Weird West Review – I Kicked A Bird and I Liked It
Source: Weird West Review – I Kicked A Bird and I Liked It
GAME INFORMATION
Strange West
March 31, 2022
platform PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
editor Devolver Digital
developer WolfEye Studios
When you think of video games set in the wild Wild West, the Red Dead Redemption series immediately springs to mind, and with very good reason. Not only are Rockstar Games’ two open-world games great in their own right, they’re also among the few that allow players to live the life of the outlaw with little to no restrictions. However, the Undead Nightmare expansion for the first entry in the series showed how the Wild West could be something more by adding supernatural elements that could make the setting even more interesting.
That’s exactly what WolfEye Studios did with its action role-playing game, Weird West. Besides cowboys, outlaws, gunslingers and poachers, the game features many supernatural elements such as zombies, werewolves, crazy cultists and gangs made up of man-eating monsters that seem to fit the setting perfectly. Add in some immersive simulation elements and a living world that dynamically reacts and changes based on the player’s actions, and you have a highly memorable game, even with its issues.
Right from the start of the game, it’s clear that Weird West isn’t a regular action role-playing game set in the Wild West. In the introduction, unknown people discuss something mysterious that seems to concern the player, who must undertake five different journeys to fully understand what is going on. The five voyages focus on five different characters – the Bounty Hunter, the Pigman, the Protector, the Werewolf and the Onerist – who all have their quest to do. These quests are quite interesting, ranging from the bounty hunter’s mission to rescue her husband to the pigman’s quest for revenge, and feature some pretty wacky characters who, while lacking in-depth characterization (save for a few), do the Time in the Weird West pretty fun.
What really lifts the story in Weird West is how the five voyages are connected and how they come together in the last one. For example, for much of the bounty hunter’s story, it’s not yet clear why her quest matters broadly, but after learning about the sign and meeting a few key characters along the way, it becomes clearer that it is indeed something very strange thing happened. Things will become clearer and clearer during the following journeys, and the story will culminate in the Onerist Journey, which provides all the answers and tasks for the players to make a choice that will change the Weird West forever. The mystery surrounding the token and why it’s so important makes the roughly 40 hours it takes to complete the game very engrossing from start to finish.
While the story of Weird West is more than reason enough to play the game, especially for players who experience specific time periods in unique interpretations, the gameplay enhances the overall experience as it grants players tremendous freedom and gives them the opportunity to choose the significantly affecting the world of the game.
At its core, Weird West is a top-down action RPG in which players explore a variety of locations to complete quest objectives and advance the story. What really sets it apart from other similar games are the immersive simulation features that make the world dynamically react to what the player is doing. For example, if you decide to decimate a settlement’s population, the place would become deserted and far worse creatures would eventually colonize it. If the player wants to be known as a champion of the common people, completing simple quests from regular NPCs will make them incredibly popular, so much so that their name may end up in the newspaper. Helped NPCs also appear randomly in battle when you are in a bind and will help you get out of a difficult situation since you helped them do the same.
If bounty hunting is more your thing, there are many wanted criminals to hunt down. By killing them or taking them to the sheriff, the player’s reputation will grow, leading to people recognizing you on the street and shopkeepers even giving you discounts for your service to the community. However, bounty hunting has consequences as gang members initiate a vendetta and randomly appear in locations full of enemies to make your life even harder. Picked up bounties will also do the same, highlighting even more how every small action in the world of Weird West has consequences.
Needless to say, these gameplay systems make the experience so immersive that you end up forgetting about your main story quests and just choosing to just live your life in the Weird West. While this can feel a bit scattered at times, the fact that even previously explored locations can change based on a variety of factors, and that secondary locations are randomly generated with each playthrough, makes it very easy to get lost in the Weird West and each loving second of it.
Freedom is also the be-all and end-all in Weird West in combat. The game not only gives you different tools to take out all kinds of enemies, from your regular Wild West gunslingers to zombies, ghosts and werewolves, but actually encourages you to do so to experiment with different elementary interactions. For example, water conducts electricity, so it’s possible to boost these attacks by dousing enemies with water. Oil burns with fire, so using a fire elemental attack on oil will make it more devastating. Pretty much every random object in Weird West can be picked up and thrown at the enemy, and some wild interactions will allow you to win fights without firing a single bullet. Stealth is also an extremely viable option, also due to the enemy AI, which isn’t the brightest at times. In other cases, though, you’ll be heard by enemies inside buildings even when you’re outside and don’t seem to be making much noise, making the experience feel a bit inconsistent.
Aside from these interactions, Weird West’s combat system is relatively straightforward. Each character can use different weapon types such as guns, rifles, shotguns, melee weapons, and thrown weapons such as dynamite, which have different properties. Each character can also learn a number of common weapon skills and character-specific abilities, allowing players to come up with some exciting builds. The perk system is also quite extensive, allowing players to customize characters to suit their playstyle. The best thing about the character customization system is that it feels incredibly natural. There are no experience points in Weird West, as skills and perks are unlocked through the use of special items found around the world. These items are relatively easy to find, so players won’t feel limited. Perks also carry over between Journeys, so you can invest in them without worrying about lost progress.
Weird West also features a very cinematic combat ability that slows downtime when dodging while aiming a ranged weapon. Unfortunately, this ability makes combat almost trivial in most cases, as it is considerably more powerful and easier to use than most abilities. It’s a shame as this ability has often become a shortcut to victory during my time with the game, and the fact that AP recovery potions are so widely used only made me abuse them even more. As the developer aims to continue supporting the game after launch, I can definitely see this ability being tweaked so it can’t be abused too much to make combat too easy, at least on Normal difficulty.
Weird West is also visually stunning with a very pleasing cel shading style that lends itself well to this unique rendition of the Old West. Character models and locations aren’t particularly complex or detailed, but the great lighting makes everything very enjoyable. The game’s performance is generally solid as it runs on the machine used for the test (i7-10700 CPU, RTX 3070, 16 GB RAM) in 4K resolution, mostly high settings at 90, 100 fps most of the time. Some noticeable dips occurred during multiple explosions or when it was raining in the city, but a small tweak to the settings improved performance in those situations as well.
Unfortunately, Weird West is not free from technical problems. During my playthrough, the game crashed several times, sometimes even freezing the entire system and forcing a reboot. The physics engine works decently most of the time, but there will be times when a thrown item will not behave as intended, potentially leading to unwanted open combat. Controller support is also a bit patchy and could use some improvement, particularly around throwing weapon controls and shared inputs. Too many times I’ve entered or exited a location just wanting to reload my gun.
Despite its problems, Weird West is a highly entertaining action RPG that fans of the genre are sure to love thanks to its gripping story, unique take on the Old West setting, and immersive simulation features. Some balancing and technical issues affect the experience a bit; However, if all you wanted was to hunt down zombies and werewolves with your revolver, kill vultures with your kicks, and generally experience a world that you can actively shape, these themes won’t matter that much.
PC version tested. Check the code provided by the publisher.
Products mentioned in this post
rtx3070
$1275
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8.0
With its gripping story, wacky characters, solid action RPG mechanics, and masterfully crafted immersive simulation features, Weird West is one of the few RPGs out there where players truly shape the world with their choices and actions. Some balancing and technical issues hamper the experience, but if you’re looking for a truly immersive RPG to play, you won’t find anything better than Weird West.
advantages
- Unique attitude
- Exciting story
- Some very likeable characters
- Huge freedom
- Game world that responds to the player’s choices in interesting and sometimes unexpected ways.
disadvantage
- The massive amount of freedom can make the game feel a bit unfocused and scattered
- Combat is made a little trivial by a powerful and easy-to-use ability
- Technical problems
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