Evil West - It's like a remake of a game that doesn't exist...

Prior to release, Evil West had high expectations. Juicy trailers and a relatively big-name developer are half the battle. Evil West was developed by Flying Wild Hog, the Polish developers and parents of the peculiar, but solid Shadow Warrior. The second part of success is a well-known setting of Evil West: the world of the Wild West, full of evil spirits, that looks like escaped from Blade and Hellboy movies.

Let's spice it all up with mega-armored, mega-brutal protagonists of the Gears of War kind, and then wrap it all in subtle notes of Tarantino and his legendary film "From Dusk till Dawn", a pinch of assorted punks - steampunk, diesel-punk, klock-punk, and bake the dish in the oven called "Doom", but not to the crispy crust. This meat dish should ooze blood - that's the recipe for Evil West. It sounds very promising, but what did we get?

Inspiration is important, but...

When creating Evil West, the developers from Flying Wild Hog admitted that they were inspired by such games as Devil May Cry and God of War 2018, which can be seen with the naked eye. In fact, Evil West - it's the same slasher, but instead of the swords of Chaos, players will have to wield vintage revolvers, winchesters, double-barrelled 12-gauge shotguns and other attributes of any self-respecting western. Evil West takes its interface, fixed camera, and gameplay feel from God of War 2018; both protagonists feel like lumbering hogs, both Kratos from God of War 2018 and the protagonist from Evil West - cowboy Jesse Rantier.

It's good to build on the success of the source material, but you also need to know the underlying success of the mastermind. God of War 2018 is played decently, there is not a single sane person who would call that gameplay something obscene, but before 2018 God of War was a completely different game. After the move to the new rails, some God of War fans remained enamored, and those who appreciated the game for its exorbitantly violent protagonist, violence, and gallons of blood - that fan base has dried off. Even Tarantino said that ultra-violence on the screen was fun.

Evil West will not appeal to those who were disappointed with God of War 2018, which initially narrows the audience. Thankfully Flying Wild Hog understood why and how God of War worked, so the comparison is correct.

Another thing is the comparison to Devil May Cry. Here Flying Wild Hog is clearly exaggerating. All that's left of the whiny Devil is the fleeting shooting of enemies in flight and nothing else. The combat system, the accents, the size of the locations, the boss battles - it's not about the similarities between Devil May Cry and Evil West at all. I mean, in the first game half of the time Dante spent in the air, chopping demons into cabbage, and in the second one the protagonist doesn't even know how to jump. Comparing Evil West and Devil May Cry is like comparing Warzone and Fortnite - the genres are the same, it works completely differently. If you're into God of War 2018, Evil West is probably your thing, and if not...

The usual game

Evil West could be called an original product, apart from the comparisons. For once, hallelujah, no monetization, no grind and lifeless open worlds, finally, we were given a regular linear action game. However, not without pumping, but it is built generously. In the course of the passage the player will be available to purchase a variety of guns - just one barrel for each type of weapon. Immediately rejected those situations where, say, pumped the wrong sword, and the required for the pumping of the sword differed only by the gaard:

So that the player does not get bored with spying vampires in the same way, each gun has its own chip in the course of pumping. You can't carry the whole arsenal with you, you can't pump everything up to the maximum in the middle of the game either, so you have to choose the combination of skills and guns wisely. Play with builds will not give, local progression of guns is very standard.

The same goes for skills. They, by the way, largely borrowed from God of War 2018. All sorts of dodging, parrying, whiplash, etc. - is pretty standard for any action game without a hint of breakthrough mechanics. Almost all of the gameplay is built around arena battles with old-fashioned red barrels, spikes, etc. Diluted with all this wandering around the colorful corridor locations, unpretentious search for resources and basic puzzles. Occasionally there are staged scenes. Resident Evil 4-era gameplay design, no less.

All of this is applied to the standard, well-proven combat. This is why Evil West was nicknamed "third-person Doom": the vulnerable areas of the foes are illuminated with a halo before making powerful attacks, and finishing them off brings not only aesthetic pleasure, but also a bit of health.

It's just an ordinary game. If Evil West had been released in 2008, it would have probably gone unnoticed. The name "2008" is not accidental, because the similar games were released in those years. In 2008 many gamers dreamed about those times, that the games of future would be so technological and immersive, and the linear actions would be remembered only in the context of nostalgia. Years have passed, the linear actions are more valuable than ever, because the other side of the scale is the loot-boxes, grind and sale of cosmetic items and BattlePass...

Conclusions

Evil West is a non-stressful linear entertainment for a couple of evenings. In the absence of choice or due to fatigue, this kind of spin-brain leisure goes to "Hurrah". For fans of the challenge game also has something to offer.

For a reason there was not a word about the plot, because in such works he plays a secondary role. The usual game for the usual price tag. But there is one trouble: the price of Evil West bites, so it will be a mistake to buy it without at least -50% discount.