Evil West Review

Release Date: November 22nd, 2022
Platforms: PC, PS 4, PS 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Developer: Flying Wild Hog
Publisher: Focus Entertainment

Overview

Evil West is an action-packed, third-person shooter set in a dark and gritty version of the American frontier. Developed by Flying Wild Hog and published by Focus Home Interactive, the game combines elements of classic Westerns with supernatural horror, creating a unique and thrilling experience for players.

Story

In Evil West, players step into the boots of a vampire hunter tasked with defending the American frontier from a horde of bloodthirsty creatures. The story unfolds in an alternate history where dark forces threaten the peace and safety of the wild west. Players will explore a variety of eerie and atmospheric environments, from desolate towns and haunted forests to eerie mines and sprawling deserts, each filled with hidden secrets and deadly foes.

Gameplay

Mechanics: Evil West offers fun and dynamic, fast-paced action by combining third-person shooting with melee combat, featuring a variety of weapons and gadgets. The game includes familiar mechanics like ranged and melee attacks but is enhanced with unique elements such as electric gauntlets and steampunk-inspired gadgets. Players can upgrade and customize their abilities and weapons, adding a layer of strategic depth. Although the core gameplay is familiar, the supernatural Western setting and innovative weaponry bring a fresh and exciting twist.
Controls: The layout is thoughtfully crafted, with combat actions such as shooting and melee attacks assigned to the triggers and bumper buttons, enabling quick and responsive maneuvers. The thumbsticks provide smooth and precise character movement and camera control, making it easy to navigate through the game's dynamic environments. Overall, the controller setup amplifies the game's fast-paced action, ensuring players can fully immerse themselves in the thrilling combat without any hindrance.
Difficulty: Evil West strikes a great balance with its difficulty, keeping players engaged without causing too much frustration. With four difficulty levels—Story, Normal, Hard, and Evil—the game offers options for every type of player. The variety of enemies and bosses requires strategic thinking and skillful combat to beat. As you progress, the difficulty ramps up naturally, encouraging you to refine your tactics and skills. This well-crafted challenge makes every victory feel rewarding and keeps the gameplay exciting from start to finish.
Replayability: Evil West has solid replayability, keeping each playthrough interesting. When you start a new game, all character progress, including upgrades and abilities, is saved, allowing you to continue developing your character. This feature supports multiple playthroughs and offers the option to tackle higher difficulty levels with an advanced character. The game's content and the ability to try different strategies and play styles make replaying Evil West worthwhile.

Graphics

Visual Style: Evil West has a distinctive art style that combines gritty, dark western aesthetics with supernatural elements. The detailed environments and character designs capture the rugged atmosphere of the Wild West, while the eerie visuals of the monsters provide a unique twist. The lighting and color palettes enhance the game's mood, making it visually immersive. Overall, the art style of Evil West adds to its unique world.
Technical Performance: Evil West runs smoothly on my system, with stable frame rates and minimal loading times, providing a consistent gaming experience. I encountered very few noticeable glitches or bugs throughout my playthrough. The graphics are crisp and detailed, and the audio quality is clear, enhancing the overall immersion. Overall, Evil West delivers a solid technical performance that supports its engaging gameplay.
Art Design: The art design of Evil West effectively blends the harsh aesthetics of the Wild West with eerie supernatural elements. The environments are meticulously detailed, capturing everything from desolate frontier towns to haunting, monster-filled landscapes. The character designs are rugged and fit seamlessly into the world, enhancing the game's atmosphere. This thoughtful visual style significantly contributes to the game's immersive and unique setting.

Sound

Soundtrack: The Evil West soundtrack mixes classic Western sounds with spooky orchestral vibes and eerie synths, fitting the game's dark and intense feel perfectly. During action-packed combat, the music pumps with driving beats, while quieter moments get a moody, suspenseful backdrop. This blend of tunes matches the game's story and emotions, pulling you deeper into the Evil West world.
Sound Effects: The sound effects in Evil West really enhance the game-play with sharp, impactful audio that makes every gunshot, punch, and explosion feel powerful and satisfying. Each weapon has its own unique, immersive sounds that keep combat exciting, whether it's the crack of a rifle or the hum of Tesla lightning. While I love the overall sound design, I do think the dialogue audio could use a bit of tweaking for better balance.
Voice Acting: The voice acting in Evil West adds a lot of character to the game, with Jesse's rugged, tough voice fitting the dark Western vibe perfectly. The supporting cast also does a great job, each bringing their own unique style to the story. However, some lines can sound a bit off due to audio mixing issues, but overall, the performances make the game's world feel more alive and engaging.

Multiplayer

Modes: The game features a 2-player co-op campaign mode, allowing you to invite a friend to join your adventure. Only the session host can progress the story, while the guest must use a character provided based on the host's progress. In cooperative mode, you can revive a downed player, but be prepared for an increased difficulty compared to the solo experience.
Experience: Because there is no matchmaking system and multiplayer is limited to friends who also play the game, I didn't get to experience the multiplayer aspect firsthand. Instead, I had to rely on reading about it in the game's multiplayer section.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

The story campaign was captivating, taking me roughly 9 hours to complete.
It’s an exhilarating, no-holds-barred action-adventure game filled with numerous enemies to defeat and a wide array of weapons to enjoy using in combat
With New Game Plus, you can replay the game while retaining all your weapons and skills from your previous playthrough. This mode also offers the ability to play it at a higher difficulty level, adding an extra challenge and enhancing replayability.

Cons:

While initially thrilling, the game can become repetitive after many hours of battling vampires. The core gameplay loop might lose its excitement over time, despite the variety of enemies and weapons.
The CGI animations could be more detailed and better synchronized. While they're not bad, a bit more polish would enhance their quality
With no way of match making or looking for other players who aren't my friends that are playing it meant it was a single player only game.

Final Verdict

I was thrilled to finally play this game, which had been on my Steam wishlist for a while. When I saw it on Xbox Game Pass, I knew it was the perfect time to dive in. As a fan of the Wild West vampire genre, I had a blast battling the diverse enemies the game offers. It’s a fun action-adventure game that's straightforward enough not to get lost in, and the time flies by while playing, which is always a good sign. Overall, I’d recommend this game for anyone who enjoys a dark and gritty world filled with plenty of action and combat.

My final verdict for Evil West is 4 leaves out of 5.