Hands-On With Weird West – A Frontier Worth Exploring

Wolfeye Studios’ upcoming twin-stick shooting game Weird West will be released in the near future. This developer is new and was founded by Dishonored and Prey co-creators. It doesn’t take long to feel their immersive sim handprints. In fact, once you’re through the basics of Weird West’s twin-stick shooter action, the same combat scenario experience in games like Dishonored makes an appearance, and it’s a delight. 

Do you go in guns blazing with your shotgun and spray and pray until everyone’s dead? If so, hopefully, you’ve looted some dead coyotes for meat or stocked up on bandages in town. Do you prefer to go the stealthier route or do you choose to be more discreet? Hopefully, you’ve spotted the poison barrel on the cliff that you can kick onto the enemies below, which damages them and allows you to surprise them with some bullets. 

No matter what your decision, combat works the same mechanically. To move in the area, you can use your WASD keys (or your left joystick) and either your mouse or rightstick to aim for a target on screen. This is twin-stick shooter style. You can switch between guns easily even when it is intense. Different weapons have different damage outputs and ranges. I especially like that Weird West isn’t super generous with ammunition, too, because it forced me to cycle through all the weapons at my disposal quite often.

These combat situations were the most fascinating to me in Weird West’s short time. I began to view them as small puzzles that doubled as opportunities to gun down some local gang members, and in doing so, Weird West’s more immersive sim-nature shined. 

Weird West’s puzzle-like twin-stick shooter combat wasn’t the only thing that piqued my interest. It features a beautiful (lightly) cel-shaded art style that feels especially distinct thanks to Weird West’s three isometric view points – far-out camera angle, a mid-angle, and a close zoom. Its synth-ish music reminded me of John Carpenter’s Halloween, which adds a touch of horror to Weird West’s vibe. 

Weird West was lacking in one aspect: the narrative. Although I played only a small part of the game, it is possible that things will change once the entire story becomes available to me. However, right now, the bounty-hunter-coming-out-of-retirement storyline was the blandest part of my time with Weird West. That’s not to say the actual dialogue in-game was rough – I quite enjoyed that, and I liked the side quests presented to me as well. It was just that the overall narrative wasn’t as compelling as it is in the later parts of the game.

Weird West has a unique approach to the Wild West that feels almost like an alternate time when coyotes or cattle were part of daily life. I’ll have my eye on the game when it releases next year for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on January 11. 

What are you planning to do with Weird West this weekend? Let us know in the comments below!