I miss the days of the standalone single player title. Games like Singularity, Timeshift and Inversion. Games that you could grab on a Friday heading home from work and see the credits roll before Monday morning. So, when I saw Evil West I got a blast of nostalgia.

Evil West is a third-person action shooter from Polish studio Flying Wild Hog, the team who are best known for the Shadow Warrior games.

Evil Heading

You play as a man of the law (sort of) in a version of the Wild West gone truly wrong. Our protagonist, Jesse Rentier, is one of the last agents of a clandestine vampire-hunting organiaation – who have sworn to protect the American frontier from supernatural forces.

If you have seen the movie Priest with Paul Bettany and Karl Urban there are more than a few ideas shared between them, which is not a bad thing. I mean, who doesn’t want to be a Wild West vampire hunter?

The tale sees you having to basically stop the rise of a new evil, who happens to pay your headquarters a visit just before starting their climb, leaving only a handful of the agents left to save the day.

Evil West is a pulpy offering that has its moments, as each cast member you meet, has their own character and charm that adds to the gritty world.

Holy Gameplay

Evil West has some of God of War‘s feel in its weighty melee attacks. This is mostly thanks to a beefy gauntlet that lets you punch a monster into a fine red mist. Throughout the game, you will switch between that and a healthy arsenal of firearms, including revolvers, a rifle and even a flamethrower.

Combat is a ranged affair in a lot of ways, with you making best use of the tools you have at your disposal – being the key to victory.

Most fights take place in set areas that are way too easy to recognise, telegraphing that combat is about to happen. But it does give you a heads up that a fight is coming at least.

You battle the hordes of the undead; levelling up your skills and bank with both letting you unlock new skills and abilities for your weapons. That really does change up the game, as you’re move set is forever growing; for example you’ll soon be able to do area of effect stun moves, or pull enemies to you for a quick smack down.

Timing of Evil

In a lot of the ways combat is partly down to knowing when to attack and when to mob manage, as the game throws a LOT of bad guys at you, especially towards the end of the tale.

When not knee deep in vampire entrails, you’ll do a bit of light exploring around each level -where you can find extra coin, as well as unlocks like new perks or cosmetics if you go off the beaten track. Plus, if you have a mate with a copy of the game, you can team up for some co-op thrills, which is always a plus.

Presentation of Note

Visually, the game is grim and bleak. Evil West rocks a chunky, stylised look from the heroes to the things that go bump in the night. One odd thing though was the oversaturation of coloured lighting in areas like reds and greens.

Voice acting is solid across the board with Derek Hagen’s Jesse sitting the right side of gravelly and beat down.

Evil West is a rare treat in that it’s not just a new IP, but it’s a bloody good game – weighty and hard-hitting in the best ways. If you’re looking for something a bit different that has an addictive gameplay loop and is perfect for a weekend’s fun that is well worth your time.

Review copy provided by PR