Hard West Reviews
Dysentery is the least of your concerns.
Hard West is a turn-based strategy game that gives you an authentic western experience whilst pushing you to the limits of your ability.
All things considered, for the price Hard West is a surprisingly competent tactical turn-based shooter than gets more right than it gets wrong...
Lovecraft meets John Ford and they duke it out in a turn-based western-style shootout. Cowboys and demons for a game with a strong narrative bent and solid, if a little too by-the-numbers, tactical combat.
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Hard West does a ton of things right in my book. It offers quite a few of what I would call mini campaigns that not only keep the player engaged, but constantly add new elements to gameplay while progressing the storyline. It's a pro and a con, as every time a new story section is introduced, each lasting a few hours, the next is almost as if starting anew, which might rub players the wrong way. At the same time the player is constantly engaged with something new to do or way to play, even if it only feels minor at times. It's not the longest or the most in depth RPG, but for the price, the theme, and unique style, Hard West is clearly worth your time in gold and offers a fairly authentic western experience, well besides the demon and supernatural overtones that is. Saddle up partner, the west might be hard, but it's also a worthy, fun time.
If everything about Hard West was as great as its combat and strategic layer, it would easily sit near the top of a list of memorable Old West-themed games. Take away the cowboy costumes and it's still an excellent turn-based game with some clever mechanics to mess with. A kind of bland overworld game experience combined with a hokey story arc bring Hard West down just a couple of notches. Still, it's a Western, and a great turn based strategy game, and we need more of both.
There are a few missteps, like a lackluster tutorial stage and no real explanation of certain mechanics (I had to watch a YouTube video before I learned how to "Subdue" enemies), but the game is fun to play even if you fail a mission or two while learning. The graphics and music are solid, but nothing that will blow your mind.
Depending on the tactical depth you want to approach, the title can take dozens of hours to complete, so you do get a lot of content for what you pay. In the end, Hard West is a solid tactics game set in the wild west.
Getting into a fight in Hard West feels more like a subtle, silent standoff, waiting for your enemy to slip up… it definitely nails a kind of silent, nail biting tension that I think is definitely missing in most games
Hard West is a strategy game that enjoys exploring its Wild West theme. There are strategy elements both in the RPG story segments, as well as the turn-based combat, which keeps the player invested. Unfortunately, too much time is spent outside of the gun-fights, and the RPG elements quickly get repetitive, meaning they end up being more filler than fun.
No, it's not a bull's eye by any means, but Hard West will certainly hit close enough to provide you with hours of Wild-West fun.
X-COM was a really great game, and Hard West is flattered by the resemblance. But when it comes down to it, there is nowhere near as much genius in it as there is in Firaxis' predecessor. As a tactical shooter it's fine, if simple, and the fairly gentle system requirements and low price point bring it back to the table a little. Lacking in obvious flair and with sub-games that often do little to add anything to the game besides unnecessary management, the gunfights still manage to keep Hard West from being a failure.
Hard West is a good but limited game, and at its current price, it offers a solid set of mechanics for those who are twiddling their turn-based tactics thumbs while they wait for the sequel to XCOM to arrive next year.
It may not excel in anything, but the combination of atmosphere, tactical combat and character customization were enough to help with overlooking the unimpressive, muddy visuals, the unfairness which, at times, made me feel helpless and its limited save system.
Hard West isn't the deepest game of its kind, but it does a good job of walking the line between cold, hard tactics, and Weird West-style personality. Its mystically-inspired abilities add a fun twist to the X-Com formula, even if they do remove some of the need for tactical forsight. A richer world outside of combat would have been nice, but as is, Hard West still presents a fun, unique take on turn-based tactics.
Hard West is a solid tactical game. It lacks in story and character aspects but more than makes up for it when you go into battle.
Hard West is a satisfyingly creepy mash-up of six-gun horror and tactical combat.
Hard West gets a lot of things right, with a number of clever ideas that help to broaden the scope of the standard turn-based formula it draws upon, but a lack of checkpointing and other game design faux pas can spoil the fun.
Hard West delivers a new setting for turn-based strategy fans, bringing X-COM style combat to the Wild West with fun (and difficult) firefights but little replayability.