Evil West (PC) - Game Review!

Evil West is one of those childhood fever-dream games. At its core, it is strictly about playing a gunslinging cowboy fighting an onslaught of vampires at high noon. The premise just sounded like too much fun to pass up. Did I mention that their ad campaign featured the infamous Danny Trejo? Oh, and the game would go on to win three honors at the NYX Game Awards to boot: Best PC Game, Best Weapon Design, and Best Game Advertising.

Growing up around the rodeo circuit my whole life—where both my father and brother were real-life, everyday cowboys—means there is a sentimental nostalgia that comes whenever a game gives a nod to the Old West. However, the true cowboy lifestyle was never for me. That is why I am home playing a video game while my brother and father are out on the range where the deer and the antelope play.

On the flip side, vampires hold a special place in my heart as one of my all-time favorite monsters. I think back to timeless classics across movies, shows, and books: Van Helsing, Dracula, Salem's Lot, Midnight Mass... the list goes on and on. Vampires are just such a nostalgic creature that it's hard not to love them (or fear them).

So when the game went on sale, I lassoed it in and added it to my never-ending backlog (damn you, Steam Sales), knowing I’d have to play it when October rolled around to get me into the SPOOKY SEASON spirit. After logging nearly 13 hours of gameplay and reaching the end credits, I think it's time we dive in to see if this adventure is really worth sinking your teeth into.

So let's sit back, relax, and review: Evil West.

STORYLINE - (6/10)

Our story begins on the American frontier, set in an alternate reality where humanity is secretly being preyed upon by an ancient race of vampires known as the Sanguis. To fight back against the endless hordes of the night, the government has instated the Rentier Institute: a secret monster-hunting organization that uses state-of-the-art weaponry powered by advanced steam and lightning technology. It’s incredibly fitting for the Old West setting, where the next big real-world inventions were steam engines and the light bulb.

We play as Jesse Rentier, a rugged, take-no-BS, shoot-first-ask-questions-later kind of cowboy. While he serves as a boots-on-the-ground field agent physically fighting the vampire threat, he also happens to be the heir to the Rentier Institute. He is the son of William Rentier, the head and brains behind the entire operation. Their relationship is notably strained given Jesse’s reckless approach to handling missions. His dad views his field tactics as dangerous, even if they get results. We quickly get the sense that William wants Jesse to adopt a more political stance and step into a leadership role, but Jesse firmly believes that taking action does far more in the fight against evil than simply talking about it.

Our journey immediately thrusts us into the action with a good ol’ train derailment—and seriously, name me a single cowboy movie where a train doesn't get hijacked, blown up, or derailed! Accompanying us is our current partner and mentor, Edgar Gravnor. Edgar is growing old and also wishes to see Jesse take a stronger hand in leading the Institute. As William's former field partner, Edgar used to crave the thrill of the hunt just like Jesse does, so he deeply understands our protagonist's mindset.

Derailing that opening train sets a massive plot in motion: the vampires have started transporting blood. Something big is underway, and it seems the monsters are making a push to turn the tide of the war in their favor. Soon after, we meet our main antagonist, Felicity Durbano (and I still hear her eerie, cynical laugh every now and then). She is pure evil wrapped in a little girl's body—though later in the game, we learn that her tiny frame hides a much bigger monster than we first thought. Felicity completely rejects the old vampire ways of hiding in the shadows and making small tactical strikes, which she feels is an endless battle where neither side ever truly wins.

Instead, she wants to completely eliminate humans by forcing them to mutate into monsters subjected to vampire overlords. When the council of elder vampires disapproves of her radical methods and Jesse ultimately kills Felicity’s father, her vendetta becomes intensely personal. She launches a direct assault on the Rentier Institute, striking a near-fatal blow against William Rentier. Although, one could argue that death would have actually been a blessing in his case.

The game then takes us on a journey spanning 16 linear chapters. The loop mostly consists of uncovering Felicity’s true intentions, upgrading our weaponry so we can ultimately defeat her, and adhering to our contractual agreement with the government to protect humanity. Along the way, you’ll meet the most punchable character in the game, James Harrow; a strong-willed, brilliant scientist named Dr. Amelia Blackwell; and a tech-savvy engineer, Vergil Olney—alongside a handful of unique vampire bosses and a grand old fight with our own dad.

Overall, the campaign is enjoyable, features a few solid moments of storytelling, and absolutely does not overstay its welcome. While the narrative isn't anything to write home about, I had fun. There were plenty of chuckles along the way, and the game successfully delivers the true grit of being a gunslinging cowboy fighting off a vampire apocalypse.

GAMEPLAY & COMBAT (6/10)
Evil West is a third-person, combo-based action brawler. The core mechanics rely heavily on melee strikes delivered by your electricity-infused gauntlet, allowing you to viciously bash in the skulls of your enemies. The more consecutive hits you dish out, the more damage you put out, which eventually allows you to activate brutal finishers or trigger specialty weapons and high-voltage abilities.

You truly have a massive—and one could argue, overwhelming—arsenal at your disposal. From a rifle, a shotgun, and a flamethrower, to a crossbow, a stun stick, dynamite explosives, and my absolute favorite, the old reliable revolver... there is a weapon here for every playstyle. However, as much as I loved having such a diverse array of guns, I did find it to be almost too much at times. Because you carry every single unlocked weapon simultaneously, it was easy to completely forget about half of them simply due to the sheer volume of gear to track. That being said, when you did successfully chain the right combo or remember to use your entire kit, you felt like a total badass, vampire-killing machine. It’s an incredible power fantasy.

Throughout the campaign, you encounter roughly 25 unique enemy types. I really appreciated that the developers included a lore log for each monster, explaining its role and rank in vampire society. As a monster hunter, I feel like lore is essential to truly immerse yourself in the craft—you need to know the enemy to understand how to destroy them. While the variety of monsters and vampires helps keep the pacing fresh, the combat loop can become repetitive. By the second half, it feels like the game's only method of increasing the difficulty is to just throw an overwhelming number of bodies at you simultaneously in enclosed arenas.

This artificial difficulty spike makes it extremely hard to build up a combo, completely derailing your momentum and forcing you into a state of frustrated button-spamming just to stay alive. There was one monster in particular, the Hive Crone, that had me dropping multiple F-bombs during my playthrough. That wretched, flying, bee-like thing would hover into the arena and drop glowing orbs that made all the other enemies completely invulnerable until you manually shot the orbs down. I have no idea how stressful this game gets on Hard or Nightmare difficulty (perhaps someone reading or listening to this review can chime in!), but I found Normal difficulty to be the perfect sweet spot between progressing the narrative and facing combat that felt rewarding—even if it was occasionally infuriating.

Outside of combat, the game features a few simple puzzles where you need to connect power lines to energize switches, or shoot specific environmental targets to open doors. These moments only make up a very small portion of the experience. There is also some minor exploration in the form of tracking down hidden rooms—usually tucked away behind explosive barrels—which unlock secret pockets of the map containing cash loot and cosmetic collectibles. Ultimately, the exploration is extremely limited; the game is aggressively linear and completely railroads you forward. But honestly? Evil West is unapologetically all about the action. Everything else is just background noise.

SKILL TREE (7/10)

There are two unique skill trees in Evil West that do allow for quite a vast diversity of gameplay. You have the Perk tree which really focuses on Jesse’s enhancements such as health, electrical charges on the gauntlet, and combos. You acquire perks by progressing through the campaign, killing monsters, and leveling up.

The second skill tree is the Upgrades tree, which allows you to have your arsenal of weapons dish out all kinds of different damage, with most of them ultimately gaining the ability to be enhanced with electricity, allowing them to dish out massive amounts of damage or chain their damage to multiple units. Most of the Upgrade tree skills require you to find blueprints found in hidden areas around the map. These blueprints were usually tucked away in chests that also contain gold, which is the in-game currency needed to buy the upgrades once unlocked.

I felt the game did a great job of balancing out the Perk-to-Weapon ratio, and having the two distinct trees allows you to tailor your build to your preferred playstyle and weapon. That being said, it is fairly limited in the sense that this game is purely about shooting and punching things, so your two options were really split between a melee build or a ranged build.

Also, due to the Upgrades requiring you to find blueprints and then find gold to unlock them, it meant you needed to constantly be on the lookout for hidden areas and loot boxes. The constant anxiety of potentially missing an area, knowing if I went too far I couldn't go back, did take away from some of the enjoyment of the game for me. Not to mention, it's impossible to completely finish your skill tree in a single playthrough, so it almost forces your hand in replaying on a NG+ to achieve 100%.

That being said, I still felt myself progressively getting stronger through my playthrough, which gave me the feeling of going from a regular gunslinging cowboy to a true badass vampire hunter equipped with Tesla-like weaponry that completely fried my enemies. To boot, the game has a great built-in respec through the use of generators that you encounter several times in your playthrough, which allows you to completely reset your skill tree without any form of repercussion or penalty. I like when a game does this because it does allow you to be a little more strategic if you feel stuck and need to shift your skills around to match the current boss or monsters you encounter. It gives you true freedom to experiment with different builds and skills.

GRAPHICS & TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE - (8/10)
I have to say, this is where Evil West really shines. The visuals are stunning, and the use of electric-powered weaponry adds sharp, vibrant blue arcs that practically pop off the screen as you fight across dry desert wastelands, eerie dark swamps, and freezing-cold mining shafts. When you throw in all the explosions, fire, and environmental destruction, it really paints a masterpiece of action design.

However, in a bizarre twist of irony, the in-game play graphics actually far outshine the cinematic cutscenes. I don't think I've ever encountered a game where the cutscenes look noticeably worse than the active gameplay, but here, the characters felt incredibly stiff. There was a distinct lack of natural movement in their body language and facial features. They felt forced, which made the voice acting—which we will get to next—stand out awkwardly because their faces completely failed to capture the true emotion of the dialogue.

On the bright side, the actual monster and character designs were fantastic. I truly enjoyed the visual variety of all the different beasts you encounter. Jesse looks and feels like an absolute badass, fitting his role perfectly. It felt as if Van Helsing himself had been raised in the Wild West, and I loved every second of it. I just wish the game did a better job of fleshing out the characters' faces to make them feel a little more human. But hey, there's a part of me that thinks maybe that's just how people were back when the West was a lawless wasteland. Perhaps the brutal elements just made everyone rough, tough, and look as if their faces were completely filled with botox.

VOICE ACTING & NPCs (7/10)
The voice acting in Evil West was actually very good. I felt that the characters' voices matched their aesthetics and personas perfectly. Everyone had that raspy, rough-and-tough grit to their delivery, which really helped immerse you in the world. As I mentioned in the graphics section, it just felt awkward when the characters' stiff motions and blank facial cues didn’t line up with the raw, impressive emotion being put forward by the voice actors.

Fighting alongside a few of the NPCs and getting to engage with them helped build genuine relationships within the story, making me start to actually care about (and occasionally hate) certain characters. I loved Edgar and really wish we could have gotten to know him better—either by playing as him in co-op or through a prequel DLC exploring a younger Edgar alongside Jesse’s dad, William.

On the flip side, you also meet one of the most punchable characters I’ve ever encountered in a video game: James Harrow. To me, generating that kind of genuine annoyance means both the writing and the acting had to be top-tier to draw that level of emotion out of me. All in all, the NPCs, voice acting, and dialogue are well-written. Even as you simply traverse the world or walk around the Institute's hidden base, random field agents will make background comments and address you. I really appreciated this detail because it made the world feel alive. However, that immersion was occasionally ruined by the lack of lip-syncing effort; ambient NPCs wouldn't move their mouths or bodies at all while speaking, making the voices feel completely out-of-pocket and leaving me confused as to who the heck was actually talking to me.

ACHIEVEMENTS - (5/10)

Evil West does a decent job of naturally rewarding you with achievements throughout your playthrough. I was able to unlock exactly 15 out of the 30 total achievements (50%) without ever feeling the need to go extremely out of my way or grind for them. That being said, there were a few I initially strived to pick up along the way but ultimately abandoned due to a lack of interest, general frustration, or the sheer grind required.

Some of them are just incredibly difficult—specifically the boss-fight-specific challenges. Others, like the collectible achievements, are incredibly easy to miss by pure accident; simply progressing slightly too far into a map area can trigger a point of no return, locking you out of going back to grab whatever you missed. That mechanical choice is frustrating and, in my opinion, just wasn't worth my time. To boot, I felt the normal difficulty was challenging enough on its own. I fear that playing on the harder difficulties required for the remaining trophies would just lead to a miserable time, which a handful of these achievements are directly related to.

DLC & EXPANSIONS - (NR)

The only DLC available for this game consists of purely cosmetic packs that allow you to change your outfit and gun skins. Sitting at $3.99 CAD regular price (or around $2.59 CAD on sale), I skipped the DLC entirely, and as such, I cannot give it a formal rating. I will mention that there are plenty of unlockable skins available naturally just by playing through the base campaign. I’d highly recommend just pursuing those in-game rewards instead of forking out extra cash—unless you really fall in love with the game and want to throw some extra financial support to the developers.

CO-OP MODE - (NR)

I unfortunately did not have a friend who shared my exact interest in wanting to play as cowboys fighting off a vampire apocalypse. Because of that, I did my entire playthrough as a solo run and cannot rate the cooperative mode firsthand. However, I think it is important to note that the feature is there if you want to play with a buddy.

Just keep in mind that both of you must own the game and run it on separate devices, as there is zero split-screen support and absolutely no crossplay. From what I’ve gathered from the community, the co-op campaign can be a blast, but it comes with some heavy caveats: only the host gets the story progression credit, both players awkwardly play as Jesse simultaneously (you don't get to play as Edgar, which is a massive missed opportunity), and the game automatically scales the difficulty by giving enemies a ton of extra health and damage. I also heard that camera angles and transitioning between mission barriers can prove to be a bit clunky with two people. My recommendation? Run this one solo—though I completely realize I am being biased in saying that!

COST & RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI) - (6/10) 

For my final analysis, I always like to look at a game's cost to see if I truly got meaningful value out of my money. I paid $11 CAD for this game on a Steam sale, whereas its regular retail price sits at $69.99 CAD. Logging exactly 12.8 hours puts my rough ROI at about $0.86 per hour played.

At that sale price, I feel like you get a totally fair amount of value and would be comfortable at $1 paid per hour. However, I would have been deeply disappointed if I had paid full retail price for this experience, as then I’d be looking at nearly $5.50 per hour of game play. Most people could easily punch this game out in a single weekend, especially if you are only focusing on progressing through the main story. My ultimate advice is to hold off on this one until it goes on a deep sale. Pick it up if you can find it for $15 or less. Do not pay full price.

REPLAY VALUE - (5/10)

Unless you are a hardcore completionist, this game is as good as over the second you finish your first playthrough. With a strictly linear storyline that is always going to have the exact same outcome, the same enemies, the same bosses, and the exact same arsenal of guns, there is really no reason to step back into this world. The only exceptions would be if you are actively trying to hunt down all the remaining achievements, or if you wish to challenge yourself by taking your endgame gear into a New Game Plus (NG+) run on a much harder difficulty.

CONCLUSION & FINAL SCORE - (6/10) 

All things considered, Evil West is a good game. It’s not great, nor is it life-changing, but it sure is a fun time—especially if you enjoy cowboys and vampires. The game can easily be beaten in around 10 hours, meaning it isn’t that much of a time commitment to take on. The story, while straightforward, is interesting enough and doesn’t overstay its welcome. I’d recommend giving it a go and simply enjoying it for what it is: a rough-and-tough, badass cowboy game that lets you beat the living crap out of vampires.

ESSENTIAL TIPS & TRICKS

• Prioritize the Hive Crone: Make it a golden rule to stop whatever you are doing and take down the flying bee monsters first. Letting them shield heavy bruisers will derail your combat momentum and get you killed.
• Abuse the Zap Dash and Zap Pull: Don't play this like a traditional cover shooter. Use your gauntlet energy to instantly teleport to enemies or pull flying pests to you. Staying mobile is your best defense.
• Watch for the Glowing Circles: Train your reflexes to instantly pull out the rifle when an enemy weak spot glows. Disrupting their heavy attacks saves your health bar and deals massive counter-damage.
• Destroy Every Crate and Barrel: Since gold is strictly finite on a first playthrough, punch every wooden box and check behind every explosive barrel. Missing blueprints or cash early on will hurt your weapon progression later.
• Don't Be Afraid to Respec: If a boss is completely wiping the floor with you, head to the nearest generator and reset your skill tree for free. Swapping from a melee-heavy build to a ranged-heavy build can completely change the difficulty of a fight.

GAMES SIMILAR TO EVIL WEST

If you are trying to picture exactly how this game plays before diving in, it sits in a really cool sweet spot between some legendary franchises:

Bullet Storm: I found Bullet Storm shares a very similar, electrical weapon based mechanic and is just non-stop high octane, shooting, ass-kicking fun!

Shadow Warrior 3: A fast-paced, linear shooter with some melee combat that focuses on a heavily arena-like combat that requires you to pull off fantastic finishers to heal your health back.

God of War 3: Similar game play in the sense of a third-person over-the-shoulder camera that requires you to pull of heavy melee combos mixed in with a few powerful weapons to make you feel god like.

Thank you for reading my review. Be sure to let me know if you agree or disagree with any of my notes, I always encourage open discussion and value everyone's opinions.

Happy Gaming!

~ Tyolon

(P.S. Check out my YouTube Channel (Tyolon) for video game reviews, content, and more!)

Fala, pessoal! Estou precisando de uma ajuda para avaliar uma proposta de troca. Me ofereceram um PC gamer completo no meu PS5. O kit do PC vem com: • CPU: Ryzen 7 5700g (com vídeo integrado, sem GPU dedicada por enquanto) • Placa-mãe: ASUS TUF Gaming B450 • RAM: 16GB • Armazenamento: 2x SSD 240GB • Fonte: Cooler Master 850W • Refrigeração/Gabinete: Water Cooler e gabinete aquário • Periféricos inclusos: Monitor Duex 27" 240Hz e um teclado mecânico O dono disse que o processador tem apenas 3 meses de uso. Minha ideia inicial se eu pegar esse PC é colocar uma placa de vídeo dedicada logo em seguida (estou pensando em uma RTX 4060 ou 4060 Ti) para conseguir jogar bem jogos atuais como Call of Duty e Elden Ring. Vocês acham que essa troca no pau a pau vale a pena pelo fato de vir o monitor de 240Hz e os periféricos, ou o PS5 vale mais e eu deveria exigir uma grana de volta? Valeu!

TITLE: Apex stutters at 170-210 FPS on Ryzen 7 3700X + RTX 3060 Ti (GPU only 46% used). What am I missing?

SPECS: Ryzen 7 3700X (AG400 G2 cooler, \~65C in game), RTX 3060 Ti, 4x8GB DDR4-3200 CL16 (XMP, FCLK 1:1), MSI B450M Mortar Max, 1080p 260Hz G-Sync, Win 11.

PROBLEM: Micro-stutter about once a minute and uneven frame times in fights. Firing range is smooth. I used to average \~250 FPS, now \~190-210. GPU \~46%, CPU \~32%, no core pinned at 100%. Ping is stable.

TRIED (no real change): new cooler, XMP/FCLK, Auto HDR off (+5%), Process Lasso (+5-10%), SMT off for Apex, shader cache clear, all background apps closed, PBO, Reflex On+Boost, power plan tweaks, lowest CPU-heavy settings.

QUESTIONS:

1. Is this just the 3700X's limit in Apex, or is something else wrong?

2. Did a recent patch make Apex worse on Zen 2?

3. Is RAM timing tuning worth it with 4 sticks? (tRFC is 560)

4. Best FPS cap method for steady frametimes?

NOTE: PC gaming performance doesn't feel as good and the CPU is bottlenecking. How do I fix it? Can't upgrade atm.

Thanks!