Evil West Is A Rootin’ Tootin’ Nostalgic Romp That Makes Me Feel Like A Kid Again

I’ve been excited about developer Flying Wild Hog’s Evil West since its reveal at The Game Awards in 2020. I was immediately drawn to it by so much. Despite Red Dead Redemption’s best efforts, I’ve always felt there’s a shortage of wild wests in video games, although some games use a western’s formula to tell a story set elsewhere. Evil West’s premise also feels reminiscent of something you’d see in the PlayStation 2 era: cowboys who protect mere mortals from the secret horrors of the world, such as vampires and other creatures. My mind can’t help but see Darkwatch, a game I played repeatedly as a child, when I see Evil West. 

Even more generally, that era was great for third-person action westerns – Gun, Red Dead Revolver, the aforementioned Darkwatch, and Call of Juarez (although Techland released this during the next generation, its 2006 release year is close enough to the PS2 that it feels at home here). This is all to say, that Evil West has made me feel old again.

Evil West’s setting was nostalgic enough to make me smile even before it came out. Nearly every aspect is the same as what I played on my PS2 back in 2000 when I was about ten years old. Jesse Rentier is the protagonist of this film. He is the son and leader of Rentier Institute. It’s an agency of government dedicated to fighting evil in plain view. Jesse is a gunslinger, with an electricity-imbued gun on his left arm and wolverine teeth on his right. Three guns are also in his arsenal, just like his father and grandfather. He has a working partner – what good cowboy goes it alone in the wild west? – and over-the-top garb that matches his caricature-like physique, and of course, the persona every leading cowboy in basically any western game has, too. 

In Evil West the Sanguines, an underground council of vampires, are seemingly being split apart by a young, anger-filled daughter who, like her father, believes it’s time for her kind to stop hiding in the shadows, and it’s up to Jesse to stop her. So far, the story has been fine. I’d be content if that’s all the story the game gave me. This game accomplishes the task and maybe it is accidental, but it does so well. Sometimes all that I require is a reason to slaughter countless enemy creatures and vampires. I certainly don’t need every game to feature a story that raises the hairs on my arms or moves me to tears. And in Evil West’s case, I’m okay to follow Jesse to the farthest reaches of this strange frontier to stop evil. 

The gameplay speaks directly to my PS2 nostalgia, as well, although I’d be remiss not to mention that this is one of the first games I’ve played that wears its God of War (2018) inspiration fully on its sleeve. The combat is almost the same, from the third-person, close-up camera that keeps the action right in front of you, to finishers that activate when enemy glows orange and to the bloody gore that comes with every enemy kill. Even traversing this wild west feels like a walk through one of God of War’s nine realms. Use a rope to get new locations, knock down chests and find combat areas in the midst of more explorative sections.

This is the area where I remember most my PS2 days. Remember how, likely due to hardware limitations, levels were a linear mix of “explore to find a chest or two while you get some additional story” and “time to fight waves of enemies until an indeterminable, seemingly random amount of time has passed?” I do, and while writing it out doesn’t sound so flattering, it’s somewhat refreshing –  although that could just be my nostalgia talking. Evil West wants you to focus exclusively on combat when it’s time to kill and when it’s not, it wants you to go find that random chest with gold in it. 

It’s nostalgic how Evil West presents itself, with its 2000s-esque fonts as well as the display of collectible lore pieces and other details. All of it is wrapped up in a beautiful bow. 

It is possible to compare Evil West with the PS2 games I played as a child, but so far I’m enjoying it immensely. It is aware of what it is, so is enjoying that fact by having its fun and bombastic combat in the forefront, along with its story and lovingly tropey characters at the center. Evil West is like many PS2-era titles I remember fondly. I forget about it pretty quickly after finishing its credits. But perhaps every now and then, 5, 10, 15 years from now, I’ll think about it and the fun I had for a short few days. Not every game needs to stick with me long after I finish it, and sometimes it’s okay for games to feel like those of yesteryear. It’s not every day a game makes me feel like a kid again, after all.

Do you play Evil West? Comment below to let us know!