The Wild West isn’t the first setting that comes to mind for a role-playing game, but that’s exactly what we’re getting with Weird West. Composed of ex-Arkane Studios developers, WolfEye Studios’ upcoming PC game (price TBD) lets you live out your Western fantasies. In a genre oversaturated with science-fiction and fantasy settings, Weird West is a breath of fresh air with its Old West world and creative gameplay.
The Story Begins
In Weird West, you play as five different characters who live in a stylized Wild West landscape. Each of the characters’ stories takes place within a single chapter. When you finish one story, you take control over another character and deal with the previous tales’ consequences. Through these characters—a bounty hunter, preacher, werewolf, pigman, and archer—you’ll get the full scope of this strange world.
While there is an overarching narrative, Weird West’s world changes and reacts to your actions. You’re also free to use the environment as you see fit. For example, it’s possible to climb an explosive barrel to hop over a tall fence. Conversely, you can shoot that same barrel to tear the fence apart. Most items have multiple functions, so you’re encouraged to experiment.
Weird West is an action-RPG, so you engage in many shootouts with the world’s wildlife, bandits, and supernatural terrors. The twin-stick shooter combat works perfectly within the game’s isometric viewpoint. Using cover is essential, but it’s important to remain mobile to ensure enemies don’t flank you.
The environment is a weapon, too. You can set grass and wooden structures on fire to either damage enemies or flush them out into the open. Conversely, you can use stealth to complete combat encounters. Knifing unaware foes is just as thrilling as blasting them with a shotgun. Like the narrative, combat is whatever you make of it, so it’s best to continuously experiment.
Mission Structure
How the world’s inhabitants treat you depends on your actions. Yes, you can roll into town firing your six-shooters without a care, but the people who live there will remember your recklessness. If you’re altruistic, you may receive discounts at stores, or find folks more receptive to your demands. Your actions having consequences adds to the game’s realism and immersion.
Completing missions, side quests, and discovering new locations earns experience points that are necessary for leveling up your character’s. With each new level, you gain skills points that let you unlock new perks and abilities. We didn’t get to see the depths of the skill tree in our hands-off demo, but a quick glance revealed its robust nature. WolfEye wants you to craft characters suited to your playstyle, and the leveling system should facilitate that.
Art Style and Minimum Specs
Inspired by French comic books, Weird West’s pseudo-hand-drawn art style gives the game a distinct visual identity. Its earthy tones and muted color palette lend it a raw grittiness that’s appropriate for the setting. Despite this, environments, buildings, characters, and animals pop off the screen, and feel distinct from one another. This is not a graphical showcase brimming with ultra-detailed textures. Instead, the minimalist aesthetic lets your imagination fill in the gaps. It’s an effective art style that is both classic and modern.
To play Weird West on PC, your gaming rig will need at least an Intel Core i5 (or equivalent) CPU, Nvidia GeForce GTX 550 GPU, 3GB of RAM, 2GB of available space, and the Windows 10 operating system. We participated in a hands-off demonstration, so we couldn’t conduct a performance test.
The Wild, Wild West
Weird World is shaping up to be one of 2021’s sleeper-hit RPGs. The game’s graphics distinguish it from its contemporaries, and its robust, open-ended narrative and gameplay design encourage creativity and experimentation. Expect Weird West to hit PC (via Steam), PlayStation 4, and Xbox One this fall.
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