Hellboy: Web Of Wyrd Is A Bittersweet Goodbye To Lance Reddick

Lance Reddick lent his voice to 17 different video games in his lifetime. The last one (or at least the first to be released posthumously, he may have been working on more) is Hellboy: Web of Wyrd, and playing it at Gamescom was a bittersweet experience. Reddick was a serious actor, best known for his turns in prestige television series like The Wire or Fringe, and a Hollywood leading light with roles in blockbusters like John Wick, White House Down, and Godzilla Vs. Kong. But he never took anything too seriously, which is why many instead know him best from his appearance as a fictionalised and unhinged version of himself in The Eric Andre Show, his cameo in the Key & Peele sketch show, or as strange superhero Ghost Train in Rick & Morty.

It's this approach that made Reddick perfect for video games. He has starred in so many of them not because they were easy gigs he could phone in while they overpaid him to slap his famous name on the box, but because he respected the craft and saw the fun in it. Knowing Hellboy: Web of Wyrd is likely to be the last time we ever see (or hear) him do that will be tough to take. And predictably, Reddick nails it. Hellboy is a gruff character by nature, a far cry from the mystic speeches of Horizon's Sylens or the charismatic leadership of Destiny's Zavala, and so his lines are shorter and spikier. But as I played more, conversations that showed off his personality emerged, and Reddick wrung the most out of every opportunity.

The devs I sat with while playing told me that several times Reddick had asked for more and more takes, wanting to get his performance perfect. Other actors with Reddick's track record might have settled for the first few takes, but then perhaps not settling for okay is how he earned such an impressive track record in the first place. Sitting with the developers also highlighted how sudden Reddick's passing had been - they were celebrating one of the last major milestones they needed to clear before the game was revealed when they heard the tragic news.

Of course, while it is impossible to overlook the sad fact that this was likely Reddick's last video game role, there is more to Hellboy: Web of Wyrd than the man behind the mic. The game is an over-the-shoulder beat-'em-up that functions something like a roguelike. It's a roguelikelike. In order to showcase Hellboy's huge scale from a shoulder perspective, the devs made the decision to raise the horizon line, so we see Hellboy as we would see any other over-the-shoulder character, but the enemies are smaller to highlight the difference. This led to a few changes throughout the design process though, as I’m told in early builds "it just looked like Hellboy was beating up children''.

Combat is slower and crunchier than a lot of people expect from a game these days - where games like Devil May Cry and Bayonetta used to be standouts for their speed and style, but now they seem to be the default. Hellboy is right to offer something different, even if it goes against the trend. It will take a little getting used to, but making every hit count was definitely the right way to go.

Comic books have become far more popular in the last decade or so with the MCU and similar adaptations, and we've seen 'comic book aesthetic' be distilled down into a very smooth and specific style. But 'comic book aesthetic' is no less varied than 'pencil and paper aesthetic', and Hellboy has embraced the grunge of its source material. Lines are uneven and spotted with ink, shadows drown out features, everything is angled and scrappy, just like Hellboy. Making the game look 'cool' to fans who wanted more of a Spider-Man interpretation must have been tempting, but I'm glad the team stuck to their guns (or giant stone fists) when it came to delivering an authentic take on Hellboy.

Some of the hands-on opportunities at Gamescom are choreographed, with devs clicking you here, there, and everywhere with some coding magic. Hellboy's was more direct, letting us play right from the start until time was up, but as a result I'm not sure I got far enough to judge the upgrade system. With procedurally generated levels, having versatility in your approach will be key, so it's this area I'd be paying keen attention to when the game launches October 4 on all major platforms.

Hellboy: Web of Wyrd might be our goodbye to Lance Reddick from gaming, but it's also a reminder of why he meant so much in the first place. I've been impressed with the craft of what I've seen, and I'm sure it will be the perfect send-off to one of our most beloved stars.

Next: I'm Finally Sold On Nightingale