Hard West Ultimate Edition Review for Xbox

Hard West Ultimate Edition is a turn based tactical rpg, set in a Hellish Wild west world with demons, arcane rituals and satanic cults.

The premise is you are Warren, a young man who life is turned upside down by tragic turn of events. This sets him down a path of supernatural chaos and revenge, where he must brutally hunt down all those who wronged him.

The game boasts 8 unique story-based scenarios with over 40 combat missions, a dynamic cover system, shadow spotting, card based special abilities and over 40 historically accurate weapons to play with.

Gameplay

The game starts out your family making there way to the promised land, however, after an ambush, your mother is killed and you are left with your father to set up home in a land you had no intention of staying in. Many years later you are now a man, and have fallen in love with the neighbour's daughter. 

It’s during this period you start to learn the basics of the game, and understand that this is a game of two genres. The first part is the story based element which is told using an isometric map which hold a variety of story based locations. Clicking on said locations then gives you a semi flexible ‘’choose you own path’’ text based narrative. The choices you make here impact your finances, your reputation and, what buffs and de-buffs, you will collect. They also are your primary way of acquiring new items and new posse members, prior to combat. Think of it as Hard West version of Xcom’s base and you have a pretty good idea of what I’m talking about. 

I really enjoyed this element of the game as it never felt padded out and the individual storylines and side stories really help flush out the lore behind this game. It has tons of apocalyptic morality tales, mysterious strangers, deals with the devil, survivor’s guilt and crazy cultists that all add to the games Weird west feel. And because the choices here do effect the game’s combat, you tend to ponder your choice more warily.

For instance, through one of my conversation choices I had found a totem pole that would give me a large amount of wealth, the catch, the demon guarding it wanted a human sacrifice. So do I kill one of my posse and get enough funds to buy decent weapons for the next combat round, or do I keep them all alive, have an extra character to move with, but all with less weapon damage.

The second part is the general combat and this is where it really gets interesting. Before any engagement, you get to outfit your posse and fit them with a variety of weapons. Only two are allowed and these can be anything from pistols, rifles, shotguns which are all historically accurate. Besides weapons, you can add health items such as alcohol, tobacco or a variety of spices. And also charms, that provide a buff to stats or an activated ability, such as zone wide health regen etc.

However, it was the interchangeable card system that really makes this game unique. Removing the skill trees and class systems most turn based games have, Hard West focuses on using special abilities in the form of playing cards, that any character can use. Characters have anything from three to five cards slots available, thus allowing you to create different character build on the go. And there are some really interesting abilities, such as shadow cloak, for instance, which helps you regenerate health when out of direct sunlight, or demon form, which morphs you into an unstoppable demon for a few turns. The only issue with these, is that a lot of the cards, are hidden and are tied into sub storylines or unlocked after a particular mission. Also your card stash resets at the start of each different scenario, thus meaning you will have to try and unlock them all again.

Once you have got your characters set up, its time to start the combat. Most of the time you are straight into the action, however some engagements can be different in terms of starting location or even having an set-up phase, which allows you to ambush unsuspecting enemies. These can happen as part of the main quest line or due to your storyline choices. If a set-up phase does happen, you are free to move your shooters around indefinitely, as long as you don’t stray too long into an enemy's cone of vision. Some missions also promote optional quests, which if you do, provide you with some great rewards for your effort.

Another unique selling point Hard West has, is the total removal of the overwatch system. I was really surprised how quickly I got used to not having the ability for my characters to automatically fire on enemies,  should they cross my characters visual path. This forced me to be more aggressive in my strategy, and in turn I felt make the combat engagements more tense and enjoyable.

This also ties in really well with the games luck system. Instead of random dice rolls to determine if you will be hit, there is a luck stat. When a shot is fired, the percentage chance to connect is compared to the number of luck points the target has left. If the luck value is bigger than the percentage, the shot misses. But the target also loses some luck points. Now, if the bullet connects, besides damage, the target also gains luck points back, which in turn makes them harder to hit next time. This makes it worth you time firing even on a low hit percentage, as regardless of if you hit, you are still reducing their luck stat.

Flanking whilst reducing an enemies luck felt great, and this was also partial helped by the games dynamic cover system. Whilst most of your cover is the standard walls, buildings and immovable objects, there are some elements that can be manipulated into giving you more cover than it first seems. Tables can flipped over, hatch’s opened up, all ready and waiting for you to use. This mean carefully examination of your environment is needed, as you may very well miss some good opportunities where you previously may have ignored.

Because of all these items, it makes the combat missions more engaging, interesting and flexible on how you the player, wish to accomplish your goal. In one particular engagement, I entered a set-up phase, avoided detection and used my subdue ability on various enemies to allow to complete the mission without a single death.

Now you do get the Scars of Freedom DLC. This is a new campaign scenario that revolves around a shadowy cabal of occult surgeons who are capable, amongst other things, of augmenting the human body. Here though instead of cards to collect and swap about, its body parts. It’s a great addition to the main game.

Graphics

The games art style showcases off the dirtiness of the wild west, whether it is the isometric map or the combat scenarios. Everything is beautifully cel-shaded, giving it a borderland feels, and combined with a dynamic shadow system tied directly to how you play the game, it looks and feels wonderful. 

Cut-scenes are all presented in a rough-hand-sketched format that equally suits the games and the narrative, and the HUD is sparse to all but one corner allowing you to soak in the beauty of the environments.  Lighting and dust effects are done superbly, and with its dark moody colour palette, it really does sell the wild west feel.

The only gripe I did have was not being able to zoom in closer on my character and there was the odd moment in the heat of a large battle that I did get the odd freeze for a second.  Overall though, there isn’t much here to fault in terms of graphics.

Sound

The sound is also done really well. From the gunfire suitable booming depending on the calibre of the weapon, to the general gravelliest of movement which helps you identify where the enemy is coming from, all the effects where music to my ears. Speaking of such, the music blends spaghetti western time sounds with ethereal tones that just works, and really pulls off a mood of its own. Whilst the narrative is mostly told by text, the main storyline is told by a suitably gruff-sounding narrator whose voice effectively cements the Weird West aesthetic perfectly.

Verdict

This leads me onto the rating of the game:-

Now I rate games in order of, avoid, on sale, great purchase and must own. My rating for Hard West Ultimate Edition is "Must Own".

This is a fantastically priced turn based tactical rpg , who’s unique multi character diverse storyline, great depth of the mechanics, and engaging and enjoyable combat, truly deserves it place.   

The game is currently priced on Xbox at £16.74 or approx $20, and depending on skill and patience would give you about 20 -30 hours worth of gameplay to potentially clear the storylines. Combine this with a ’’ choose your own path’’ choices, flexible card system, multiple endings and the extra dlc, you can easily add another 20 hours to the game.

If you like the wild west, demons and turn based tactics, for the price, I really can’t see why this shouldn’t be on in your collection.