John Wick Hex Review (PC)

very good
key review info
  • Game: John Wick Hex
  • Platform: PC
  • Show system requirements
  • Gamepad support: No
  • Reviewed on:
John Wick Hex key art

Playing John Wick Hex is like watching an action movie where you're the protagonist. I'm not sure if that's a good thing, but I had a lot of fun playing John Wick Hex, an indie gem developed by Mike Bithell, the mastermind behind Thomas Was Alone and Volume.

As you can imagine, John Wick Hex is an action game above all else, but it's also very tactical and utterly ruthless if you don't plan your moves to the millisecond. The story told in John Wick Hex happens before Keanu Reeves becomes the world-renown assassin shown in the movies, but it does feature the same protagonists.

John Wick will face a mysterious villain called Hex, who somehow manages to kidnap two very powerful servants of the High Table, the council of high-level crime lords that govern and oversee the underworld's most powerful criminal organizations: Winston and Charon.

The best thing about these characters is that they are voiced by Ian McShane and Lance Reddick themselves, and while Keanu Reeves hasn't lent his voice to the main character in the game, it's still nice to listen to the story tidbits in between missions read by these amazing actors.

John Wick Hex
John Wick Hex
John Wick Hex
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Even so, don't go in expecting a compelling story since you'll be disappointed. The good news is you won't care too much about that because you'll spend 99 percent of the time fighting the bad guys. Let's just say that the story's sole purpose is to dress up the core of the game, which is the gameplay.

John Wick Hex isn't unique when it comes to core gameplay mechanics, which are reminiscent of Superhot. I think it's safe to say that the Superhot's main gameplay features have been fine-tuned and adapted to work from a top-down perspective. John Wick Hex is an action real-time strategy game where movement seems to be more important than murdering enemies.

The game is split into chapters, each chapter featuring several missions with a boss at the end that John Wick must beat to advance the story. Every time you start a new chapter, you're allowed to get your loadout that consists of a customized weapon with one spare clip, and two bandages that replenish your life. This is all you get until you beat the boss at the end of a chapter, so managing those two bandages is of utmost importance.

While you can use the weapons that the baddies drop, there are no extra bandages throughout the levels, so you'll have to plan and refrain from using them too early. Otherwise, you'll have to tackle some of the later missions with just 2-3 points of health and no bandages in your inventory, which means that even the slightest mistake might lead to your untimely demise.

The game features different types of enemies, which require different approaches. Also, each weapon that John Wick can use to take down his opponents is better used in a certain scenario. For example, you have automatic pistols that shoot faster but do less damage, and then are revolvers that have smaller magazines and are slower, but do a bit more damage. Assault rifles are a bit rarer, but they're far more accurate than the SMGs, which have terrible accuracy but use more bullets.

John Wick Hex is not a fast-paced top-down shooter. Instead, every move and action is a response to your opponents'. After each action, the game pauses just like in a turn-based battle, but overall everything happens in real-time. You can see at the top of the screen how long it will take John Wick to move to a certain position, shoot an enemy or execute a melee takedown. Right below John Wick's timeline, there's the enemy timeline where you can see if your actions will trigger before or after, a very important aspect that will tell you whether or not you'll be able to shoot an enemy before he shoots you.

That's the tactical part where you must choose the best action for each scenario. What I loved about John Wick is that you can't plan ahead since you don't know where your enemies are and what type of weapons they'll use, so you'll just have to improvise and hope that you get it right or with as few wounds as possible.

John Wick Hex
John Wick Hex
John Wick Hex
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The Good

  • Solid gameplay mechanics
  • Great voice acting
  • Nice art style
  • Amazing soundtrack

The Bad

  • Generic story
  • Needs a bit more polish

Conclusion

John Wick Hex feels like an action flick starring a voiceless Keanu Reeves. It may not go as deep as the movies story-wise, but it's a great adaptation of a successful franchise. I admit that the first few hours were a bit frustrating since the game doesn't tell you to be careful with the bandages, but John Wick Hex is the kind of game that you want to keep playing even when it punishes your every mistake.

I admire some of the design choices made by the developer, such as turning John Wick Hex into a strategy game rather than a pure top-down shooter. Even though it's far from being a perfect game, I had a lot of fun playing John Wick Hex, and that it's all about in the end.

Despite the lack of polish, John Wick Hex is truly a very fun, yet tough game to play. The solid combat mechanics and amazing soundtrack create an addictive loop that makes you forget about some of the more frustrating moments. If you're a fan of the John Wick franchise, this game is a no brainer.

story 7
gameplay 8
concept 8
graphics 8
audio 9
multiplayer 0
final rating 8
Editor's review
very good
 
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John Wick Hex screenshots (28 Images)

John Wick Hex key art
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