"A Tragically Beautiful Blunder" - Hellboy: Web of Wyrd Review

18.10.2023 - 15:19 / screenrant.com / Mike Mignola / Lance Reddick

The arc represents one of the great epics in comics, spanning three decades of imaginative historical pulp storytelling built upon the gorgeous art and iconic vision of creator Mike Mignola, but its explorations into other media have varied greatly in quality. Upstream Arcade's stands as Big Red’s newest video game foray, an unsteady clunker of an action-roguelite which borrows from other genre classics but seemingly fails to understand the fundamentals of the greats, feeling like either an interrupted project or a mismanaged would-be gem.

In terms of its outstanding visual design and flavorful fiction, it’s a stunner, but nearly every component of the actual playable game built around those pieces unceremoniously faceplants whenever it's given the spotlight. specifically commits the gravest of video game sins over every single playthrough: utterly disrespecting its players’ time.

takes place in the 80s around the time of the Falklands War, with ol’ H.B. sent out to investigate the ongoing paranormal events surrounding a manse referred to as The Butterfly House, now outfitted as a staging ground for The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.). The rest of the field agents (who seem freshly minted for this story) study these sudden surges of psychic phenomena while their star investigator dives into the Wyrd, a Nordic dimension which warps and randomizes upon entrance. In the growing tradition, each failed run presents new opportunities to interact with the B.P.R.D. and an assortment of eloquent phantoms found in the Wyrd.

Related: Patrick Martin On How Hellboy Web of Wyrd «Always Has A Surprise Around The Next Corner»

is easily the greatest looking game to date, full stop. It’s a sublimely sincere rendition of Mignola’s vision, coated in shifting shadow and creepy eldritch atmosphere, an aesthetic which transforms any available screenshot into a veritable comic book page, sans the speech bubbles. A complete lack of draw distance limitations keeps any angle in perfect clarity at all times, and the rich use of color outdoes what we've previously seen in Upstream Arcade's debut action-roguelite, . As for Hellboy, not even the animated films of the mid-2000s did a better job of showcasing the canny cambion’s stark poses and dramatic flair, and longtime fans will be undoubtedly impressed when they first send a large enemy flying into the cobblestones with a right hook from the Right Hand of Doom.

Actor Lance Reddick lent one of his final performances to before passing, producing a terrific execution of the character’s lasting combination of sarcastic charm and endearing humanity. It’s a tone-perfect reading handily matched by a cast of colorful fellow agents, egomaniacal nazi villains, and