Weird West

Densely packed with ingenious systems, Weird West is a game of endless possibilities that encourages player choice and agency in a way very few other games do, and reacts to your actions across every level of interactivity.

Weird West is a fun not-quite-RPG that feels like the beginning of a great new franchise. Perfectly enjoyable to play, this first iteration lays a lot of groundwork towards what will likely become an ongoing series. Darkly funny and surprising, each character's story arc is unique and rewarding. While a system of branching choices impacting the game's story feels like a natural evolution from what is here, what is presented is very enjoyable. Weird West creates a universe I don't want to leave. When it was over, I just wanted more - which is the biggest hurdle a new franchise can overcome.

The story, characters and even the very world that Wolfeye Studios have created for their freshman outing is so very unique and dare I say ‘weird’ that you can’t help but become wrapped up in them. I haven’t enjoyed a mash up of supernatural and westerns since Darkwatch and if you played that game, you know that’s high praise.

Weird West is an excellent immersive sim that marries a unique world, choice-driven gameplay, and a gorgeous aesthetic to create a game that’s unlike anything we’ve played this year. 2022 has been stacked with great games, but you should skip Weird West at your peril — or the Pigman will get you.

Seductive atmosphere, impeccable immersion, neat narrative, the supercharged universe of Weird West is as vast as it is generous. For twenty hours in a straight line, the immersive simulation experience provides good sensations and a coherent RPG dimension despite an AI that is still too perfectible.

Weird West blends a lawless world of gunslingers with the supernatural to great effect, and had me gripped the entire time. This is one adventure you need to experience.

I had a good time playing through all of the characters’ stories and didn’t have any other things that hit me in such a noticeably out-of-place way as the previously noted moment, so I can accept one off moment in a sea of otherwise excellent quality. Weird West was one of the more unique experiences I’ve had in a game in a while, so I certainly can’t hate it when the rest is there in such a heavy-hitting way.

Lacking some refinement in general and improvements in controls, Weird West overcomes these minor problems with good stories in different characters, great immersive sim system and an addictive combat.

It turns out this town is big enough for the two of Weird and West. It’s a combo that makes for a tough but fair, fun, and memorable game. [Issue#14, p.88]

Weird West excels at presenting players with an engaging, interconnected world experienced by five vastly different characters. It’s a game where multiple decisions ripple through the narrative, resulting in outcomes both unexpected and practical. While its attention to detail may not result in varied gameplay, its portrayal of a deeply weird yet familiar version of the Wild West elevates this CRPG in interesting ways, making WolfEye Studios’ debut a noteworthy homage to its roots.

Weird West is a video game that offers a rich narrative with a lively (but dark) world. The character rotation system is a great way to vary the fun and gameplay mechanics. The sandbox vision of the fights is excellent.

You can sense, in Weird West, a developer both returning to his obsessions and toiling on a fresh frontier.

Weird West is a refreshing, lean and mean immersive sim. Its supernatural Wild West is a delight to explore, and is at its very best when it gets as strange as it possibly can, while the minute-to-minute combat is an awful lot of fun. Some of its bugs may get in the way, and those expecting deep interpersonal relationships with posse members will find it wanting, but as a mechanic-driven immersive experience it is hard to put down.

Weird West has the ambition of a much larger game, and has made smart choices to be able to meet it.

Weird West sometimes gets its wagon wheels stuck on the sand with its exciting but underdeveloped ideas. Nonetheless, it’s still well worth a fair few silver dollars for being an ambitiously open-ended Action-RPG with a truly unique story and ambiance. So saddle up, partner. We’ve got some outlaws and zombies to hunt!

This action RPG follows the quests of five different individuals in an American West full of zombies, werewolves, and dark magic, and while its functionality sometimes leaves something to be desired, its choices, progression, and aesthetic are quite solid.

When it comes to the world, the narrative, and the characters that inhabit the Weird West, there’s a lot to love. If you’re looking for a game that’s well written and where your choices feel important and consequential, then it’s likely you’ll be able to forgive some of the lacklustre RPG elements that unfortunately weigh this one down.

The beautiful thing about Weird West is also what makes it critically impenetrable. At least for me, my enjoyment of the game is tied to my particular playstyle. If you’re more ruthless with NPCs, if you’re more stealth-focused, or if you’re more patient, this is a very different game. So my frustration with the stealth is a sign to sneak around less. If I’m unhappy with the story, I can always change how it ends. Conversely, the movement and aiming controls are a tangible way of making your platforming choice. If you’re looking for a western RPG with this sort of blissful, overwhelming freedom, you’ve come to the right place. For better or for worse, Weird West has that freedom.

Weird West is like a love-hate relationship. It can be extremely frustrating one minute, and you want nothing to do with it. Then, the next minute, you want nothing more than to keep playing…However, all of it comes together to create an impressive world that WolfEye Studio should be proud of.

Playing in this Western sandbox is a joy when it is rewarding your exploration and moral choices with strange outcomes and interesting characters. A lack of late-game variety brings its flaws to the fore.

Weird West is indeed weird - it blends classic western together with the occult and creates a reactive, living world for you to explore and influence. Your actions sometimes indeed do have far-reaching consequences - and other times the system simply breaks. But the action is good if you get used to the cumbersome control scheme.

Weird West has a lot of interesting systems working under the hood to let you play as you like. With this comes a certain amount of jank which undermines the immersion somewhat but the multiple character stories and many choices still make it worth playing.

While it has its quirks, Weird West is a bit of storytelling spectacle that seems to have been hand-crafted for diehard RPG fans.

For those what want to immerse themselves in a strange, alternative take on the Wild West and unravel a mysterious story, Weird West should do the trick. This is an engaging action RPG that while narrative-driven, still gives players a large amount of choice. And though there are some issues, they’re worth bearing with to see each of the game’s protagonists journeys through to their end. As the first game from WolfEye Studios, this is a very commendable effort indeed.

Weird West presents itself as a videogame divided in two, composed of a duality that places it between the experimental and the tried and tested formula, presenting a really appealing proposal in everything that has to do with role-playing and player-world interaction, and attending to conventionalisms in terms of action. I have a bit too much of the latter, but I can't help but applaud its merits. Play it on PC, though.

Weird West sets its sights high by promising player freedom and a responsive world to butterfly effect the hell out of, and it very nearly delivers on all of it. At its best, WolfEye Studios' first outing offers delightfully chaotic combat and an interesting supernatural setting that leaves no actions without consequence. But while in many respects Weird West achieves some of its grander ambitions, it fails to nail some of the basics. Immersive sim fans will be in their element here, but Raphael Colantonio's latest won't have as wide an appeal as his previous successes with Arkane.

Weird West is a mix of many ideas that unfortunately are not properly explored. This reinterpretation of Western in a dark fantasy key is undoubtedly intriguing but, unfortunately, fails to blend in all its mechanics.

Despite the considerable ambitions of the project by Raphael Colantonio and his WolfEye Studios, Weird West fails to best express the potential of a creative vision that is as multifaceted as it is unsustainable, at least for the current production structure of the team.

Weird West sadly just isn’t as unique, strange or compelling as its setting and ideas suggest it should be. A decent twin-stick shooter with solid but repetitive combat, a limited sandbox and inconsequential decision making undermine the potential for an awesome gun slinging adventure. Sometimes, declaring yourself weird just ain’t enough, you’ve got to have the stones to commit to the best duels of the wild west.

Weird West is a fun, but awkward game. The aiming and gun fighting mechanics often lead to frustration and make it almost unplayable at times. The story is interesting and different and the characters are fun to get to know, but the weapons aren’t very diverse and the armor and clothes are a minimal addition. It’s one of those games, that if you can master the mechanics of it and like this type of camera angle, you’ll probably enjoy it, but still find it lacking in overall depth. Personally, I love Diablo-type games and found Weird West to be enjoyable, but often tedious. Luckily, there’s a quick save and quick load feature for those untimely deaths and missteps. Trust me — those will happen often.

The writing, the story, the characters, and the ways in which your actions have an effect on the world are all enthralling. I wanted answers to the mysteries presented, since the heroes and villains of these tales are captivating, and the payoffs, by and large, are worthwhile. There are a lot of excellent old-school isometric adventure games in Weird West's DNA, but not enough new-school polish for it to be something great.

This is one game that is certainly worth checking out, if only for the setting and story premise, and if you could find some way to look beyond the less than ideal conditions of the gameplay segments, then perhaps you already possess the necessary steel and nerve to make it in the Weird West.

Despite some of the same minds behind Dishonored being involved, this top-down immersive doesn’t live up to its soaring ambitions and often struggles to entertain.

While its narrative aspirations and desire for immersive role-playing seem to aim at the Hollywood tradition of the Western, Weird West ends up feeling more like a disposable dime novel.

The systems felt too brittle to warrant a more considered approach. In this Western, it doesn’t pay to be a master of the quick draw so much as the quick save, stopping to back up every inch of progress, in case your next move pulls the chair from under you.