Evil West (Rude and Crude Vampire Killing Hack, Slash, and Shoot)
I first heard about Evil West before it even dropped; I may have even been contacted by the PR team but since it was a bigger name, and I believe something indie came out at the time, I passed, and in my deep regret I needed to write this, though we’re a few years out now. I could easily pull out all the comparisons and tags like “soulslike,” but really I’d rather analyze this game as it is in itself, instead of telling you about similarities. How does it stand on its own is another question, and more important. Screw similarities, folks, this is a goddamn game about taking out goddamn vampires in the Old West with a heavy dose of steampunk. That should be enough to sell it, but let’s continue after you scope a trailer. Strangely, this is the second rootin’ tootin’ cowboy shootin’ game I’ve covered this year…
You know what this game doesn’t have and what probably matters the most? Microtransactions, tedious item collecting, tedious tasking, millions of forms of currency for who the hell knows what, and general bullshit. Evil West is a damn fun game, and that’s what it should always be about. Taking place after the Civil War, you control Jesse Rentier, heir to a vampire-hunting family with only the best of steamy tech (with a touch of cyber). The basic idea couldn’t be more straightforward: vampires are trying to enslave the human race, as they are often wont to do, and you need to kill them and their minions. Where it really excels, though, is in the storytelling. The gameplay is great, don’t get me wrong, with the normal setting providing just enough challenge, easily adjusted if you want to get more hardcore. But that plot, yeeeee haawww. The character interactions and character development is what it’s all about, with none of that nonsense that’s been ruining AAA companies. We’ve got graphic violence, proper characterizations fitting with the time period (sorry, facts), excellent history tie-ins, and dense and well-crafted lore. It’s crude, rude, and it will make you a mean dude.
Written by Stanley, Devourer of Souls
Evil West
Flying Wild Hog (developer) and Focus Entertainment (publisher)
4.6 / 5
