How Hellboy Web of Wyrd’s Commitment to Comic Book Authenticity Packs a Punch
A new trailer for Hellboy Web of Wyrd was unveiled today during the IGN x ID@Xbox Digital Showcase, giving us a brand-new glimpse at the upcoming action title.
The trailer showed new locations, a look at some of Hellboy’s fighting moves, and some of the characters he’ll likely be throwing his very large fists at. All of this came wrapped up in a traditional comic-style setting, with inspiration heavily drawn from Hellboy comics creator Mike Mignola.
We had the chance to chat to two developers from Upstream Arcade, Adam Langridge and Patrick Martin, about how the art direction of Hellboy Web of Wyrd, how Mignola’s presence is felt throughout the game, and the work put in to craft a fresh story while remaining faithful to the Hellboy series.
Q: What was the motivation behind this animated art style?
A: We are big fans of Mike Mignola and felt that a Hellboy game honoring his creative style was crying out to be realized in 3D. His artwork stands out on the comic book shelves and we felt the aesthetics would make for a unique and authentic Hellboy game experience – a real “comic book comes to life” moment.
Q: How has Web of Wyrd adapted Mike Mignola’s comics in an authentic way?
A: Dark Horse and Hellboy Universe editor Katie O’Brien have been heavily involved with Web of Wyrd and you’ll see that influence through the characters and denizens you meet or fight against, and the spaces you explore. Mike has also been very excited by everything he’s seen.
The Hellboy Universe is such a wide, deep and varied world and Web of Wyrd is a natural extension within that.
It was really important to us that Web of Wyrd be a suitable introduction that captures the feel of the earlier Hellboy comics…
Q: Where does this game fit into the original stories/comics?
A: We worked with Dark Horse to figure out the perfect starting point for fans in Hellboy’s expansive timeline and wound up in 1982. Why 1982? Well, we wanted to drop players into an unfolding situation right in the thick of Hellboy’s adventures with the BPRD (Bureau of Paranormal, Research and Defense) without encroaching on the established comic book stories. We worked closely with Dark Horse to make sure the Web of Wyrd feels like an authentic Hellboy tale, and our hope is it could even act as a springboard for players less familiar with the comics to pick up Seeds of Destruction and continue their journey with nothing spoilt!
Q: Is Hellboy’s move set/fighting abilities drawn from any specific references, be that comics or other media?
A: Hellboy’s fighting style is drawn from the comics. We pored over all the cool action sequences in the comics to get a strong sense of how he tackles all manner of strange and powerful entities. We often talk about this being a ‘Monstrous, toe-to-toe brawler’ where sure, Hellboy is a big guy, but he is often fighting something much bigger than him, so we built the gameplay around those feelings.
Q: What can you tell us about the plot of this game?
A: It was really important to us that Web of Wyrd be a suitable introduction that captures the feel of the earlier Hellboy comics, so it features many classic elements; Hellboy as an active BPRD agent, folklore from around the world, and lots of monsters. However, we don’t want to spoil too much, so you’ll just have to wait and see what other surprises we have in store!
Hellboy Web Of Wyrd is coming soon to Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. Keep your eyes peeled for further updates.