We recently had the opportunity to preview Hard West 2, a turn-based strategy set in an occult far west, and in this article we will talk about it in detail
The strategic Turn-based games are very popular on PC and enthusiasts are always looking for new games of this type to play. Luckily this year fans of the genre will not be left dry, given that in 2022 Ice Code Games e Good Shepherd Entertainment will publish Hard West 2. This title is a hybrid between an RPG and a turn-based strategy, and is set in an occult version of the wild west. We recently got to try Hard West 2 in preview and in this article we will talk about it in detail.
Bet with the devil
In Hard West 2 players will have to manage an eccentric posse of criminals led by Gin Carter, an outlaw and notorious gambler. At the beginning of the adventure the gang will be committed to storm a particular train who travels only at night, but unfortunately the situation will degenerate very quickly. In the midst of the robbery, the posse will discover that the vehicle is owned by Mammona very powerful demon who likes to make deals with mortals. Unfortunately Gin will be easily fooled by this creature and, after having lost his soul and that of a fellow poker playerwill end with get stuck in a kind of western afterlife. In this crazy situation, the members of the posse will be able to do nothing but set out in search of Mammon, in the hope of regaining possession of what has been stolen from them.
We weren’t able to fully explore the history of Hard West 2 during our preview, but we were still very happy with what we saw. All members of the posse are well characterized and boast a very interesting backstory able to involve the player and make him turn a blind eye to the banality of the incipit. In addition the game world turns out extremely charming and will immediately capture you thanks to its mysteries and its inhabitants.
An extra gear – Hard West 2 preview
Basically the gameplay of Hard West 2 is a lot similar to many other XCOM-style turn-based strategy games. For example, each member of your posse will have gods at their disposal action points that you can spend each turn to make them move, attack, use skills, etc. In addition there is also the classic system of total or partial coverage which allows your characters to have defensive bonuses based on where they stop at the end of the turn.
Hard West 2 however also owns of its mechanics very interesting that can make the clashes more dynamic and less frustrating: bravado and luck. Bravado is a very simple mechanic that will allow your characters to recover all action points immediately after killing an enemy. This way, with the right planning, you will have the opportunity to extend your shifts enormously and decimate enemies before they even have a chance to react. Luck on the other hand is a value that it will increase whenever you miss an enemy or take damageand which you can later use for increase your chances of hitting your next shot.
In addition, to make the clashes even more varied and profound, you will have a large number of skills. For example with some guns you can do bounce bullets on metal surfaces to more easily hit enemies in cover, while with shotguns you can deal massive damage to more than one enemy at a time. Instead, as far as character abilities are concerned, every member of your posse will have at their disposal a unique supernatural power. Colt is capable of shoot through wallsFlynn can swap places with an enemy or ally, Laughing Deer is capable of charge enemies from a distance and finally Bill is capable of hit all targets at once present in his field of vision.
Exploring the afterlife – Hard West 2 preview
In between shootouts, your posse will have a chance to to explore freely the cursed land in which she found herself. In these sections you can move as you like throughout the game map and you will have the possibility to interact with different points of interest. For example, sometimes you may find cities, abandoned places full of useful items, NPCs to interact with, enemy camps and so on.
In addition, many of the events in the game will put you in front of some multiple choices which can lead to different results and most importantly they are capable of change the opinion that members of your posse have of you. In fact, each PC will have their own personality and consequently will be able to approve or disapprove your choices. By improving your relationship with a member of the posse you can achieve new options during some events and in some cases you can also unlock gods upgrades.
The RPG Side – Hard West Preview 2
Hard West 2 is not only a turn-based strategy game, it also has several typical elements of RPGs. In fact, at the end of the battles you can get hold of several objects that you can assign to your characters to enhance them. For example, you might find more powerful weapons, armor that offer passive upgrades, talismans that provide specific bonuses, and many consumable items that are useful during battles.
You may also find some very special ones around poker cards. These items offer several bonus Very powerful able to significantly improve the performance of your posse and it will be up to you to decide how to assign them. In fact, each member of the posse has its own mano to which it will be possible to assign different cards according to your preferences.
Furthermore the cards can be combined according to their suit and their value for additional effects. For example, putting three Jacks in a character’s hand you can get a tristhus gaining an extra boost that varies by PC.
Lightweight and impactful – Hard West 2 preview
During our preview we were very happy with the performance Hard West techniques 2. Overall the game turns out a lot light and consequently is able to maintain more than satisfactory performance even on mid-range PCs. Plus throughout our test we haven’t encountered any noteworthy bugs or glitches. The title also made a good impression on us as far as the artistic side. The game indeed boasts a dark comic style that struck us right away and that it manages to shine particularly during cutscenes and during exploration-related events.
Conclusions
Now the point of our preview has finally arrived in which we sum up Hard West 2. Overall this title seemed to us an excellent turn-based strategy that manages to enrich a formula that is now more than tested with something of its own. The various skills related to weapons and characters help to make the various and fun fightswhile the mechanics of bravado and above all of luck manage to reduce the number of frustrating situations. The game also appears to be very promising in terms of story, exploration and character progression.
Obviously, however, we also have some concerns. At the moment in fact we fear that the fights are all too easy and that the levels are not complex enoughbut to remove these doubts we will have to wait for the release of the full game.
Hard West 2 will be available in 2022 for PC. If you are interested in staying up to date with all the news on the world of video games and much more, then continue to always follow us here on TechGameWorld.com. Furthermore, in case you want to buy the game at an advantageous price, we suggest you take a look at the catalog of Instant Gaming.