supposed to have the ability to homicide a membership filled with gangsters with a field of crayola, not attending to experiment with something however weapons and MMA was a bit disappointing.
All that mentioned, I had a good time with John Wick Hex. It tiptoes the road between techniques and puzzler in an enticing means, has a ton of character, and feels precisely as minimal because it must be: you decide up a working vocabulary of Wickensian tips, simply in time to be examined on them. Its slip-ups have a tendency to simply make it extra charming, whereas most repetition could be offset by going for challenges that ask you to play faster and smarter.
Hexcellent? Hexceptional? Maybe. Certainly, a lot better than Hexpected.
