John Wick Hex is a timeline strategy game with elements of resource management where the player maneuvers the titular character through a level on a hex-based grid, using various moves and actions to defeat enemies and avoid being hit by his foes.
To the player, the actions of John Wick and visible enemies are shown on a timeline similar to those used in video editing software, with actions taking different amounts of time. The player loads commands for John Wick to follow into this timeline, and the game will pause if the player has not added further actions into the timeline.[3] These actions may be about gaining a better position to fire from, taking a better stance that improves John Wick's chances to hit, or to take defensive actions and improved cover from foes.
Players must also take into consideration the limited ammo that John Wick has i.e. 15 bullets in his handgun, because once the player reloads their weapon then the player loses any bullets left in the weapon's magazine. Although John Wick is able to grab weapons from enemies, this takes precious time, requiring the player to think through all the possible actions they can take before getting shot by the enemies. An interesting fact is that every time a player chooses to shoot, John Wick fires two rounds at his enemy because John Wick double-taps his enemies in the movies.[4]
Initially the level is covered by a type of fog of war which becomes unveiled as the player moves John Wick further in the level. The game has been described as a combination of tactics games such as X-COM mixed with fast-paced decision making of Superhot.[5] At the completion of a level, the game can play back a replay of the movements, without waiting for any user input, mimicking some of the fluidity of the action scenes from the John Wick films.[6]