Horror-tinged immersive sim

Weird West is a video game from WolfEye Studios that offers a dark fantasy reimagining of the Wild West. Here, players will journey through the story of five different characters. You will move from one character to the next until all stories converge in the final chapter.

Weird West is dubbed as an immersive simulator where characters, factions, and even places react to your decisions in real-time. However, while its main storyline is unique and ambitious, its side quests are a letdown due to their blandness. Additionally, despite its map being huge, standout locations are few and far between. 

A story of intertwined destinies

Weird West takes players to a dark fantasy reimagining of the Wild West. Although dubbed as an immersive sim game, at its heart, the game is a classic RPG. As mentioned, it works as an anthology starring five different characters. You will play each protagonist in sequence. The characters are very varied, and each will have their own story to unravel and a specific problem that requires solving.

Each life lived will spill over into the next chapter. Previous characters will also persist in the world after you’ve finished playing them, waiting until you are ready to recruit them to your posse. The overarching plot will also pull together all five avatars into a big showdown that takes your previous lives into consideration. Besides the main story, the game also comes with side quests that you can try.

However, while the overlapping plot is ambitious, the game struggles to coalesce. The side quests are a bit bland and feel frivolous. Additionally, while hundreds of locations pop up as you travel, most of them look and feel the same. Too many levels look like they’ve been constructed from an extremely limited tileset. Although, you can have fun with the various percentage-based boons and buffs during combat.

Not weird enough

Weird West offers a very ambitious premise that will have you go through five different stories in one game. However, its sheer ambition cannot hide the glaring issues within its offering. Sure it comes with some magical moments. However, these parts appear far too infrequently that players are often treated to a rather bland experience. All in all, it is nowhere weird enough to be called an inventive immersive sim.