BLACKWOOD Blends John Wick-Inspired Gunplay With Everyday Life Mechanics

The Bangladeshi indie game delivers satisfying action and ambitious gameplay systems, although its combat and pacing still need more polish.

BLACKWOOD is shaping up to be an interesting indie action game, offering considerably more than you might expect from its early gameplay footage. After spending multiple hours with an early review build, the game's ambition becomes clear through its mix of cinematic combat, detailed weapon mechanics, and a life simulation system centered on its protagonist, Anton. 

While the game clearly shows the limitations of a smaller development team, its attention to detail suggests that the developers have put considerable thought into the experience they want to deliver. More importantly, once the combat clicks, BLACKWOOD can become an entertaining action experience that captures the fantasy of playing a highly skilled contract killer.

The game's biggest attraction is its John Wick-inspired combat, a comparison that is hard to avoid once you see Anton in action. 

Although BLACKWOOD isn't an official John Wick game, its protagonist performs many of the moves fans associate with the character. You can empty a rifle, switch to your secondary weapon instead of stopping to reload, dive across a room while briefly slowing time to line up shots, and close the distance for a takedown. 

However, the combat doesn't feel as smooth as you might expect from a major studio production. Some animations and transitions feel a bit clunky, and bugs and occasional rough interactions break the flow of certain encounters. 

It takes time in the early hours to get a feel for how BLACKWOOD wants you to approach its combat, instead of playing it like a standard third-person cover shooter. Once you get the mechanics down, it's a lot more fun, especially when you start chaining takedowns, weapon switches, and environmental interactions.

The most important part about fighting in BLACKWOOD is that it forces you to stay on the offensive. When you run out of ammunition, enemies are potential sources of firearms, switching weapons is quicker than reloading, and Takedowns regain health. 

Also, your environment can get involved in the action, so Anton can use nearby things during some takedowns. If you want a bit more control over your approach, you can opt for a standard takedown instead of an environmental interaction.

The key to making these encounters work is movement, especially if you’re using Anton’s diving ability. The distance he travels depends on his momentum, so moving faster lets him launch farther across a room. During the dive, aiming briefly slows time, giving you an opportunity to line up your shots before Anton lands. 

The game also includes a surprising amount of detail in its firearm mechanics, which goes beyond simply choosing a weapon and shooting enemies. 

BLACKWOOD tracks whether you have a round left in the chamber, so you can reload with one round already chambered and keep that extra shot. You can physically check your remaining ammunition, while the greatest difficulty removes the standard ammunition counter altogether. 

Weapon switching is another mechanic that helps keep the combat moving at its pace. If Anton runs out of ammo for his primary weapon during the fight, he can hold it in one hand and draw his secondary weapon with the other. The game also lets you throw away an empty weapon, giving you another way to keep moving instead of stopping to manage your equipment. 

BLACKWOOD becomes more unusual when you step away from its contracts and explore Anton's everyday life. Anton is not a professional killer; he is a guy who spends every minute of his time doing mundane tasks. He has a DVD store, he has an apartment, and he has a basement

Outside of missions, there are a few things you can do in the game, like preparing equipment, purchasing items, receiving deliveries, changing clothes, listening to music, and going home to sleep. This system attempts to make Anton feel like a person with a life beyond the action sequences, rather than simply a character who exists to move from one gunfight to the next.

You can customize and expand your DVD store and basement as you progress through the game. Purchases also don't appear in your inventory immediately after you buy them, because different items are delivered to different locations. Clothing arrives at your apartment, DVDs are sent to the store, and weapons are delivered to the basement; paying extra lets you receive certain purchases the same day. 

That everyday-life system could become one of BLACKWOOD's most divisive features, particularly for players primarily interested in its action. 

The game's marketing appeal largely comes from watching Anton clear rooms with the speed and efficiency associated with John Wick, so some players might expect the contracts to remain the central focus. Instead, BLACKWOOD sometimes requires you to manage the store or handle other daily activities before you can return to another mission. 

The slower rhythm isn't necessarily a problem in every situation, because it gives the missions contrast and makes the action feel different from the quieter parts of Anton's routine. However, the balance between these systems will depend on what you want from the game. 

Players who enjoy managing a character's surroundings and building up a personal space might appreciate the additional activities, while those looking for a focused action experience could find them distracting. BLACKWOOD's ambition is clear, but not every part of it is equally entertaining throughout the early build.

The game's economy also reflects its attempt to build a complete contract killer lifestyle rather than relying on a single universal currency and a basic equipment menu. BLACKWOOD’s purchasing systems separate out different aspects of Anton’s life, from civilian firearms to black-market equipment. 

Civilian guns are generally more restricted, but the black market provides military versions, fully automatic guns, and illegal modifications. This separation offers the player different routes to acquire equipment and separates the legal and illegal sides of Anton’s activities.

The game also injects more depth into weapon ownership than a typical shooter would. 

You can buy damaged weapons at a discount, take them apart for valuable components, reuse compatible parts in other builds, and sell equipment you don’t need anymore. Instead of treating every firearm as temporary loot, BLACKWOOD lets you keep multiple copies of the same weapon with different configurations. 

The game also includes a shooting range where you can test your equipment and become more familiar with the gunplay before heading into another contract. This allows for a safe space to try out different weapons and configurations without jumping right into a potentially deadly encounter. 

At times, BLACKWOOD's attention to detail can feel like it works against its pacing. The developers are trying to combine shooting, takedowns, environmental interactions, weapon customization, black-market purchases, apartment management, a DVD store, deliveries, and an entire contract killer lifestyle into one experience. 

Each system adds something to the game, but the elements don't always feel equally polished. Some interactions feel more refined than others, and the overall experience occasionally reveals the limitations of the team working behind the project.

Atrio M7 Productions, the team behind Zero Hour, is developing BLACKWOOD, a tactical shooter they have been improving over several years. That background provides useful context for understanding the studio's approach to its latest project, particularly its willingness to build on a game over time. 

Zero Hour reportedly developed into a much stronger tactical shooter through continued work, and BLACKWOOD appears to have room for a similar process of refinement. The early build shows a team trying to build something with a distinct identity instead of simply producing another forgettable shooter.

The developers are based in Bangladesh, a country with a relatively limited presence in the mainstream global gaming industry. 

That makes BLACKWOOD's scope notable, especially given the number of systems the team is trying to bring together. The game still has some noticeable problems, including bugs and clunky interactions and animations that need polishing. Its combat can feel awkward in the early hours, and the slower life-management sections don't consistently match the entertainment offered by its contracts.

Even with those shortcomings, the game demonstrates attention to detail that is easy to overlook when discussing production budgets. The decision to track a round in the chamber, for example, adds a specific firearm mechanic that many games would simplify. 

The delivery system also gives purchases a physical destination instead of making them appear instantly inside a menu, while the different legal and illegal weapon categories add variety to equipment management. These decisions suggest the developers want the world to function according to its own systems, even when those systems aren't always as polished as they could be.

The difference between BLACKWOOD and a major studio production is clear, but that doesn't mean the game lacks potential. You can see the smaller team's limitations through its animations, bugs, and occasional inconsistencies, yet you can also see the effort behind the design. 

The game doesn't rely solely on the appeal of a John Wick-inspired character, because it tries to build a broader experience around Anton's work, home, equipment, and daily routine. That ambition gives BLACKWOOD a recognizable identity, even if some of its mechanics still need refinement.

Once the combat starts working as intended, the game's appeal becomes much easier to understand. 

You can dive into a room, fire at an enemy before Anton touches the ground, switch weapons when your magazine runs dry, and move toward another opponent for a takedown. Taking an enemy’s weapon and continuing the fight helps keep the momentum the game is trying to build. 

After several hours with the early review build, BLACKWOOD doesn't feel like a perfectly polished hidden masterpiece, and the experience has clear rough edges. Some daily activities feel like they take too long when you're trying to get back to another contract, and some interactions and animations still need some polish. 

But it differentiates itself from a pure action shooter with a meaningful mix of fast-paced gunplay, detailed weapon systems, and mundane life mechanics. Atrio M7 Productions has some really solid parts, but the weaker parts show there’s still room to grow to make the experience more cohesive.