West of Dead Reviews
West of Dead elevates its experience thanks to to the storytelling and art design. Some aspects of the game can be frustrating, but the total package is generally rewarding in its gameplay and beautiful in its design.
A fine balancing act of challenge and intrigue, with stabiliser wheels courtesy of Ron Perlman's voice.
West of Dead brings some interesting ideas to the well-trod Rogue-lite scene, but lots of technical and design flaws make it hard to enjoy them.
West of Dead is a compelling and enjoyable challenge, helped along by Ron Perlman's undeniable charisma and a handful of interesting new ideas.
While West of Dead is subdued in many ways, I find it to be an easy recommendation for any fan of roguelike titles.
West of Dead it's quite a classic twin stick shooter roguelike with a twist: it chooses tactic and thoughtfully action instead of frenzy. The gameplay is quite derivative and basic, though everything works and it's overall a fun game.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Upstream Arcade’s West of Dead is an impressive roguelike. With a solid twin-stick shooting system, West of Dead has a more than serviceable gameplay loop. However, the game is truly anchored by it’s incredible visuals and art design. Add on top of this an excellent voice performance and unique sense of worldbuilding, and you’ve got a roguelike formidable in any standoff.
If you pumped hours upon hours into Enter the Gungeon then chances are you'll find a similar grab in West of Dead, but be fair warned that there isn't as much polish here. If it helps, it is launching day one on Xbox Game Pass so if you have that you can try it as soon as it launches.
West of Dead shakes up the roguelite formula with its fantastic cover system, but it's more than that. With the addition of Ron Pearlman voicing William Mason, a stylistic cel-shaded art style and a captivating story to uncover, West of Dead is a winning combination that will have you as happy as a pup with two tails.
Though there's fun to be had with West of Dead, cruel difficulty spikes, bugs, and unruly aiming prevent the game from achieving greatness.
While the game’s style is like a Homeric epic seen through the panel of a comic book, the soundtrack of melancholic twanging guitar complicates the theme to something new and unexpected, a kind of undead western. It’s slickly compelling stuff, if repetitive after a few hours and, invariably, punitive.
A furiously stylish roguelike gothic western that blends genres with deft and aplomb, West of Dead is a resoundingly enjoyable offering that makes picking yourself up and dusting yourself off after every death a ravenously compelling proposition.
West of Dead is a difficult but deeply satisfying twin-stick shooter with a unique cover-based twist and a strong performance from Ron Perlman.
West of Dead offers a satisfying blend of tactics and rogue-like gameplay that I didn’t expect. Levels offer plenty of options for how you want to approach a situation, the gunplay is fast and precise, and the execution of creating a wild west style shoot out is perfect. The game is dripping with personality and Ron Perlman delivers each word with purpose and meaning. Every aspect of gameplay and aesthetic is tailored to telling the story of Mason in a way that feels natural and unique. It’s a blast to play over and over again despite issues with the geometry interfering with aiming and dodging not quite feeling as useful as it ought to.
West of Dead is a very interesting action game, very punitive, as dying is definitive, but entertaining. If you manage to tame its camera angles, you'll find a pleasant alternative to Hotline Miami.
Review in French | Read full review
West of Dead is a refreshing take on multiple genres. It's a great cover-based twin-stick shooter. It's a different kind of roguelite. And it's just a solid all-around action game that's a joy to play. It's highly challenging, and it rewards smart play, so what you ultimately get is a satisfying experience that's fun and invites you to put the time into learning its intricacies.
West of Dead isn't going to win any originality contests, but it knows how to draw with the best of them and it's quick enough to hit you with six rounds of stylistic fun. Beneath the obvious comparisons, there's a game that plays out like a passionate high noon homage to the best of film, games and comic books.
Thanks to a moody atmosphere and precise mechanics, West of Dead perfectly wraps the tense feeling of cover shooting around a solid roguelike core.
West of Dead provides an adequate challenge set across an intriguing premise.
West of Dead is a game that conceivably had a lot of potential. However, on PlayStation 4 at least, the game is far too broken in vital areas to ever let players discover whether there was any substance to back up its undeniable style.