Hard West 2

 PC
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 32 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 32
  3. Negative: 5 out of 32

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  1. Jt0429
    Aug 10, 2022
    9
    Good-
    Great sound and voice acting; Nice balance of approachable and deep gameplay; Intuitive UI and mechanics; Great quality for the price.
    Bad- Inconsistent storytelling; Derivative side quests. Thoughts- From small things like great sound effects and voice acting, to more fundamental victories like its mix of overworld exploration and solid strategy-style combat sections,    Good-
    Great sound and voice acting; Nice balance of approachable and deep gameplay; Intuitive UI and mechanics; Great quality for the price.

    Bad-
    Inconsistent storytelling; Derivative side quests.

    Thoughts-
    From small things like great sound effects and voice acting, to more fundamental victories like its mix of overworld exploration and solid strategy-style combat sections, there’s a lot to love here. Hardcore veterans are better taken care of with new layers of strategy and variety, while newcomers are still treated to a markedly more attainable experience than most of its counterparts in the genre provide. No attempt at that balancing act will ever be perfect, but Hard West 2 shows just how close you can get. With some inconsistent production values aside, Hard West 2 is a joy to play. If you’re a long-time fan of the genre or just passingly interested, this is one you’re going to want to take a chance on.    … Expand
  2. tonyrrh
    Aug 17, 2022
    3
    If you thought "xcom in the old west, awesome!" you are very wrong...
    This is not a turn-based tactics game, it's just a mediocre puzzle game with poor balancing and atrocious difficulty spikes.
    Voice acting, music, and settings are not enough if the gameplay is fundamentally broken. Even at the lowish price they are selling it (€25 at the moment) this is a hard pass, maybe for €5 when    If you thought "xcom in the old west, awesome!" you are very wrong...
    This is not a turn-based tactics game, it's just a mediocre puzzle game with poor balancing and atrocious difficulty spikes.
    Voice acting, music, and settings are not enough if the gameplay is fundamentally broken.
    Even at the lowish price they are selling it (€25 at the moment) this is a hard pass, maybe for €5 when it goes on sale.    … Expand
  3. marianpilka
    Aug 11, 2022
    5
    The game might be fun, but the current state of the balance is just out of place. It's either you are going one-shotting everything around or it's just frustrating. There is no sweet spot in between. How can enemy be able to heal to full 18hp every two rounds, while you are capped to 4-6hp ONCE PER FIGHT??? What with the bleeding bomb spam **** How many bandages should I equip to counterThe game might be fun, but the current state of the balance is just out of place. It's either you are going one-shotting everything around or it's just frustrating. There is no sweet spot in between. How can enemy be able to heal to full 18hp every two rounds, while you are capped to 4-6hp ONCE PER FIGHT??? What with the bleeding bomb spam **** How many bandages should I equip to counter that? In case of melee characters without bandages they are stuck for 4 rounds lol. Fix the balance, and it might be really fun to play, but right now it is just pain to go through.… Expand
  4. Wolfstorm
    Oct 5, 2022
    0
    Absolute horrible game, with impossible difficulty, even on "easy" mode. It is nowhere near the quality of XCOM series. The field of view is extremely limited, and you have to get your character out of cover just to shoot the enemy. If the enemy is behind cover, you simply can't shoot him. XCOM never had this, so to compare this game with XCOM is nonsense. Also there are very few optionsAbsolute horrible game, with impossible difficulty, even on "easy" mode. It is nowhere near the quality of XCOM series. The field of view is extremely limited, and you have to get your character out of cover just to shoot the enemy. If the enemy is behind cover, you simply can't shoot him. XCOM never had this, so to compare this game with XCOM is nonsense. Also there are very few options of unique abilities.
    The story is good, though, but I could not enjoy it, because even in easy mode, enemies are extremely overpowered, and heal every turn, while you are stuck with just one medkit. I liked the idea of a ghost train, but it is really sad the mechanics are so bad and unbalanced. I gives me the impression the developers are sadists and just want to humiliate the player, instead of providing a good experience.    … Expand
  5. volfrhamZ
    Aug 6, 2022
    10
    This game is fire. Finally some fresh ideas about turn-based battle. Bravado and train heists? Fantastic ideas and implementation.
  6. Cranmer
    Aug 7, 2022
    10
    Finally a high quality tactical RPG that emphasizes player skill and creativity over some arbitrary RNG systems.
    Definitely a must-have for all fans of the genre!
  7. Xynopjaw
    Aug 8, 2022
    10
    Turn based feeling like an action game, that's something new. Train chasing is awesome. And the bravado system works like charm, though it requires some getting accustomed to. You need to forget about XCOM and understand that cowboys survived battles not because enemies had 25% of CtH but they did not have a chance to fire at all :). Dead enemy cannot harm you!
  8. Lordgrey
    Aug 7, 2022
    3
    Just terrible balance and mechanics. The gameplay is more arcade-like than in the first part, the developer also failed to get into the same atmosphere, the game is below average.
  9. Hyperfailure
    Nov 27, 2022
    8
    (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
    ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)

    ┻━┻ ︵ ＼( °□° )／ ︵ ┻━┻

    ┬─┬ノ( º _ ºノ)

    (ﾉಥ益ಥ）ﾉ ┻━┻

    ┬──┬ ¯_(ツ)

    ┻━┻ ︵ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ︵ ┻━┻

    ┻━┻ ︵ ¯(ツ)/¯ ︵ ┻━┻

    (╯°Д°）╯︵ /(.□ . )

    ʕノ•ᴥ•ʔノ ︵ ┻━┻
  10. RMDsilva
    Aug 21, 2023
    8
    New system is solid, provides enough entertainment for at least some 20-40h, progressively optimizing your tactics. The choices/story/setting/variety are entertaining enough, even if nothing is truly groundbreaking. A solid 8 out of 10 if you're into the genre.
  11. ileGTi
    Sep 28, 2022
    8
    It's great when someone actually tries to make an enjoyable game, and not just a cash grab. Hard West 2 is an enjoyable, fun and exciting turn-based western fantasy, that has a gripping enough story to push through, and the gameplay has elements to keep you invested in the characters. It is a little on the light side, combat and mechanics are not super deep, but they are well implementedIt's great when someone actually tries to make an enjoyable game, and not just a cash grab. Hard West 2 is an enjoyable, fun and exciting turn-based western fantasy, that has a gripping enough story to push through, and the gameplay has elements to keep you invested in the characters. It is a little on the light side, combat and mechanics are not super deep, but they are well implemented and actually work. I had fun in the missions. Fun. Can you imagine, big budget games? Fun? No micro-transactions, no nonsense. Just fun. And really, at this price, the quality is over the top!… Expand
  12. Sepherim
    Jan 5, 2023
    7
    Hard West 2 es un buen juego de estrategia por turnos que refina lo ya visto en el primero. Tiene una historia curiosa, no tremendamente apasionante, pero que está bien sobre demonios, trenes fantasmas y movidas del estilo. Pero sobretodo tiene una jugabilidad muy sólida y que, gracias al sistema de bravado y a los rebotes de las balas, invita a jugar de un modo diferente al típico delHard West 2 es un buen juego de estrategia por turnos que refina lo ya visto en el primero. Tiene una historia curiosa, no tremendamente apasionante, pero que está bien sobre demonios, trenes fantasmas y movidas del estilo. Pero sobretodo tiene una jugabilidad muy sólida y que, gracias al sistema de bravado y a los rebotes de las balas, invita a jugar de un modo diferente al típico del género, de un modo más agresivo para enlazar rachas buenas de kills. Esta presión por ir rápido a mi no me acaba de convencer, soy más de jugar pausado y cuidadoso (especialmente jugándolo por primera vez directamente en la máxima dificultad), pero tampoco te presiona tanto como para que resulte molesto. Tiene una variedad decente de enemigos y de situaciones. Donde más flojea es en la variedad de armas y, sobretodo, en la personalización de los personajes y su progreso, ya que avanzan linealmente desbloqueando habilidades en base a la mano de cartas que tienen, de modo que hay poco margen de personalizar más allá de los bufos pasivos de las cartas concretas utilizadas.

    Gráficamente el juego no es increíble pero si cumple bastante bien para mantener el interés y crear un entorno de vaqueros sobrenatural que es llamativo y diferente. Lo mismo se puede decir del sonido, que cumple bien en todas las facetas, especialmente el doblaje, y peca un poco de una música sin demasiada inspiración pero tampoco mala. Y, al menos en mi tiempo jugándolo, me encontré algunos bugs pero ninguno de ellos demasiado grave.

    El resultado de todo ello es un juego bastante recomendable para los aficionados al género. Un 7.    … Expand
  13. Niubbottantatre
    Sep 7, 2022
    9
    Loving this game so far, although there are a couple of things that might be improved.

    Good: great atmosphere, nice storytelling, great voice over. The Bravado mechanic is a breath of fresh air in the turn-based tactical genre, the absence of overwatch is compensated to some degree by skills, bravado streaks and re-usable items. I absolutely LOVE the Deck of Haunts and how it works.    Loving this game so far, although there are a couple of things that might be improved.

    Good: great atmosphere, nice storytelling, great voice over. The Bravado mechanic is a breath of fresh air in the turn-based tactical genre, the absence of overwatch is compensated to some degree by skills, bravado streaks and re-usable items.
    I absolutely LOVE the Deck of Haunts and how it works.
    The recent balance patch has made the game much more enjoyable in Hard mode.

    Bad: the game is sometimes unforgiving, the slightest mistake can require a complete re-do of some later stages. Loading times are quite long although the latest patch kinda improved the performance.

    Mixed feelings: some weapons (shotguns and melee mostly) are quite unbalanced, becoming useless during the final part of the game. Some cards for the Deck might be missed during a playthrough. I found out how to get them thanks to online tutorials but I had no clue where to get them during the first playthrough and the Jokers can be a game-changer later in game.

    Overall a great game with some minor flaws that hopefully will be fixed. Love how the devs are actively listening to players' feedbacks and working on improvements!    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 38 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 38
  3. Negative: 0 out of 38
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 25, 2024
    80
    Each feature in the second installment has a purpose, a meaning, but most importantly it works as a whole. It brings a very playable combination of western and horror and is definitely worth playing even for those who are not too fond of turn-based games. [Issue#321]
  2. Riot Pixels
    Oct 22, 2022
    55
    Hard West 2 lives in the same weird supernatural world and displays the same shoddy workmanship as the original game, but lost a lot of variety. One boring playthrough is the limit.
    Read full review
  3. Games.cz
    Oct 5, 2022
    80
    A very solid western turn-based strategy that doesn’t really fail at anything it’s trying to accomplish, even though the camera movements are capable of ruining a perfectly good fight and Native American culture should have been significantly more prominent.
    Read full review
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