CowBoys vs Vampires. What’s not to love?
Forget Daniel Craig and Cowboys Vs Aliens, with Evil West, Flying Wild Hog has brought us Electro-Steampunk Cowboys taking on Vampires in this old school third person shooter. It’s colourful, it’s loud, it’s cheesy… It’s like being back in the old PS2 days. If ‘splodey cartoon gore is more your thing than well written dialogue and an sprawling plot, then this game is for you. And I for one do like some mindless cheese when the mood takes me.
You take on the role of Jesse Rentier, a vampire hunter from the Rentier Institute, an organisation dedicated to the eradication of all things vampiric in the old west. Starting off with an electrified gauntlet that makes short work of the enemies you face. From uppercutting them to oblivion to smashing them into conveniently placed spiked barrels, your dispatch bloodsuckers with wild abandon. Later in the game adds upgrades to the gauntlet, so you can electrocute your enemies and not just pulverize them, and other weapons are added to your arsenal.
I Vant to Bite Your Neck…
For a game with a fairly straightforward story, and some truly cringey dialogue (which isn’t a complaint tbh), there is an impressive amount of lore to be found during the game, and various different creatures, which add variety to what you face. For example the first vampires you encounter are Infected Vessels, vampires who’s turning failed or went wrong somehow. No longer human, but not exactly vampires either, they are mutated monstrosities that are slaves to their hunger for blood. Kind of reminds me of the zombie like vampire in the first Blade movie.
Evil West is a glorious throwback. The levels are a tad generic and repetitive, without the scope for huge amounts of exploration. But what there is is beautiful. There are some puzzles and set pieces, but the main focus of the game is combat. So be prepared for beat-downs of epic proportions. You have free reign in upgrading your gear, which gives the game replay value.
Accessability
There are multiple difficulties in Evil West, which you can switch in game. Subtitles can be made bigger, as can the HUD, and you can choose to have skill reminders to help you with combat skills. And one feature I haven’t seen before in a game is the Arachnophobia mode, which reduces the occurrences of spiders. A nice touch for those who need it.
All in all, Evil west is a fun romp that takes me back to the early 2000s. I’ve not tried out the co-op mode yet, but the single player campaign in gloriously meaty and a whole lot of fun to play. It’s well worth a try.