In this review we will tell you about Weird West, an immersive sim with a top view set in an occult version of the old west
If you are a lover of immersive sims then you will surely know Raphael Colantonioone of the founders of Arkane Studios. By now Colantonio has left Arkane for several years, but he has not abandoned the world of video games. In fact, in 2019 the developer founded WolfEye Studiosits new software house, which has now finally given birth to its first game: Weird West.
Creating an immersive sim that stands up to comparison with Colantonio’s previous works is not easy at all, especially considering that the development team is made up of only about ten people. In this review then we will tell you in detail about Weird Westtrying to make you better understand the actual quality of this long-awaited title.
The classic revenge?
In Weird West, players will begin their adventure as Jane Bell, a former bounty hunter who now spends his days on a farm with his family. Unfortunately, however, the protagonist’s peace will be brutally interrupted by the sudden arrival of a group of bandits who will kidnap her husband and kill her son. After this terrible event Jane will be forced to pick up her and her gun once more set out on a perilous journey in search of all that remains of his family.
On the surface, Weird West might seem like a classic western revenge tale, but in reality it hides much more. In fact, during your adventure you will not only experience Jane’s story, but also that of four other characters. In our opinion, this choice was really successful, given that through the eyes of different protagonists you will have the opportunity to observe the game world from different angles. In addition, thanks to the particularities of some characters, you will also be free to try out different styles of play during a single game.
Twin Stick Western – Review Weird West
Weird West’s combat system is basically similar to that of a Twin Stick Shooter. In fact, the game camera will frame you from above and you will have the opportunity to move with the right stick and aim your weapon with the left. The pace of the fights, however, is much slower than that of a classic Twin Stick Shooter and moreover you will also have the opportunity to crouch to sneak or protect yourself behind covers.
During the clashes you will also have the opportunity to use the environment in your favor. For example, you can shoot oil lamps to start fires, overturn crates of chemicals to poison enemies or blow up barrels full of gunpowder. Moreover many of these environmental hazards such as poison and fire can be combined to get even more powerful unique reactions. All these elements, combined with the skills of your PC (more on that later), will help make very varied and fun fights.
Tools of the Trade – Weird West Review
In Weird West there is no experience point system and consequently you will be able to enhance your character almost exclusively through the equipment. By exploring the game world, completing missions and visiting shops, you can get hold of more powerful versions of the weapons and armor you usually use. In addition, by bringing some money and minerals to the blacksmiths you will also have the opportunity to boost equipment stats you already own. In addition, around the world you can also find gods talismani equipable able to grant you unique passive bonuses.
However, your characters will also be able to unlock upgrades by finding some relics around the world. These items will allow you to unlock different techniques that they are divided into class skillsunique according to the character, and skills related to specific weapons. These powers will allow you to be even more varied and effective during fights but they will be lost when you switch to a new character. Being forced to re-unlock abilities with each character change might annoy some players, but ultimately the relics are very abundant and thanks to these resets you will have the opportunity to try different styles of play.
Fortunately, not all of your improvements will be lost. There are in fact gods passive upgrades unlockable by collecting special god cards tarot cards who will offer gods permanent benefits to all players in the game.
A World in Motion – Weird West Review
One of Weird West’s greatest strengths is certainly hers fascinating world. The game it is not open worldbut through the map it is possible to move freely between the numerous locations which include small towns, abandoned temples, swamps and many other places. Furthermore it is also possible explore blindly the unvisited areas of the map in search of points of interest, but in that case it will be necessary to pay attention to possible attacks by monsters or bandits.
The various locations of the game also they may be changed by chance or based on your actions. For example, by making a massacre in a small town, that place could come abandoned from its inhabitants and then filled with dangerous creatures. In the same way, instead, by cleaning up an area abandoned by the enemies that infest it it is possible that with time people go to repopulate the area.
The possibility of being able to freely explore and influence the game world is really great, but unfortunately it offers very few advantages to the player. In fact, one of the main problems of Weird West is the fact that the locations unrelated to the main missions are really uninteresting. These areas always have a very similar structure to each other and in the best of cases inside them you will find only things that you can easily obtain thanks to the main missions, such as for example weapons, runes or treasures for resale.
Limits to Freedom – Weird West Review
Weird West offers the player several options for completing objectives. For example, most dangerous situations can be resolved either with direct confrontations or with the use of stealth. Also during many main quests it will be possible use several very unique approaches to accomplish your mission.
Unfortunately, however, Weird West it does not offer the same freedom as regards the interpretation of the protagonists. The missions of the game, in fact, although overall they are very nice, in the end they really offer very few roleplay choices. In most cases, in fact, you can choose between saving or killing some characters. Also unfortunately also the immersive sim elements of the game leave enough to be desired.
Incredible Style – Weird West Review
One need only look at a single image of Weird West to be instantly struck by hers amazing art style. The title uses a cel shading which very much recalls the aesthetics of classic American comics and fits perfectly with it strange and corrupt style of the game world. Furthermore, everything is accentuated even more by the wonderful soundtrack that alternates sounds from western films to disturbing tracks suitable for a Lovecraftian tale.
As for the technical side, however, the title performs quite well. Overall the software it doesn’t turn out to be too heavy and during our test we haven’t run into many noteworthy bugs. The only big flaw of the game is represented by the AI of NPC alleatiche very often will be more of a hindrance than a help. For example, they could get stuck in elements of the scenario or completely ignore the enemies during firefights. Furthermore, during the stealth sections these NPCs cannot be discovered by the enemies but will continue to follow you anyway ruining the atmosphere of the moment.
Conclusions
Now has come to the point of our review where we take stock of Weird West. The title is able to keep players glued thanks to an extremely fascinating setting and an intriguing storybut also thanks to a varied and fun gameplay. Unfortunately, however, Weird West flaw in regards to the possibilities of roleplay and, above all, the rewards management. Considering the ease with which useful tools can be obtained and the fact that with each character change you will lose almost all of your skills, often exploring the optional areas of the game turns out to be just a waste of time. Despite this, however, Weird West remains a more than valid title that for sure will be able to capture all lovers of weird environments.
Weird West è disponibile ora per PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One e Xbox Series X | S. 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 follow us here on TechGameWorld.com. Furthermore, in case you want to buy some games at an advantageous price, we suggest you take a look at the many offers on Instant Gaming.
Points in favor
- Very interesting story
- Varied and fun fights
- Extremely fascinating game world
- Incredible art style
Points against
- Not very varied and unattractive secondary areas
- Little chance of roleplay
- Bad ally AI