BLACKWOOD Act One puts you in a DVD store by day and contracts by night. CMoney chased that John Wick cool through the tunnels and the plaza shootout.
The BLACKWOOD team provided a copy of the game for this piece.
Verdict Worth a Look
By day you run a DVD store in 2012 New York. By night you are a contract killer. That double life pitch is why BLACKWOOD Act One had my attention before I ever touched a controller. The team sent over a copy, the trailers looked dope, and the vibe is straight John Wick energy. I went in excited. I came out of the opening stretch wanting to get good at it.
Watch the RAW IMPRESSIONS
BLACKWOOD Act One RAW IMPRESSIONS: DVD Store by Day, Killer by NightIt wants you to feel cool, and when it clicks, it does.
CMoney, OnPoint 4 Gamers
What BLACKWOOD Act One is
BLACKWOOD is a cinematic third-person action thriller from AttritoM7 Productions, published with IZilla Games. You manage a small DVD shop as your daytime front, then drop into the city’s underworld as Anton when the contracts start. Act One is the first chapter of a planned three-act story. It is not Early Access. Act One is a complete part of the whole game, with more acts landing later as free updates for anyone who buys it once.
It launched on PC via Steam on September 16, 2026 for $24.99. Act 2 is planned for March 2027 and Act 3 for September 2027. As of now it is Windows PC only. Xbox Series X|S is in the studio’s plans with no date yet. I played the Act One retail build on PC with a controller.
The opening already has personality
Right off the rip I liked how it looked. The movement is deliberate. This is not a hero sprinting like a maniac. It is a killer who picks his pace, climbs when he needs to, and keeps a gun ready. That John Wick posture is the whole mood.
Then the sewers get weird. You are solving a gate sequence to stop the water, peeking at levers, and trying not to scramble the order. It is a little fiddly at first. I had to run it more than once. Once it clicks, you are moving again, and that is when the tunnels stop being quiet.
Alligator, then the street goes loud
What a wild start. One minute you are working a gate puzzle. The next you are dealing with an alligator that wants you gone. After that, BLACKWOOD stops teasing and throws you into the night. Out of the sewers. Into the car. And the plaza does not care that you just learned the climb button.
They light the car up. Enemies push hard. I tried playing it like a normal far-away shooter at first, and that was the wrong energy. This game wants you closer. It wants slides, dives, door peeks, and the kind of messy street fight where sound and movement matter. The enemies are aggressive. They are not messing around.
Style is the point
Once I stopped treating it like a campy cover shooter, the fantasy showed up. Auto-aim helps you snap between targets. Double-tap dive opens up floor angles. Closing doors mid-fight feels like a little power move. It is about style. It wants you to feel cool. When a moment lands, it lands.
Learning the toolkit is the real early-game boss. Takedowns are a big part of that fantasy, and I was still figuring them out while people were shooting at me. Prompts flash while you are concentrating on not dying. Ammo management will humble you too. I stood there holding fire like the gun was broken, and the truth was simple: I had no ammo. That death sent me all the way back. Fine. I needed the practice.
I wanted another run
Here is the tell. Even after the run-back, I was grinning at the movement. One-handed climbs. Quick routes I already knew. A plaza that looks pretty under the moon while people are trying to erase you. I said out loud that it feels cool. A little difficult for me in that first session, sure. Also really dope. I want to get good at it.
That is the best first impression a stylish action game can earn. Not perfection. Hunger.
Verdict: Worth a Look
BLACKWOOD Act One sells a fantasy I care about: DVD store by day, killer by night, and combat that chases that cinematic cool. The opening has personality. The plaza fights get loud fast. When the movement and gunplay click, you feel like the trailer promised. The early curve is real. Puzzles can be fiddly, takedowns take practice, and empty magazines will send you packing.
It is out now on PC through Steam for $24.99, and buying Act One means the later acts are planned as free updates. It is not on Xbox yet, and I would love to see that planned console version show up with a real date. Shout out to the BLACKWOOD team for sending the copy over. If stylish third-person action is your lane, this is worth a look while Act One is the live chapter.
What's working
- Strong John Wick style fantasy with deliberate, cool movement
- Looks good right away, especially night plaza lighting and tunnels
- Aggressive street fights that reward getting close and stylish
- Dive, auto-aim snap, and door play that sell the fantasy
- Double-life premise (DVD shop by day, killer by night) that sticks
- One purchase planned to cover all three acts as free updates
What needs work
- Early learning curve on takedowns, movement tech, and ammo checks
- Gate puzzle stretch can feel fiddly before it clicks
- Dying out of ammo can boot you far back while you are still learning
Would you run a DVD shop by day and contracts by night?
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Platform played: PC (Steam)
Screenshots captured by OnPoint 4 Gamers from gameplay. Featured image: OnPoint 4 Gamers, unique per-game typography over Frank's own RAW IMPRESSIONS gameplay frame (shot-5). Not a generic RAW stock image.
