West of Dead

A dark and gloomy, western themed rogue lite twin stick, cover based shooter narrated by the best voice in all off gaming (Ron Perlman) and I completely dig it. It's a pretty simple and straight forward set up, as is the gameplay, which makes it easy and quick to pick up and just play, while it still being a little more than a run and gun type of thing. And though you could technically blast your way through the early part of the game, there is some strategy involved in the room to room gun fights by taking advantage of cover and traps that make each fight feel a bit like turn based strategy without having to wait your turn. This mix of action and strategy feels balanced just right and it is very satisfying clearing an entire room sliding from cover to cover while dodging bullets and sticks of dynamite while your making each of your shots count. Highly recommended if your looking for an action game with a little bit of depth to the action while being easy to pick up and play, even if just for half an hour to an hour. Perfect for on the Steam Deck as well.

It's fun, has a lot of identity but it's also kind of lacking in a lot of departments. It's a great idea how they try to make some new gameplay and vary the combat in a genre as saturated as rouge lites, good art design, good music, good ambience but combat lacks a little bit of variety and I personally didn't find the story too engaging. I think this game could benefit a with a gameplay update or a second entry but I don't think that's gonna happen. Worth playing, not live changing.