I like West of the Witchlands.
Note: I reviewed West of the Witchlands just prior to its launch via the demo, putting in about 2hours, and played it after launch again for a bit to compare the differences between the versions; the only difference I saw was the addition of the even tougher purple robes gnoll casters; beyond that, the gameplay felt identical.
I recorded some of my progress in West of the Witchlands.
[b]Please take a look if you value a more Audio / Visual experience, as I discuss the game as I shoot, slash and magic blast my way through it; in some semblance of style perhaps![/b]
https://youtu.be/5XEFS79Vtps
West of the Witchlands is an Indie, Twin Stick, Action RPG Roguelike set in a randomized, Wild West dungeon.
[h1]A Wild West Dungeon: [/h1]
The dungeons in West of the Witchlands are outdoors, randomized from run to run, and are full of chests of loot, cash to snatch, and monsters gunning for you, so gun em down first!
Terrain block shots and serve as cover here, so make use of it to blow down your foes!
And watch where you step in the canyon dungeon: if you fall off the cliff you take 25hp damage and are ported back up-top, Zelda style.
Take out monsters, to earn cash and gain the mana used to power your spells, then clear the way to the portal to take you to the next area, with tougher monsters and more loot, to do it all again!
[h1]Gaining Power: [/h1]
You don’t get exp from kills here; your power comes from spending cash to upgrade your guns, and found runes.
There are circle runes found in the dungeon upgrade chests, allowing a pick of 1of 3.
Think explosive bullets, penetrating shots; handy stuff like that.
You slot these circle runes into your guns, and these runes are upgraded at the starting alchemy table using cash.
You can find weapon chests, which grant another gun; fun.
Weapons are upgraded using cash at the weapon table.
There is a merchant in the starting blue circle who sells circle runes and guns.
You can also upgrade the circle runes found in a run at the starting alchemy table using cash.
There are also the long runes, which are passive; you drag them onto the passive slot to apply them; you cannot move these once slotted in.
Remember: Runes don’t take effect until slotted in, so slot em in!
[h1]Wild West Class and Combat: [/h1]
There are two available classes in West of the Witchlands: The Witch and The Priest.
The Witch has a fireball spell and a defensive Flame Wheel that kills nearby enemies.
The Priest has a cone knockback, and a shield spell that also provides a melee buff; which does not last long.
The priest is more of a multiplayer support character.
[b]Combat: [/b]
There is a Stamina system present, drained by sprinting and dodge rolling.
There is no bump damage by default here; good, as it means enemies must actually make an attack to hurt you, and can’t just bump into you and hurt you with all their evil-ness.
Your ammo is unlimited here, but you have to reload.
As you gun down your foes, you gain mana from killed enemies to fuel your spells, and cash to fuel your upgrades; fun.
You also have 2 healing potions, with an unlisted cooldown after drinking a one that last 30 seconds, and healing potions are limited, so try to avoid taking a hit.
You can carry 2 guns by default, and both can be long guns if you want, so don’t feel you have to stick with the six shooter if you that’s not your style.
While I did enjoy my time with West of the Witchlands, I did come across some areas where it could be better.
Please let me know if anyone thinks I’m off base here, or if any of this is out of line.
I’ll try and keep this organized.
[b]Bugs and Tech Issues:[/b]
[h1]1: Bug: Locked To Aiming?[/h1]
Sometimes, with mouse and keyboard the gun locked to aiming, massively slowing down the character.
This happened on the launch version I just tested as well.
It tends to go away after a bit, still, it can easily get you killed.
[h1]2: Had a Crash[/h1]
Game overheated and crashed at around 43 in the above video, this game runs hot!
I was streaming and recording, but still, I did not expect this.
Hopefully, this won’t affect people not recording / streaming the game, but I have to mention it.
[h1]3: Channeling Does Nothing?[/h1]
Not sure what channeling a spell offers, as it did not seem to offer increased damage or AOE; it just takes much longer, and the end effect seem to be the same… bug?
[b]Suggestions:[/b]
[h1]4: No Pause on Esc When Playing Alone?[/h1]
Esc opens inventory, and settings, but does Not pause the game!
Game does NOT pause on Esc, even when playing solo.
This also made trying to select upgrade runes feel very rushed, and disincentivizes players actually reading the runes and trying to plan their build; not great.
[h1]5: Priest Feels Super Weak![/h1]
Maybe because there are intended for multiplayer, but in solo play their abilities just felt extremely underwhelming and weak compared to the witch.
Maybe their shockwave knockback ability could be buffed a bit, to actually be able to toss gnolls off the cliffs more reliably, as you have to be way too close for it to be very effective currently.
[h1]6: Which Gun Are You?[/h1]
Guns should indicate which is active on the lower UI while playing, in case you have 2 revolvers or something and have a nice rune on one, so you open with the good gun.
[h1]7: Burnable trees and Bushes Planned? [/h1]
The area looks very dry and parched; it would be awesome if wild fires could start from fire being tossed out, presenting both a hazard, and a potential weapon for the player.
Maybe even new spells or abilities tacked on to the fireball to pull energy and heat from nearby flames to spread to nearby foes, or have a larger AOE, or deal even more damage?
[h1]8: Disappearing Bodies?[/h1]
It would feel better if the bodies didn’t despawn.
I understand if it is for performance reasons, but even just having the bloodstains stay, old Ultima Underworld style, would serve to both remind the player of past battles where they crushed the horde of monstrous foes coming for them, as well as a visual reminder of which way they have already cleared.
[h1]9: Consider Ammo Limits[/h1]
Currently, the offensive witch spell feels weak and expensive, compared to the raw dps of the guns.
And the priest’s spells: almost worthless.
Consider adding the need to pull ammo off the gnolls trying to eat you, and maybe fabricating / magic-ing it out of the environments as you battle would feel much more meaningful, as well as giving players another kind of drop they will want to go grab.
Additionally, it adds even more abilities to find, like ones that let you carry and find more ammo, which the players will want, adding even more build differentiation to the game.
More things the players want = more interesting gameplay decisions to make.
This also helps balance magic and melee vs. the guns, as melee and magic feels hosed here.
Controller support is present, but it felt very sluggish here for me.
The moving and the shooting felt much better with Mouse and Keyboard, so that is what I used in the above video.
Note: This is an early look at West of the Witchlands so any bugs or other oddness is not
representative of the final product.
Still, West of the Witchlands is a fun ARPG with random dungeons set in a Wild West setting, and is easily well worth a wishlist and a watch.
Watch?
