John Wick HEX – The First 30 Minute of Gameplay

John Wick Hex is finally here…for console I might add, as the game has been available for PC for quite some time. As of May 5th for console we have been having a blast becoming the cold-hearted and strategic killing machine known as John Wick.

For many of unfamiliar with John Wick HEX, the game is a timeline strategy game with elements of resource management where the player maneuvers the titular character through a level on a hex-based grid, using various moves and actions to defeat enemies and avoid being hit by his foes.

To the player, the actions of John Wick and visible enemies are shown on a timeline, with actions taking different amounts of time. The player loads commands for John Wick to follow into this timeline, and the game will pause if the player has not added further actions into the timeline. These actions may be about gaining a better position to fire from, taking a better stance that improves John Wick’s chances to hit, or to take defensive actions and improved cover from foes.

Players must also take into consideration the limited ammo that John Wick has i.e. 15 bullets in his handgun, because once the player reloads their weapon then the player loses any bullets left in the weapon’s magazine.

However, John Wick is able to grab weapons from enemies but this takes precious time which requires the player to think through all the possible actions they can take before getting shot by the enemies. An interesting fact is that every time a player chooses to shoot, John Wick fires two rounds at his enemy because John Wick double-taps his enemies in the movies.

While the game maintains a colorful cartoon-like art style with a rather rigid process during the replay sequence, John Wick HEX is a welcome addition to our interactive library.