John Wick's stunt coordinators helped with Hex's gun fu

John Wick Hex, the turn-based tactics romp inspired by Keanu Reeves' vengeful hitman trilogy, has some pretty slick moves. The titular assassin can gracefully switch from shooting to melee, taking out multiple enemies in seconds and filling each moment with cool gun fu attacks. To adapt his combat style from the movies to a game, developer Mike Bithell consulted the stunt coordinator team that designed it. Check out the video above.

Samuel played three levels at E3 and reckoned it felt like a mix of XCOM and Superhot, with tactical puzzles and fights that play out in seconds. Thankfully time stops to give you a chance to consider how you're going to spend those seconds. Take a look at his John Wick Hex preview.

In the video, 87Eleven Action Design stunt coordinator Jonathan Eusebio explains that the combat style is all about problem solving and, like Judo, momentum. In Hex, you'll want to stay on the move, always aware of your surroundings and trying to figure out the quickest route to taking out a gun-toting foe.

Even the 'empty spaces', like when you need to reload, can be used tactically and aggressively. Bithell kept coming back to a scene from the first movie, where John Wick runs out of bullets, stuns an enemy, reloads and then shoots him. So there's a system of interrupting and stuns with different durations, giving players breathing space and more control over the battlefield.

It's an isometric game, but you still get some of the flashiness from the movies. The replay system, which was apparently suggested by Lionsgate Films, transforms each mission into a cinematic brawl, letting you enjoy the fruits of your labour in a way that you can't when you're in the trenches and trying very hard to not die.

John Wick Hex doesn't have a release date yet, but it does have an Epic Games Store page.

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.