Wild Bastards

Wild Bastards is the second instance in as many games where Blue Manchu has left me mesmerized with its knack for creating intricate, interwoven gameplay systems and arranging them in such a way that rewards careful planning and skilled improvisation at different times. With a fantastic cast of 13 unique characters, tight gunplay, a striking sense of style and humor, and a deep array of possibilities in every part of its three-phase loop, Wild Bastards is unholstered brilliance.

Wild Bastards’ bite-sized first-person shooter showdowns were a treat, especially when I was able to put together pairs of characters who complemented each other and made for something more than a simple shootout. A traditional shooter it is not, but its original gameplay loop and striking visuals make it a helluva good time.

Taking everything learnt from Void Bastards, Wild Bastards is an inventive spiritual sequel, blending strategy and shooter perfectly within its space cowboy antics. It’s a must play, no doubt.

A fantastic roguelite with fast-paced action, light-hearted humour, and a great cast of characters. Though it may wear on you on a long play session, Wild Bastards has earned its place as Void Bastard’s successor.

Wild Bastards is everything a Rougelite should be: challenging, fun, stylish and deeply engaging.

Wild Bastards is a roguelite first-person shooter that presents itself to players in a superb and very pleasant way, while not innovating the formula and perhaps not deepening the bonds between the main protagonists too significantly. However, this allows you to overcome strategic situations to have an approach that deals with situations brilliantly, composing teams that are always different... Unless someone, in short, is angry with someone else. Which happens. The game design is very pleasant and detailed, also enriched by a nice gunplay system. Recommended for those who love the West, popcorn and Tarantino.

Wild Bastards sounds like it shouldn’t work. Its foundation is a patchwork of different genres frankensteined into a single title and the frenetic FPS portions are broken up by long stretches of slow-paced tactical movement and galactic navigation. Despite all this (and the damned RNG) I can’t deny that it all works. The story is filled with fascinating and funny (if not likable) characters I wanted to see succeed. The tactical portions present interesting choices, and the FPS sections are fast and furious. if there was ever a game where the whole was more than the sum of its parts, it’s this one — and it comes highly recommended!

Bright colors and low-impact sound design keep Wild Bastards from ever feeling too chaotic. The action stays legible, without too many particle effects crowding your screen. With management, RPG, and unlocking mechanics, there’s a little something for everyone. Wild Bastards is a good hang. Rather than feeling pulled in every direction, you will feel hyper-focused on the next level. I expect to see imitators trying to pull off the same formula before too long. But the real question is, what does the future look like for the Bastards games? If the future looks like this, I’d feel just fine but Wild Bastards is such a leap forward I would hope to see more bold additions to the formula.

Wild Bastards is a sequel that tries to mod some of the gameplay mechanics of the original, but loses steam along the way

Wild Bastards aims to mash up frantic first person skirmishes with board game exploration and a roguelike structure. Though it works, it might be a bit bloated and unnecessarily complicated for some.

Wild Bastards is more dastardly delicious gaming to come from right here in Australia. Blue Manchu Games have done some building upon their Bastards universe to create a thoroughly fun and explosive experience. Though the game can go on a little too long and be a bit one-note, I could never accuse it of not being some of the best FPS and roguelike fusion we’ve had for a while. What awaits is a weird and creatively designed cast with varied playstyles, quality strategic roguelike thinking and build potential that’ll more than satiate you. It’s well worth going on your journey across the stars and finding yourself some weird alien outlaw friends. Family found.

Cosmic western with collecting bandits brings an interesting combination of action with strategic progress. At first it is remarkable, but gradually the interest in the game declines. Without a proper story, it becomes too long and monotonous.

A unique and well-crafted blend of genres with entertaining characters that barely misses the landing for its endgame.

A charming comic book aesthetic and a tight, satisfying gameplay loop make Wild Bastards a worthwhile FPS roguelike, provided you can bear its gratingly chatty cast and often underwhelming upgrades.

Blue Manchu once again produces a memorable mishmash with Wild Bastards. The setting contains many peculiarities, but it is mainly the legion of playable characters and their peculiar personalities that give the game its own character. In Wild Bastards you experience a highlight when you go on an excursion with your favorite bastards and use the unique skills that they have to offer. The combat is namely entertaining enough due to the various inspirations from other genres and solid, if not somewhat thoughtful, gunplay. It is therefore extra unfortunate that Wild Bastards suffers from just too many headaches to overlook it. Some elements of the game feel underdeveloped, such as the random relationship management and the indifference in the available maps. The main culprit, however, is the pacing of the game, which sometimes makes you feel like you are really stuck in certain parts for far too long. This is an issue in the main campaign, but then also kicks the replayability off the horse. Nevertheless, there's plenty to love in Wild Bastards, even if a one-way ticket through the intergalactic Wild West is enough.

Wild Bastards has a lot of charm and style, and that’s enough of a hook to want to dive in and see what the game has to offer. Using a sizable roster of characters who are the major differentiators for gameplay as the main motivator to keep going is effective as well. But once you’ve got the Bastards roster filled out and you have combat figured out well enough, that’s about where the buck stops in this sci-fi western. It’s a chaotic and challenging experience, but promises a lot of complexity and nuance that seems bountiful at first, but fizzles a bit given time. Some balancing issues hold it back the most from being truly fulfilling, but there’s a little bit of genre fatigue talking on my part as well. On its own merits, Wild Bastards is ambitious and kinetic, and will definitely put FPS fans’ skills to the test.

While the characters and voice actors add a lot of life into the group of characters present in Wild Bastards, the gameplay falls short of making it a game I would want to return to.