It’s not every day a western game falls on your lap. Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2 has easily taken the award for most popular western game ever. So, it’s always nice to see the genre still show up in the video game medium, especially if they have a really interesting take on it. I’ll tell you now, Weird West certainly has an interesting take on the western genre and I’m all about it! With their very first game ever, Wolfeye Studios came out guns blazing to show what they’re made of. Leave it to an awesome company like Devolver Digital to help make it what it is. In so many ways it feels right at home with the library of Devolver games.
Weird West is a really cool action RPG that has an art design style that reminds me of Borderlands. The difference is the gameplay is in Top/Down view, similar to a Diablo game. Unlike Diablo, you can move the camera a full three-sixty degrees around the map. You will be able to play as five different characters; The Bounty Hunter, The Oneirist, The Werewolf, The Pigman, and The Protector. Each with their own story, and like good RPG games, the world is tailored to adapt by the actions you make along your journey. You can choose to be a ruthless person and strike fear into the towns you come across, or like me, chose a more noble path. Fortunately, going that direction had its own benefits. More people in the towns offered to talk to me and help me give me secret insights on things. Also, I got many discounts in the stores. Sometimes it does pay to be a nice guy.
What I found really interesting also, was the game’s use of time. Fast traveling to locations still eats up time on the clock. That’s usually not a big deal, but sometimes you will be entrusted with missions that are time sensitive. So, using your time wisely and not fast traveling back and forth to locations may be the best way to go about it. That’s what is really cool about this whole game is how much freedom you have to go about the missions you are given. You can storm enemies with the force of your weapons, use stealth to take them down one by one, or keep an eye on your environment and see what you can use to your advantage. Perhaps there will be a group of foes standing near some explosives or whatnot. The shooting action is very fun, it took a minute to get used to since you’re aiming like you’re trying to set a two-handed clock to the correct time instead of something like a first-person shooter. They even add a very fun little bullet-time mechanic to really pump up the badassery and make you feel like the western hero you grew up watching on tv.
What I appreciate most is this game really isn’t afraid to get weird, you do play as a werewolf and a man that is also a pig after all. Many of the stories I uncovered throughout my journey had really cool supernatural elements to them. Did I mention there are also zombies here in Back Country? There’s a lot to love here. Although most of the dialogue is via text, there is some voice over narration that helps keep the experience feel too quiet. More voiceover work would have been appreciated though. I recommend giving Weird West a check out if any of this entices you, just be sure to level up by completing levels and using your experience points to unlock abilities that suit your preferred playstyle. At minimum, the game will take around 20 to 25 hours to beat. Fortunately, it is rich with content throughout to keep going.
8.5/10
For more information, visit weirdwest.com.
Gaming since I was given an original Nintendo as a kid. I love great storytelling and unique ingenuity. When both collide in a single game, I'm a happy gamer. Twitter/IG @NickNavarro87
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