«Weird West» put to the test: a gripping trip into a wacky Wild West
31.3.2022
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
Five contrasting characters, a common secret, an experimental combat system and a gritty Wild West fairy tale world: ingredients that make «Weird West» an exceptional ride.
The name says it all. In «Weird West», you’ll encounter trigger-happy cowboys and Indians, misunderstood pig people and obsessed occultists. The Wild West in «Weird West» is reminiscent of the dark fantasy saga «The Dark Tower» by Steven King or the HBO series «Lovecraft Country». Except that the racism in the game is directed against supposed monsters instead of people of colour.
«Weird West» is out now for PC, Playstation and Xbox and is included in Game Pass.
The game was developed by Wolfeye Studios, which is run by Arkane cofounders. The DNA of games like «Prey» or «Dishonored» can be felt everywhere. Although the first-person perspective has given way to a bird’s eye view, the gameplay freedom and tactical approach are definitely still there.
Five characters, five chapters
In «Weird West», you play five interwoven stories in a predetermined order. First, you take on the role of a former bounty hunter. After an attack on her family, she dusts off her shooting irons, or rather digs them out and hunts down the bandits.
The world consists of numerous towns, farms and mines, which are navigated with the help of an overview map that’s hidden at first. One of the first places you visit is called Crackle. This dusty Wild West town is where you find clues about your kidnapped husband and learn more about a strange mark on your neck. The intro video, in which two figures stand before a cloaked person slumped in a chair, suggests that supernatural things are at work. In the same room, the silhouette of five people can be made out. The first of them turns out to be the bounty hunter.
Versatile combat system
After having a quick chat with the local sheriff back in Crackle, the trail leads you to a bandit camp. This is where the versatility of the «Weird West» combat system first comes to light. The levels are usually marked out in a way that allows different approaches. As always, you can pull out your guns and start shooting. It’s a valid strategy after all. The many revolvers, shotguns or sticks of dynamite are just screaming out to be used. If you dodge to the side while shooting, time slows down, thereby creating epic «Max Payne» or «Matrix» moments. However, the enemies are quick to disappear behind obstacles, zero in on you or rush at you with raised machetes. You also have to get shooting distance right whilst aiming, so you’ll be properly challenged.
It’s worth including the environment when you’re forging your strategy. For example, you can set up the barrels of poison, oil and dynamite that are standing around before the battle to create explosive chain reactions. Alternatively, try kicking the barrels towards your enemies during the battle or ignite an oil barrel with a well-aimed shot at an oil lantern. Water and electric shocks also make for fun combinations to eliminate enemies. You can also climb onto rooftops and target the enemies from there. Or abseil down a dry well and sneak behind enemy lines through underground tunnels.
Besides aiming and shooting, you’ll have three to four unlockable talents per character and weapon type at your disposal. The weapon talents are identical for all characters. «High Noon» automatically fires the revolver at any target in range. «Explosive Shells» loads the shotgun with explosive rounds. «Sentry Silencer» mutes the gun for the next shot. The characters’ talents are individual. The bounty hunter can briefly charm enemies and turn them into accomplices, or dish out 20 seconds of extra-powerful ass-kicking. I won’t tell you about the characters that come into play later on, so as not to spoil the surprise.
You can also hire up to two companions and equip them with weapons and armour. Provided your heroes survive their story, you can also recruit them in the following chapter and benefit from their special abilities – awesome!
Sadly, I must admit, mindless shooting is almost always effective. If you fancy a change of battle style, you pretty much have to force yourself. This is partly because the controls are a bit clumsy. I mainly used my mouse and keyboard to play. I move my character with the WASD keys and aim and shoot with the mouse. By default, the characters’ talents are on keys one through four. I can remember which skills are assigned to which key; the problem is that they keep changing depending on which weapon I’ve equipped. In combination with each character’s talent, the five weapon types, which are pistol, rifle, shotgun, bow and melee, add up to over twenty actions I could perform. Plus, each of the five characters has its very own skills. This makes it tricky to keep track in combat. Fortunately, there’s a tactics mode, which slows down time at the touch of a button. Annoyingly, I completely ignored it for the first ten hours of gameplay. So don’t make the same mistake I did!
With the controller, the various abilities are a bit easier to select and movement is also more precise with the analogue stick. However, aiming at the enemies that are running around is much more difficult, which is why I switched to mouse and keyboard after a few hours.
A lively and mysterious world
Even more than the combat system, I was taken by the strange world. Whether it’s during the five main stories, on a side quest or treasure hunt or during one of the many chance encounters while travelling: there’s always something to discover and experience. A mysterious witch challenges me to a face slapping duel, a sect of flesh-eating sirens attacks me, and I get to be the mediator in a love story between two cowboys. The story becomes more convoluted with each new character.
The world itself is also constantly changing. Dynamic shifts between day and night aren’t just for aesthetics. When darkness sets in, most residents go to sleep, which lends itself to creeping about or thieving sprees. The course of the day also means that time progresses in the game. Various tasks such as bounty hunts must be completed within a certain time limit. What’s particularly interesting are the changes to the world brought about by your actions. A ghostly village I saved from a zombie invasion is full of life again on my next visit. This opens up new shopping opportunities, but also new side quests.
Your actions influence the course of the story. Although the choices are pretty black and white, they do have some depth. Which side do you take in a dispute between Indians and farmers, or do you choose to be a bystander? Do you apologise for past actions or take revenge for your own suffering? Will you sacrifice the murderer or the thief? If you want, you can also just gun down any character featured in the game, including the main characters. That’s how I got rid of a person I had to reveal more to than I wanted in order to reach my goal. Two quick shots from the aptly titled «Black Mountain Widowmaker» rifle and the problem was solved – or was it? So far, I haven’t noticed any major effects my decision has had. Having said that, the final chapter is still ahead of me.
When you’re not following the main quest, you can move freely around the map and head to any newly discovered point. Maybe someone has a job for you there, you might find some valuable loot, or perhaps you’ll only come across a few hungry coyotes on the way. I exclusively kept to the markers from my quest log. This was more than enough for me.
The comic-like graphics with the distinctive black borders create a world full of atmosphere. Even though some buildings and locations are recycled, «Weird West» offers a decent variety overall. The subtle and slightly eerie soundtrack does its part to make this weird «Wild West» feel strangely beautiful.
Compulsive hoarding
At its heart, «Weird West» is a role-playing game. This includes a crafting system to improve weapons and armour. You can find the material for this by looting or by mining. On your travels, you pick up everything that isn’t nailed down like a vacuum cleaner. Accordingly, your inventory will quickly burst at the seams. Except for firearms, you can’t take anything apart to free up some space. And what was even worse than my overlooking the tactics mode is that, I only found out after 15 hours of playing that you can take apart weapons as you collect them. Instead, I’d always laboriously make room first in my small inventory.
Although your horse reduces travel time, its saddlebags also fill up quickly. As is often the case in games with a loot system, it degenerates into a compulsion to loot every crate, drawer or corpse. After all, you never know if you’ll find a fancy new weapon or even a golden ace of spades. It’s the card that unlocks extra abilities that apply across all characters. These abilities include more life points, faster reloading or a greater chance of keeping the lock pick when picking locks.
Conclusion: a captivating world and motivating battle system
«Weird West» is a fascinating mix of action role-playing game and fantasy horror. The story of the five playable characters won’t win any literary prizes, but the mystery that unites them all always kept me playing. Even far away from the main quest there’s a lot to discover and try out. While you can solve virtually any problem with shooting irons, you’re missing out on a crucial aspect of the game: experimentation. The whirlwind talent of a later character can be used to unleash storms of poison and fire. Or you try to find out how many barrels you need to line up to create explosive dominos. VOnly to be discovered and blow yourself up in the rush.
«Weird West» doesn’t seem to be quite as complex a simulation as the developers would have you believe. But I’m sure that once the game comes out, players will have far more creative ideas than I did.
Despite the freedom, «Weird West» can be a bit repetitive at times. Essentially, it’s almost always about travelling somewhere and rendering all enemies harmless. But because the game presents new mechanics at regular intervals, I never got bored. «Weird West» is an unusual trip that will stay with you for a while.
«Weird West» is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X and was made available to me courtesy of Devolver.
Philipp Rüegg
Senior Editor
Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.chBeing the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur.
