West of Dead Review
Played on Xbox One (base)
Developed by Upstream Arcade
Released 14th November 2019
Upstream Arcade is comprised of developers that worked on the title Deadbeat Heroes, a fairly unheard-of game, so when the legendary Hellboy actor, Ron Perlman, voice acted for this small game, it made sense why West of Dead was the great breakout hit that Deadbeat Heroes wasn't.
Story
The story follows a smooth and soothing narration of the game's protagonist William Mason, voiced by the iconic Ron Perlman. As you descend into a wild west purgatory of Wyoming, you uncover the secrets behind why your flaming head landed here while you commit some justice against the so-called "Preacher". While it is a generic formula of the protagonist finding more about themselves and their amnesia, I loved the reveals that went along with it as you completed each level. The dialogue (though unskippable) was fresh each time you died as well, however, it wasn't wonderous enough to get me to immerse myself into the world of this game.
Gameplay
The gameplay is a cover-based rogue-like haven and I thoroughly enjoyed it throughout. The advantageous and disadvantageous properties of light in this game are unique and enjoyable to master as dark corridors and rooms prevent you from locking onto enemies but lighting a nearby lantern stuns them opening them up for some free shots. When you start your run you are given 2 random, self-reloading weapons that you can use to help survive the enemy-filled areas. Each time you progress through a level you can use your acquired sins (the points you get for killing enemies) to buy permanent upgrades to help you and to use on your next run in case you die.
The problem is, however, that the game felt too easy. At times I did feel overwhelmed with the number of enemies I had to fight but I managed to beat the main story within 2 hours (which should normally take 10) only on my 3rd run and as a result, I didn't get to experience the cool and new weaponry I could've unlocked and used for the start of future runs. The weaponry itself lacks a little variety as well and the options of upgrades are limited to your sin spending in between levels. This caused not much differentiation out of the 3 runs I experienced.
As you dodge, slide over and switch between your destructible but respawnable cover, you can come across merchants that'll either sell you upgraded versions of your 2 abilities or 2 weapons, or even entirely new ones. Another mechanic this game has is the melee. While you can get a powerful melee ability that's fun to use, the button it's assigned to is frustrating. You perform a melee by pressing the shoot button when you're nearby an enemy, however, the issue stems from the fact that sometimes I'd rather use that close-range to use my shotgun instead, yet, I can't do so due to the control scheme. This ends up making the shotgun either feel useless or the melee redundant as the game would automatically decide to sacrifice a bit of my health by getting hit by an enemy to do a weak melee in exchange, instead of the power blast that could've come from the shotgun.
Bossfights
The boss fights are cool but repetitive. While each boss consists of some unique design or gameplay, they can easily be split into 2 groups. The huge creatures that stomp and smash or the human bosses that shoot and dodge, all in the same format. With such a unique idea of 1888 Wyoming purgatory, I'm disappointed to see such little variety.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is great. The sound effects of every pop, shot, slash and bash sound responsive and powerful while the barrel spinning for reloading is satisfactory. The smooth comic book art style works incredibly well with the dark rooms and blasts of light you get from the lanterns. The music (though repetitive) strings together well in every firefight and no glitches or bugs occurred when I was playing this game.
Story- 7/10
Gameplay- 8/10
Bossfights- 5.5/10
Atmosphere- 8.5/10
Mediocre
A solid rogue-like experience that, while not game-changing, isn't a title to skip if you've had your fair share of the more perfected rogue-likes in the industry.
