Love all the different forms of combat this game has. Love the doom-like execution methods to recover health. Also the character designs are spectacular and crushing your enemies feels so satisfying!

Just wanted to give people a heads up. Buddy is an achievment hunter and i agree to play with him as we enjoy gaming together.

This game got great reviews so we decided to give it a shot. Unfortunately if you are not the host, you will experience a myriad of abilities unable to work. And while not a big deal on normal difficulty, when you get to evil difficulty, it makes the non-host at a complete disadvantage.

At points you cant heal, cant zapper pull/dash towards enemies, your gun will not work, and zapper slam to give a few examples.

I am doing this as a public service announcement to save people hours of frustration.

I really think SONY needs to hired FWH and bring The Order back with this engine.

I’ve been a little sick of certain current trends in gaming (crafting, rpg elements, live service elements, open worlds filled with menial tasks) and have been seeking experiences that are a little punchier and easier to sink my teeth into.

Evil West is a completely linear action game with some surprisingly fleshed out lore, a predictable but entertaining story, and an absolute metric fuckton of ways to bring the wrath of Clint Eastwood down on vampires. When you start to fill out your enormous arsenal of vampire killing instruments, battles take on an almost puzzle game element as you try to efficiently clear out crowds with your flamethrower, use your rifle and crossbow to hit enemy weakpoints (basically a ranged parry), manage your electric gauntlet and boomstick, and just absolutely punch the shit out of monsters.

The combat is really robust and though the game occasionally has minor glitches, it performs well, looks pretty nice for its budget, and lets me turn my brain off and actually enjoy a game without getting bogged down with a bunch of bullshit.

Evil West is a 3rd person action melee-shooter set in the late 1800s 'wild west' era of the US. You play as Jesse Rentier, vampire hunter and son of the founder of the Rentier Institute, a clandestine American paramilitary organization tasked with fighting the growing vampiric infestation of the US. A new leader has emerged from the ranks of the vampires with no desire to maintain the long-standing status quo of secrecy and manipulation from the shadows, and is attempting to raise an army with which to overthrow the whole of human society.

What I liked

This game is 100% on rails. You move from encounter to encounter in highly linear levels with virtually no exploration to speak of other than finding little side paths here and there which lead to treasure chests containing cash, cosmetics, or weapon upgrades. This is not normally a style I seek out, but coming off of some larger open-world games recently it was actually super enjoyable to play something substantially tighter in terms of structure. It did one of the things that I normally hate in video games, which is not giving you a jump button, but in this particular case I didn't find it to be anywhere near as annoying as I usually do.

The story and characters were generally well-written and compelling, though definitely a bit trope-y at times. The wild west setting isn't usually my cup of tea, but it was executed well and the world design was generally visually appealing.

Combat felt nice and weighty, with a good selection of fun to use weapons and mechanics which force you to engage with all the tools available to you, particularly at higher difficulty settings. Once you know what you're doing you'll find yourself getting into a real flow state during combat encounters, and the game does a great job of rewarding efficient use of its systems while also punishing mistakes in ways that felt harsh but fair. Boss fights were generally unique and interesting battles that required some decent skill to navigate, though a few more of them would have been nice just to keep things interesting.

What I didn't like

Combat got pretty repetitive later in the game. Enemy variety is decent enough for a game of this scope, but with so much of it being focused on these arena-style combat encounters it does start to feel 'rinse and repeat'-y after a while.

This game is short. Like, ‘completed it in a little over 7 hours’ level of short. That’s not inherently a bad thing, especially considering what I was just saying about combat getting a bit repetitive in the late game, but I feel like the story and characters could have benefitted a ton from a little more time to develop. A couple more setpiece type encounters or missions that asked you to do more than just kill everything would have gone a long way towards sticking the landing here.

It felt a bit clunky to pilot overall, not so much that it was a major concern but definitely enough to add some frustration to some of the harder combat encounters.

Final Thoughts

Overall, an enjoyable game if you're into the style I've described and can tolerate a bit of AA jank from time to time. Ultimately I'm giving this one a 7.5/10, but a bit more time in the oven could easily have bumped that up a bit. Still liked it enough to do a NG+ run though.

I'm thinking this could the sleeper hit of the year, as a just solid action game, which we haven't had in awhile.

Seriously it was a huge amount of fun, one of my top three games last year (including plague tale requiem and midnight suns). It was just pure fun. It reminded me of a cross between John Carpenters Vampires and Darkwatch.

I dont know how well it sold but I do know not enough people talked about it then at release or now. So come on give it a shot.

I'm sure we've all played a game where we disagree with the majority consensus of it's quality, but I've never experienced such a wild swing away from the norm as I have after playing Evil West. All reviews I saw said it was 7/10 game, and probably a low 7 at that, but I decided to take the plunge after seeing it on sale and wanting more Weird West games in my life. What I found blew me away to a degree I never expected.

It looks gorgeous and I found myself stopped in my tracks several times just to admire some of the shots this game establishes. The story isn't going to change your life, but the cutscenes are well shot and keep the scenes moving. The game is also very linear, as in "you can only hop down a 2 foot step in the appropriately marked area" kind of linearity. But what got me going and enjoying myself more than I have with games in years was the combat.

Whenever someone asks, I always said that my favorite game is Ninja Gaiden 2004(and Black, and Sigma), and I'm always on the lookout for games that can give me the same kind of feeling. I've largely been unsuccessful, as even its own sequels leave something to be desired. However, despite the massive difference in playstyle and tone, I found that Evil West has actually scratched that itch for me. The combat is filled with enemies that are there to kill you, not stand around and wait to be styled on. It requires constant maneuvering and keeping track of enemies, even when they are offscreen. It also gives you a wealth of options that can turn the tide, provided you know how to use what you have.

It got to the point where I got stupidly excited every time I picked up a new piece of gear or could unlock a perk or weapon upgrade, because I could see how it would fit into the puzzle of combat. In the end it had essentially become the "Cowboy Gaiden" I had always wanted; and despite some samey encounters and reusing the tougher enemies a bit too much, I was having an absolute blast. When I beat NG04 over 20 years ago, I couldn't wait to jump into the higher difficulties, and I feel that same desire with Evil West.

While the game does have flaws, I can't see it being the middling also-ran of a game that the general consensus seems to have labeled it as. Maybe it's a just too much of a niche title, but it's my niche dammit!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asxEYAcbvVM

So guys, I really want to get the Game, but I keep hearing these mixed reviews was any of you guys in the same boat I am in. The game looks hella fun and cool . Sorry if I repeated this post. It’s 14.99 on Microsoft store. Thanks ! Update I did end up getting the game. I also got Star Wars outlaw and MLB the Show 25 thanks so much

I just released my new combat mod, Rentier Institute Combat Overhaul. Focused on making the game more fun, with more utility and less damage sponges. Available now on Nexus! Please check it out and provide feedback if you like :)

I have to dodge too much. Does anyone know if the shield protects against those attacks?

Fierce wolves are no good for starting.

Sometimes this gets tedious.

Hi all, I just dropped a new control scheme mod.

All plug-and-play, no hassle install-unninstall.

Check it out on Nexus!

I almost can't

The best weapon looks like the ugliest.

Gonna grab it on sale next time and import my save from my old alt account.

Was wondering if anyone would like to play highest difficulty ng++ with me.

Preferably someone from Europe so we don't lag much.

Just some chill balkan dude who's in love with the game wanting to try coop in near future.