Blackwood takes us to New York in 2012, where we work as a video store clerk during the day and hunt targets as a hitman at night. The game combines driving, brutal gun-fu encounters, spectacular executions, and business management in an action experience that appears deliberately absurd but extremely entertaining.
John Wick is one of the great modern action franchises that revitalized the genre in the West, although it continued to be as popular in Asia as ever. Its stylized action, seamless combat, and minimal plots favoring impossible choreography and gunfights inspired many filmmakers to emulate Keanu Reeves’ character on screen, but the franchise has not had the same impact on video games. Now, however, Blackwood wants to become a benchmark for this kind of game with an action experience that is as absurd in its premise as it appears to be fun to play.
Developed by AttritoM7 Productions, the game’s story is so simple that it could fit on a napkin: we play as Anton Blackwood, a seemingly ordinary person who works at a video store in New York in 2012 during the day and serves as a hitman at night. That is the entire premise. The project aims to prioritize game feel and gameplay over everything else.
Blackwood is a third-person cover shooter in which the action revolves around fast-paced and particularly violent encounters. According to the first developer diary, the independent team has placed considerable emphasis on gun-fu, the combat style seen in John Wick, as well as in the more fantastical Equilibrium, which combines martial arts, judo, and the tactical use of firearms.
In fact, the game is heavily focused on melee combat. While the studio has confirmed that ranged weapons will also be crucial and spectacular, with realistic particle effects when bullets strike solid structures or vehicles, melee executions will not only eliminate enemies instantly but will also be visually impressive and spectacular enough to make players want to dedicate a significant portion of combat to them. It is also worth noting that health will not regenerate automatically, as it can only be recovered by executing enemies. Although the combat system aims to convey a constant sense of control, there will be a difficulty level with a minimal HUD, requiring players to stop and manually inspect their magazines to determine how many bullets remain.
Every weapon can be customized according to our preferences, allowing us to adapt our equipment to the different kinds of missions we undertake. In the video, the studio promises that all weapons will be modular, enabling us to modify sights, grips, ammunition types, magazines, and even illegal attachments. All of this will have to be paid for with our own money, or more accurately, Anton’s money. To do so, we will need to go online and purchase the parts required to upgrade our weapons or replenish our supplies before continuing our work as assassins. Once properly equipped, we can perform Max Payne-style moves, such as launching ourselves into spectacular leaps while firing, using throwable objects to escape dangerous situations when we run out of ammunition, or even breaking windows to flee and find new cover.
By Day, We Will Manage Our Video Store While Looking for Assassination Contracts
Beyond the shootouts, Blackwood wants to offer something unusual through its overall structure. As previously mentioned, we run a video rental store during the day, meaning the game will also include management and construction elements. Like any retailer, we will have to improve the store with new furniture and decorations to attract customers, while also expanding the catalog with movies that replace titles that have become outdated. The money earned through the store can be used to purchase new weapons, although it will not compare with the thousands of dollars awarded for accepting assassination contracts.
These assignments form part of the game’s “night sessions,” a structure that appears to be inspired by Samson, the new game from Christofer Sundberg, co-founder of Avalanche Studios and creative director of the Just Cause series. The idea is to emphasize Anton’s double life. During the day, we work, while at night we head out to eliminate criminals, advance the story, and delve deeper into the criminal underworld. However, the game will also include calmer moments, with Anton recovering after a night of unrestrained violence, listening to music, or simply customizing his appearance.
“Sleeping saves the game and also advances the story,” the studio added. During the campaign, contracts will progressively increase in scale and importance, moving from simple missions involving the protection of a wealthy individual or the elimination of a group of criminals to spectacular driving sequences through the city, although the game will not feature an open world. There will also be main missions that can be replayed as many times as desired, along with smaller and more incidental side missions.
Blackwood is a highly intriguing independent project that currently has no precise release date. The studio encourages players not only to add it to their Steam wishlists, with Steam being the only confirmed platform so far, but also to follow its development closely, as the planned release window remains summer 2026.
Source: 3DJuegos
