I went into this expecting a fast-paced boomer-shooter with a weird west theme, something like Dusk or Blood. I was somewhat pleasantly surprised to find myself with a slower-paced, almost Thief-like FPS-RPG. Dropped into a medium sized map and allowed to crack on, you explore the gloomy world, rendered in a pleasing (if somewhat dark) low-resolution style. A fairly low draw distance is a slight hinderance, but the art style is well done, and the small touches to the environment are appealing. The gameplay loop is, for lack of a better term, inspired by 'souls-likes', where death sends you back to a checkpoint and respawns some enemies. You are given a task early on to defeat the region boss and can pick up a limited amount of simple side tasks, usually involving reaching a certain point on the map or retrieving an item. A good amount of weapons and items are available, allowing you to tailor a playstyle in conjunction with the RPG skill mechanics, though some of the skills do seem like a waste of points and the build that seems most successful is the "stealth-archer" style of picking enemies off with your melee until you're discovered, then guns blazing to finish the stragglers. Combat is punishing, without a dedicated dodge or block function, and enemies hit hard up close, though ranged enemies projectiles travel slow enough to be seen and dodged with a little lateral movement. The combat rewards methodical planning and accuracy, and is satisfying when you manage to blow up a group of enemies with a dynamite stick and then rush in to crush the survivors with your magic axe. The weapons are rendered nicely and have satisfying feedback and reload animations. Consumables are fully animated and thus require a little tactics as to when to use them. Story is vague but serviceable, you're mostly here for the atmosphere, art style and methodical gameplay. Overall, this was a pleasant surprise and a fun little adventure in the Weird West. Recommended.
