TLDR: Could be better in every category, doesn't feel like an RPG, doesn't feel like a stealth game, doesn't feel like a twin stick shooter, doesn't feel like much of anything, really. Get it if on sale and out of every other game of its ilk. Worse than mediocre. Feels like a sales pitch. If I had to use one word to describe Weird West: superfluous. Everything is surface level. - Money has no point to being in the game beyond buying your horse. - Bounties are useless as they reward money. - Crafting useless see next point. - Only shops have Legendary gear (can't craft Legendary) and all you need is a rope to rob them. - Every location is a copy paste of another location, copious amounts of copy paste for the entire game. - Quality greatly diminishes after the first chapter where you play as Jane. - Stealth is inconsistent even with a knockout bow. The save game feature; saving and then reloading randomizes ai pathing and can put the player out of the map until reloading an autosave (if you quick save near a wall). Enemies notice bodies if they are in LOS even contradicting the tall grass tutorial. - Environmental interactions consist of: fire, oil, and water barrels, and fire traps. Things I DID like: - Bodies tossed in water will die. - Being allowed to loiter since using a bed at an inn is pointless and free. - Graphics & sound. Overall, I just didn't enjoy this game. The developer says you can beat it without killing, but then the design of the game shows that this idea wasn't fully developed or adhered to. Vendetta's from previous characters are Wanted DEAD only, not alive. Some enemies cannot be knocked out in stealth, i.e., chapter 2 end boss (Ruth). These inconsistencies are throughout the game. Big part of me is struggling to not refund the game, I love GOG, but I don't like this game at all. Rather, I hate it with a real passion 90% of the time, only when the stealth works and the game doesn't soft lock me, do I tend to enjoy it, which is rare.
Okay. Where to begin? University Grad with English Writing, Social Work, Sociology & Disability Studies I bought this game because I'm only into cRPG's that give you the option to win without combat or with combat, as I'm more of a diplomatic type of player. From what I played (almost a dozen hours), I can say I gave the game a fair shake but my main mistake was expecting something more than juvenile misogyny for every male character in the game, or women being used as motivational dialogue points: IF you play as a female character. The kind of writing I prefer, is the kind people claimed this game had when they compared it to New Vegas: tact, class, style, evoking a sense of intrigue and wonder. This game does none of that. Every character you meet is a sexist chauvinistic pig, every male character will flirt with you if you are a female, lots of men won't talk to you, one specifically won't because you are female and directs you to gossip with the other women. I get this is a reinvented USSR circa '05, but when you take all the poor writing and juxtapose it alongside the writing from New Vegas, you realize the writing is neither deep, of quality, or evocative. I make this point because many people compared the writing to New Vegas. Deep cultural interconnections, sophisticated and realized characters and personality traits ranging from racist, derogatory, sexist, to power hungry bandits, NV has it all in style, ATOM does not. Expect to see 'Fuck...' or something similar as many of your answers in dialogue. Since I couldn't get into it because of the dialogue and the grammatical errors and overuse of exclamation marks, what about the combat? It's so so. I didn't enjoy the combat, your A.I. is brain dead like in Fallout 1/2, and the game takes too much from Fallout to it's own fault. The poor dialogue extends to the Journal in every way, people say this isn't the case, it is. I didn't enjoy ATOM RPG, you might, just severely lower your expectations.
This is a fun little novel to read, though there is barely any game-play apart from clicking and talking to people. I do enjoy the premise as a big fan of point and click adventure games, seeing them mix the prior genre with role playing is promising for the future. However, as much as I enjoy the story book, what I cannot abide by is the save feature being locked out randomly and permanently. What this means is.. if I cannot save my game, I have to reload a previous save and hope it let's me save. I just lost 2 hours. I know I can spam click through it all again, but it's a lot of reading to just click through. Just be aware the game can disable saves randomly, it's a bug, one the devs seem keen that does not exist. Sadly I am stuck with it.
