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Between the muscles, the guns, and the Right Hand of Doom, Hellboy doesn’t look like someone who needs a lot of help. That’s mostly true, but in Upstream Arcade’s new roguelike brawler, Big Red faces challenges that call for some assistance. The supernatural realm of Wyrd is full of monsters and even worse, after all. In addition to the temporary power-ups gained in each level, Web of Wyrd also includes meta progression at the Butterfly House. These permanent upgrades can make our comic book hero harder to kill, unlock new combat moves, or even bring him back from the dead. Here are the best upgrades in Hellboy Web of Wyrd, ranked from good to outstanding.
5. Total Health
Like most other roguelikes, Health is a core mechanic in Web of Wyrd, and one of the best upgrades directly improves it. Total Health is as simple as it is potent, allowing Hellboy to take a bit more of a beating before the Tether snaps and sends him back to earth. Each level of this upgrade improves Hellboy’s max Health a little more. One level isn’t much of a boost, but when you max out Total Health, the additional survivability is noticeable. There are only a couple of ways to restore lost Health while in Wyrd, so anything that gives you a bit more to start with is welcome.
4. Dodge Counter
Hellboy isn’t subtle, taking the direct approach to combat as he does to everything else. Even though he’s a brawler at heart, his fighting style in Web of Wyrd can get pretty intricate with the best upgrades. Dodge Counter is a vital part of that, allowing Hellboy to counter attacks executed after a last-second dodge. This attack deals extra stun damage, which is wasted on smaller mobs but crucial for Big Bads and bosses. The game’s most fearsome foes can rip through Hellboy’s Toughness and Health quickly if they’re allowed to press the attack. Stunning them prevents that, leaving your enemies open for Hellboy to unload on with impunity.
3. Boom
Whereas Dodge Counter is defensive, Boom is offensive. This ability allows you to execute a Heavy Attack on a stunned enemy to send them flying, dealing massive damage. Increasing your damage is great, but launching enemies is even more useful. Position yourself properly, and you can launch enemies into walls or breakable pillars or even off ledges. Boss battles in Web of Wyrd, like hard boss battles in other games, can be tricky if you aren’t using the best upgrades at your disposal. The ability to launch enemies with Boom is a definite advantage since controlling the distance between yourself and your foes is a big part of combat.
2. Total Toughness
Total Toughness is almost identical to Total Health, yet the differences between the two make this upgrade far superior. Toughness and Health perform the same function: keep you alive by absorbing enemy attacks. The crucial difference is that Toughness automatically regenerates over time, whereas lost Health is gone until you find more. Health is only lost when all of your Toughness has been exhausted, so you always lose Toughness first. Because of these factors, you will get far more value out of a single point of Toughness than a single point of Health. If you learn to carefully manage your Toughness, you can plow through tricky stages without a scratch thanks to this upgrade, undoubtedly one of the best in Web of Wyrd.
1. Revive
In most games, death is the end, but in others, death is a new kind of beginning. Losing all your Health in Web of Wyrd sends you back to earth until the next run. Mobs typically aren’t enough to kill you, but bosses often are. That means the most common time to fail a run and need to start over is the very end. That’s frustrating, especially when you were just a hit or two away from beating the boss. Revive allows you to survive fatal damage, returning to the fight when you would otherwise fall. What pushes Revive over the top and makes it the best upgrade in Hellboy Web of Wyrd is its ease of use. Total Toughness requires greater effort and skill to get value from, whereas anyone can benefit from Revive.
Hellboy Web of Wyrd is available for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.
