It’s very much welcomed by the Focus Entertainment staff during Gamescom 2022 that we’re settling down for testing Bad West Premiered a few days ago. In a stand in all its splendor, both appointments and presentations follow one another. Journalists from different editorial offices follow each other in the game with more or less success. It’s finally our turn and we can finally get our hands on the block and try our hand at this title that we knew very little about and which hardly inspired us. Bad mistake!
Your friends have a very high mortality rate.
In the second act of the game we are directly driven (the first obviously serves as a tutorial) to discover the title. We quickly face the main protagonists of the adventure. Biting towards a person trapped in a coffin and dirty dust covers on their back, these travel in a desert landscape. The answers blurt out, imprints of masculinity if not threats. Between the cart laboriously moving forward in a rocky desert and the Winchesters strapped firmly onto their backs, there’s no doubt we’re in the middle of a pure Western. Only the harmonica is missing (sorry if I put the music in your head) otherwise we’re in!
But these bounty hunters are not chasing after thieves and their captive is not common as it is a vampire! Hence the coffin… Happy mix of universes here, but it works beautifully. Once the controller is in hand, and as in any self-respecting TPS, we quickly find ourselves in familiar surroundings. Nothing unusual except for the lack of reloading (it’s automatic, cool) and the set is aimed at the pleasure of playing without caring about the rest.
And there it is Bad West just aim! Far from wanting to offer a deep and fascinating scenario, far from wanting to revolutionize the TPS genre, Bad West relies entirely on its gameplay and it’s perfect! Nervous, fast and violent. Yes, some puzzles will take a few seconds to advance, yes you will have to find the best way to advance, but nothing very complicated will ever hinder your quest to eradicate this demonic spawn.
Cranks don’t explode at first sunbeam, even if they’re pretty pissed off!
Fluid, fast and very responsive to the keyboard/mouse combo as well as the joystick, the title is a happy, totally uninhibited release in which we slaughter minions that can survive the sun on the surface like intermediate species in the basement or worse. Of course, once we’re underground, we’re faced with the more advanced and dangerous forms of slaves, and I’m not even telling you about the superior vampires, who are at a whole different level.
carefree Between a terribly accurate and deadly rifle and a devastating melee gauntlet (that just needs upgrading), the chore is done quickly.
Hello, are the phalanx sandwiches here? yes how many do you want
The discoveries made by exploring the tunnels like the combos during the combat phases make us level up quickly and allow us to discover the skill tree. This one offers us a series of improvements in both long-range and melee combat. And the latter are particularly destructive! As we leaf through the labyrinthine labyrinth in front of us, a completely different environment unfolds before our eyes, grand, powerful and mineral. In stark contrast to the wooden constructions of surface westerns, this one immediately reflects the history of a thousand-year-old and immortal species… until the invention of the Winchester!
Zayow’s review:
I expected very littleBad West, and yet the gameplay is simply excellent. After speaking to the developer, who is passionate about his game, he tells me that this demo barely shows 20% of the title’s potential. A variety of weapons will therefore be within our reach once the full build is installed on our consoles. In fact, all we could use was a damn effective shotgun, as well as our protagonist’s two big fists. However, later in the game we have the possibility of unlocking other weapons such as electric fists or a shotgun.
If the story seems anecdotal at first glance, that’s mainly because of that Bad West Really go all out with the gameplay, which is more than enjoyable, controller in hand. Furthermore, the developer has confirmed that it will be possible to play the game fully in co-op, which means it looks very promising. Unfortunately we could not test the two-player title on this version.
Is this a good situation in the end, vampire hunter?
Accurate betting on the action and terribly effective and jubilant gameplay, Bad West turns out to be a big surprise for us and promises the best of the genre. It’s centered on a dozen intense hours and will most likely find its audience, and we on the editorial staff are anxious to get our hands on it. Brutal, uncompromising, and not hindered for a second by scenario or convoluted mechanics, Bad West invites us on a bloody adventure that will only come to an end when the last of the vampires in this world return from where they came from. And where he should have stayed.
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