Evil West Review

Evil West

Release: November 22, 2022
Publisher: Focus Entertainment
Developer: Flying Wild Hog
Genre: PlayStation 5 Reviews, PS5 Reviews, ReviewsXbox Series X Reviews
PEGI: M
Comments:

 

Comment

What happens if you take Red Dead Redemption, with a dash of Van Helsing, and a sprinkle of Evil Dead? Well, you get Evil West, a fun and almost retro inspired action-adventure game from the early 90’s. There is a lot of devilish fun to be had here, if you can get past the “old” feel of some of the elements of the game.

Evil West is a third-person shooter. In the game, the player assumes control of Jesse Rentier, a vampire hunter. Jesse is equipped with powerful firearms including a six-shot pistol, a rifle and a flamethrower, and melee weapons including a gauntlet that can accumulate electrical energy and an axe.

Enemies can be stunned and staggered following a melee attack, allowing players to execute them using a special finisher move. Players can also use the environment to their advantage. For instance, they can kick enemies into a spike trap, or shoot explosive barrels.

Players will occasionally encounter boss characters, which are powerful enemies with unique attack patterns. As the player progresses in the game, they will level up and gain new skills and abilities. The campaign can be played cooperatively with another player.

This game has a retro feel to it, and now I have to be careful when saying that, because normally to me retro is 80’s and 90’s. But this game is more old school in the sense of it’s a very linear game, set up in staged where you must get from point A to point B and get a little cut scene and go to the next one to do the same thing.

It’s not a knock on the game at all, it’s just not many games take that approach anymore, so it just feels different. The controls are ok, you use basically every single button on the controller in different combinations to pull of your various attacks, abilities, and combos. The gauntlet (think Thanos) is a fun combat set up as you can use it for a multitude of things, from your basic combat to shocking enemies, to getting past the invisible barriers that the vampires (lovingly referred to as Ticks in this game) set up.

As you play through the game you are able to upgrade your skills, unlock new weapons and outfits along the way. The combat feels really good and can be fast paced and a little crazy, you are able to dash across the map, knock your opponent to the air, shoot him with your rifle, shock him when they land and then whip out the old flamethrower to finish him off all in one fluid motion.

Which is a bit nutty, but a lot of fun. Boss battles are your typical fair of a much bigger opponent you must fight in an arena style area, where you have to rely on constant dodging, shooting from a distance and then dashing in when you have an opening with your gauntlet. The downside is where as fun as combat can be, once you unlock everything it just becomes rather repetitive and a little dull towards the end of the game.

Visually the game looks good, not great. Everything runs well, it’s just in motion there is not much detail, and the color choices just make everything a bit of a muddled mess. Lots of browns, tans, reds and oranges are throughout the game that fit the vibe for sure but leave things a bit uninspired to be honest.

The Tesla-like electric effects are pretty much the only splash of color you get throughout this game. The enemy designs are pretty cool to see the different varieties of ghouls and monsters you encounter, but there is ALOT of repetition when you get to the end of the game. Having just a touch more would have helped with the fatigue.

All in all, Evil West is a fun time, the combat and weapons are clearly the highlights of the game. The weird cutscenes and transitions leave things feeling a little disjointed, along with repetitive environments and enemies. However, if you want to just unplug your brain for around 12 hours and take a gory smash fest trip through the Evil West, well this is a great way to do it.

Trailer