Back in the PS2 era of gaming, there was a game that captured my attention called Darkwatch. It was a dark fantasy game set in the old west, where you fought vampires, demons, etc. I mention this because when I saw the trailer for Evil West, I immediately had to play it because it reminded me of Darkwatch. Most people weren’t a fan of Darkwatch like I was, but I’d always hoped more games like it would be made.

Before I get too deep into what Evil West is all about, I have to applaud the developers for their accessibility options. Alongside typical shooter mainstays of Aim Assist and camera tracking, they’ve added things like Subtitle size, Scaling for the Heads-Up-Display (HUD), and various difficulty options as well. If you want to go on the truly difficult side of things, you can max out the difficulty and turn “True Death” on, which deletes your save progress when you die.

There is also a great accessibility option that turns off spiders, for people who are arachnophobic. I personally think more games should have options like this, for folks who are deathly afraid of spiders. Props to the devs for considering things like this.

Evil West puts you in the role of Jesse Rentier, a vampire hunter with the Rentier Institute, which protects innocent people from the forces of Darkness. Jesse is meant to be the next Director, groomed by his father and forced into training from a young age. It is up to Jesse and his allies to protect the US from a growing shadowy threat that could plunge the whole country into darkness.

The first thing I noticed as I started playing Evil West is that somehow the developers avoided a major pitfall that most 3^rd Person Shooters tend to fall into. As Jesse Rentier, you can use both Jesse’s firearms as well as his gauntlet, giving him both melee and ranged attacks. Unlike most games in the genre, melee isn’t an afterthought, and feels like it has a suitable utility to it.

In fact, melee is prioritized heavily, as sometimes there are too many enemies to shoot them all. Because of this, you’ll have to balance the use of Jesse’s gauntlet (including its electrical abilities) and his various firearms to keep yourself alive. You can also heal when you get low, but most of your healing will be done by killing enemies since your healing item has a cooldown.

It should also be noted that you can play Evil West entirely solo or with a friend in co-op. As you take on grotesque monsters, you’ll find notes filled with lore, money to purchase upgrades, and all sorts of other interesting things. Jesse’s gauntlet isn’t just used for combat either, his melee capabilities can be used to navigate through barricades, break boxes filled with money, and more.

Another interesting thing I noticed as I played, is that when you are reloading Jesse’s guns, the adaptive triggers become more resistant. This is a subtle way of reminding you that you’re reloading and thus you won’t be able to fire. My only complaint with the control scheme is that instead of swapping guns at will, they’re tied to different buttons. Because of that, it gets a little hectic trying to make sure I’m hitting the right button for the right gun.

The combat is challenging and requires you to make use of all the tools at your disposal. At the same time, if you learn the mechanics, it doesn’t throw more at you than you can handle. The skill tree from leveling up lets you tailor your playstyle to suit your needs, and with the myriad of options available, it gives a lot of room for multiple ways to play.

Admittedly, my expectations weren’t very high when I started playing. I loved the vibe, the aesthetic, and the idea of the game, but I wasn’t expecting anything groundbreaking. Evil West exceeded my expectations in every way that matters. Not only is it fun, but the cast of characters was interesting, and I found myself hoping that this could become a full-on franchise down the line.

Lore referencing Native American deities and folklore, as well as urban legends and other elements in its story, give this Wild West-era game a unique flavor. Evil West is what you get if you toss Jonah Hex, Van Helsing, and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter into a blender. It offers a satisfyingly gory and action-packed experience that is unique and fun.

There is one large caveat to this glowing review though. I ran into a game-breaking bug that seems to be plaguing PS5 owners. A certain puzzle in chapter 8 stops working and prevents you from progressing. I have checked various places and the devs are aware of it, so hopefully it will be fixed down the line. However, upon looking at the Steam discussion boards and the official subreddit, it seems that there are other level bugs that have been causing people issues.

My overall thoughts on this are that Evil West’s gameplay is fun and absolutely worth your time. However, be prepared to keep an eye out for level bugs, and maybe pick this one up on sale. I’d hate for folks to pay full price for something that they might not be able to finish, but I know not everyone has had these game-breaking issues, so just keep it in mind. If you’re willing to take a chance on this game, it’s a great experience, it just has a few technical issues that need sorting.

A PlayStation 5 review copy of Evil West was provided by Focus Entertainment for this review.

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Evil West

$49.99 USD

7.5

Score

7.5/10

Pros

• Great Action Gameplay
• Interesting World and Characters
• Gorgeous Environments
• Accessibility Features and Difficulty Options

Cons

• Game-Breaking Bugs