Wick Review. Nothing More Than a Spooky Scavenger Hunt

I’ve heard, seen and played spooky stories. Wick is anything but scary. It’s an endless charade of moving around endlessly trying to solve a mystery that is less than engaging, has zero gaming appeal other than curiosity about what it could offer and a good waste of $9.99.

Graphics – 2/5

The developers certainly tried to make the haunted forest have a creepy ambiance, with lots of mist. That’s about it for the graphics. Your character is never seen throughout the game, and the setting is repetitive, although occasionally you may come across something like an old school bus, a ghoul that looks like it was cut from a 5-year old’s playbook and a less-than-appealing wooden shed. Movement is terribly linear, and the graphics are just awkward.

Gameplay – 1.5/5

I’m only giving this section a 1.5 because there is a basic storyline that introduces you to the game. You are a teenager who has to survive one night in the haunted woods without getting chased around to death by a bunch of non-creepy ghosts. Locals claim the forest is haunted by children who went missing. You have to search the forest looking for clues as to what led to the disappearance of school children.

The game claims it is a survival horror game. However, as you’re playing the game, it is never quite clear what exactly you are surviving from. Ghosts occasionally appear, and at the very least I’d thought you’d fight them. Nothing happens other than mindless wandering around. Most of the items you are scavenging for are hidden in one secluded corner of the forest, which means you’ll wander around the same location countlessly.

You need to stay in the light by following the candle trail. If not, the ghosts start coming in faster and more aggressively.

Controls – 3/5

The aim is simple enough: just move around with your joystick and press the action buttons to collect your scavenged items or light candles. There’s no combat, no melee with the ghosts, nothing. Therefore, there’s nothing much to say about the controls. On the flipside, they are simple enough, and even a baby can adapt to them easily. Your Xbox controller will have a holiday at the lack of action from your hands with this game.

Replay Value – 1/5

I honestly wouldn’t replay this game (unless I was offered a refund) for the life of me. Playing a horror game that doesn’t scare you just beats the logic of playing it in the first place. Everything is terrible in this game, from the graphics to the poorly executed gameplay. Even a lame attempt at a story mode in the PS4 port as a YouTuber looking to piece together evidence of the eerie disappearances of the school kids doesn’t offer the slightest incentive of replay.  

The Bottom Line

This game is poorly delivered in all aspects. In Wick, you mindlessly wander around collecting evidence which doesn’t help your quest much, not in any way you can understand at least. Nothing scared me: not the cartoonish-looking ghosts, not the repetitive score and not the ‘spooky’ forest that loops endlessly and looks like a poorly-lit flower garden instead. Save your $9.99, unless you feel sufficiently philanthropic to support an indie developer.