Hard West Reviews
With a little bit more cohesion and fewer drastic system changes over the course of the campaigns, Hard West could have been amazing. Instead, it's merely quite good.
So, like the Wild, Weird West it's set in, Hard West is a little off-centre and rough around the edges. What's admirable, however, is its evident that the developers who created it have a clear love for what they're doing and that the Kickstarter budget that funded this game made every cent count.
Nintendo Switch is enjoying a growing number of turn-based tactical games, and Hard West is another welcome addition to that strategic throng.
If you're hankering for a million ways to die in the west, I'd say this is worth a look.
The game is solid. It's not going to be legendary in any aspect, and has a few problems such as broken abilities, but is enjoyable all-around and nice to play. Effort was put in and it pays off in the form of actually feeling like its own unique title instead of just another rip-off even if the occasional flashback to fighting aliens happens.
Hard West is a great example of a turn-based tactical strategy game that blends both the Old West and the supernatural together seamlessly. Though it's fairly derivative of games that we've already played, the intriguing way that the narrative plays itself out makes it worth a look, even for veterans.
Hard West shows us how well XCOM would do in the Wild West, but it also knows how to stamp a stamp of its own with some mechanics such as luck and special abilities, and a powerful plot weight with decisions of negligible effects. All seasoned with gore, death, arcane rites, devil worship, and other paraphernalia that we did not expect to see in this setting but that in the end it looks good. It can fall into repeatability due to an AI with a lot of resources, and the management parts end up getting in the way, but it is still a highly recommended game if you like strategy and English is not a problem.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
It's hard to deny the charm and wonderful atmosphere which so warmly embraces this unique subgenre title. There are some good moments in Hard West, but the overworld struggles with lifeless text-based action and the gunfights lean more toward frustrating than tension-filled.
Despite dragging its spurs, Hard West successfully captures that Old West feel. Just know what you're getting into.
The presentation is aced, but Hard West's turn-based combat is too rote to be engrossing.
A decent enough turn-based tactical game with a genuinely excellent atmosphere, let down by limited tactical options, poor mechanic explanations, and a number of issues that make it seem as though the lofty ambitions outstripped either time, money, or ability.
This is a world worth exploring, and I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of it. Maybe that'll be in the form of a huge patch that puts this broken machine back together, or a sequel that brings the best of Hard West to the forefront. What I'd really like to see is a tabletop game in this setting, because it honestly feels like it might be better suited in that realm. Either way, I hope there'll be a reason to come back.
Hard West has a strong concept and is fun for a while, but because the core gameplay soon becomes monotonous, along with having some awful overworld segments, the game is difficult to recommend.
As much as the comparisons to XCOM don't tell the whole story of Hard West, it's probably fair to say that if you enjoy that brand of cautious run and gun, turn-based action, you'll probably be able to forgive Hard West its sins.
Rough round the edges and clunky in parts, Hard West's refreshing take on turn-based strategy is still worth saddling up for.
It just adds to that sense that Hard West is a turn-based strategy game with a strong core surrounded by a fragmented, uncertain exterior. I'd say it's definitely worth picking up if your XCOM and Jagged Alliance itches currently feel unscratched, but expect something to dip in and out of, not some grand timesink opus. The best times with it will come from playing it on maxed-out difficulty in Iron Man mode, and its wounds system – whereby the injured are weaker in the short term but even stronger in the long term – turned on. Make the central battles as long as involved as possible, because that's where Hard West has the surest footing.