BLACKWOOD Guides

This hub is the map for every BLACKWOOD how-to on the wiki. Act 1 is still upcoming — Steam lists September 16, 2026 for Windows — so these pages teach the systems the studio has already shown instead of pretending the campaign is finished. If you are new, start with Getting Started and keep this page bookmarked as more mission write-ups land after launch.

What these guides cover

BLACKWOOD is not a loot-shooter grind and it is not an open-world crime sandbox. It is a single-player cinematic third-person shooter about Anton Blackwood, a Brooklyn DVD shop owner who takes contracts after dark. The official release announcement says the campaign is focused and linear — not an open-world game. The player pain is the split: if you only think about gun-fu, the monthly bills and hush money will end the run. If you only think about the shop, the nights will outpace your loadout. The guides below keep both halves in view.

• Getting Started — first-day loop, platforms, price, and what to prepare before launch
• Store Management — inventory, pricing, Amelie, and why autopilot pays poorly
• Dual Economy — Clean Cash versus Dirty Cash and the 11–13k monthly payment
• Combat — gunplay, melee, contextual takedowns, health stages, and movement
• Controls — keyboard, mouse, and full controller support including DualSense
• 2012 New York Map — Brooklyn shop hub, mission streets, and what trailers show of the city
• Difficulty — adjustable settings, hidden ammo, and Choreography Mode takedown slots

Pair the combat pages with the Weapons hub when you start planning attachments. Pair the money pages with the bill planner when you want numbers on a single screen.

How a BLACKWOOD day actually runs

The studio’s systems explainer lays out a repeating day, not a floating mission select. You wake at home, get ready, open or manage the shop, take a main mission or a side contract, come back, close the store, spend on upgrades, then rest. Seven days make a week. Four weeks make a month. The month name is never stated, but the bill is: rent plus hush money lands around 11–13k. Miss it once and police or loan sharks start asking questions. Miss it twice and the run is over.

That calendar is why a “just play the story” approach is risky. Main missions can be replayed. Side missions come back with modifiers such as tougher enemies, weapon limits, or timers. None of that helps if you cannot make the monthly payment. Read store management before you treat the DVD shop as flavour text.

Combat is cinematic, not invincible

Official materials stress dives, rolls, slides, cover, and a large set of contextual takedowns that use the room around you. Takedowns restore some health, which rewards getting close when the fight allows it. Health is divided into stages, so you cannot fully reset after every skirmish. On the highest difficulty, ammo is not always shown on the HUD — Anton has to physically check the weapon. Those details belong in combat and controls, not in a generic tips list.

Weapons are modular and unique as instances. You can keep several copies of the same gun built differently, and compatible parts can move between them. Civilian guns and outfits sit on the Clean Cash side. Rare hardware, illegal modifications, and untraceable ammo sit on the Dirty Cash side via the black market. See weapon customization and builds.

Story context without spoiling Act 1

Anton is trying to look ordinary in 2012 New York while a past — and a watcher — refuse to stay buried. The shop is also a home you can decorate. Amelie runs the counter when you step out, and time spent with her opens later opportunities. Use the Story hub for character pages, then come back here for the mechanical how-to.

Act 1 launches with four main missions plus side content. Act 2 is planned for March 2027 and Act 3 for September 2027, both free for owners. Track that on the roadmap so you do not buy expecting a finished three-act campaign on day one.

How to use this wiki after launch

When Act 1 is live, these same URLs will hold first-week route advice, mission modifiers, and control notes from the shipping build. Until then, treat official Steam news, the developer trailers, and the release date page as the fact layer. Confirm PC specs on system requirements — 16 GB of RAM and an SSD are not optional on the published minimum.

If a page here disagrees with a later patch note, the patch note wins. This is an unofficial fan wiki, not a studio handbook.