Wild Bastards Review – A Stylish Wild West Roguelike FPS

Roguelikes are dangerous. Starting a good run for the first time basically guarantees an unhealthy takeout dinner, a pile of unrolled laundry, and a 2 a.m. bedtime because you just have to run one more time. As early as 2019, developer Blue Manchu released "Void Bastards", an FPS roguelike game inspired by "System Shock". Set on a cramped ship, it was well-received for its comic-book aesthetic and tight gameplay loop, and was a hit, but for me it didn't quite take over my life like the best games in the genre. Enter its follow-up content, wild bastard.

The film swaps the atmosphere of System Shock for a vibrant sci-fi Wild West setting, starring 13 outlaws with unique killer skills. Wild Bastards' chatty cast makes the game ostensibly more story-driven. All but two of the Outlaws died at the hands of the Chastity Gang, but with the help of a magical ship called the Drifter, you can jump from galaxy to galaxy and resurrect your Friends and add them to your crew. However, the Chastities follow you doggedly and do their best to put the outlaws back underground.

While Wild Bastards is a novel concept, it treads a fine line. Each outlaw is little more than a funny accent and unique outfit, and their missions feel overwrought throughout the entire ten-hour gameplay. Sadly, the endless bickering also started to get harsh before it ended.

Wild Bastards fares better in terms of gameplay. Each system consists of multiple planets with a number of positive and negative variables as well as collectible skills and items to enhance the abilities of your crew. You can choose which planet to visit on your way to the last planet in the system. Once on the surface, you can navigate a board game-like map, collect loot and trigger arena battles, called Showdowns, against 40 different enemy types.

It won't be long before the Chastities are hunting you down, so you'll need to rush back to the ship with your loot and head on to the next planet. Whenever you reach the end of a star system, a new outlaw will join your team and inherit your newly acquired skills. It was really tense as I rushed to collect skills for my favorite characters as the Chastity shot out from the side of the planet, avoiding them on the map as I returned to my ship, narrowly avoiding triggering an almost unwinnable battle .

The duel gunplay is where Wild Bastards really shines. The comic book aesthetic returns with 2D enemy sprites, making it one of the most visually appealing roguelike games. While there isn't much variety in the stages, the swamps, dusty cowboy planets, and low-gravity moons are all a treat as you gun down sly, explosive-throwing bandits and spiny aliens.

The shooting itself is rudimentary: each outlaw has his own signature weapon, a powerful move called a stunt, and sometimes a passive move. They can run and jump - that's about it. You can only have two outlaws dueling at a time, and you can switch between them with the press of a button.

Each Outlaw is useful in different situations, especially after unlocking certain skills. Smokey can breathe fire around the map to stop swarming critters. Prich's Gatling gun can even kill hulking robot enemies, but it takes time to finish. Spike's stunt invades enemy turrets, causing them to turn on their master. Fletch's bow can track enemies, but more importantly, you can learn a skill that has a 25% chance of turning enemies into allies.

I often wish the Outlaws were more versatile when paired together. The waiting desperadoes will periodically help out by providing some health boost or a brief window of invincibility. Just don't expect to see any special combination effects.

Most upgrades and items also feel a bit bland. There are far more fun highlights like explosive bullets than dull damage reduction buffs. Considering how long a single run takes, Wild Bastards never reaches roguelike heights where you're lucky enough to get a ridiculously powerful build.

While not irresistibly life-consuming, my second and third full playthroughs were not easy to put down. Sure, I still folded all my laundry, skipped just one meal to play, and I'll never touch narrative mode again, but Wild Bastards is a solid roguelike with a gameplay loop that's enough to keep me engaged Satisfied and makes me want to continue playing. .