Steam players love Blood West. We show you where the new first-person shooter emulates Hunt: Showdown – and how it sets its own impulses.
Do you love the Wild West scenario of Hunt: Showdown, but avoid multiplayer games like a saloon full of drunken bandits? Then Blood West could be the first-person shooter you’ve been waiting for.
The game appeared in Early Access on (Steam) on 10 February 2022. And is being celebrated there by players in a way that unfinished games rarely experience: A whole 95 percent of the over 700 reviewers give it a positive rating, which currently leads to the rating extremely positive
But why do users praise the game? We introduce you to Blood West and give you our own perceptions after a playthrough, in addition to player impressions.
A horror trip through the west
The Story: You’ve just woken up as an undead gunslinger in a crudely pixelated western game world after unknown forces brought you back from the dead. Now a totem speaks to you, which you find here and there along the way. This is how you learn that there is a curse on the Wild West, a corruption that brings forth hideous monsters and your task is to put an end to the haunting.
Blood West shares the horror setting in the Wild West with Hunt: Showdown, and the shooter aspect with lots of sneaking and close combat. That’s where the similarities end, because unlike in the multiplayer shooter, you are completely on your own in Blood West.
The trailer for Blood West shows what the whole thing looks like:
Fail and learn
How Blood West plays: Blood West is a sandbox in which you have to figure out for yourself what to do and what not to do. Reading clues, exploring and trying things out are very important in this western. When you inevitably bite the dust at some point, it’s off to the last totem you visited – but with a flaw that can turn into a real curse (with nasty disadvantages) after three deaths.
Each enemy has certain special features and weak points. The strange birdmen shoot with revolvers and like to take off, but they are allergic to bullets from your six-shooter and particularly expensive silver ammunition. Fortunately, there are traders in the game world where you can buy such specialities.
The shuffling zombies can be knocked out of this world with a hearty swing of the axe. However, such a critical hit is only possible if you have previously crept up behind them. The stealth aspect is important and saves the initially rare ammunition, but represents only one of many possible ways.
Along the way you level up your character and become stronger. Better aim, more life, more powerful attacks – you should gradually be able to deal with the dangers better. And if nothing else helps and an annoying curse lies on you, turn to the totem with confidence. There’s always a way.
What do the players think about Blood West?
On Steam, players are literally overflowing with praise for Blood West. You can often read comparisons with Dishonored and similar sneak games, in which methodical action is rewarded. The suspense and mysterious setting also find many fans on Steam.
The player MellowMouseNL is actually not at all comfortable in scary horror games. Blood West, however, seems to tread the right middle ground:
” It’s a little scary for the first hour or two, but once you get the hang of it and unlock some nice weapons and perks, it’s just a great stealth shooter with satisfying gunplay set in an incredibly immersive and atmospheric world “.
Among the rarely found negative criticisms of Blood West is the game’s current scope. Steam user Issobus states that he completed the first act after just under three hours. Another two of these chapters are to be added in the course of Blood West’s Early Access.
Editor’s Verdict
This is what the author thinks: Blood West hits one of my favourite notches, the Wild West. A turbulent time not so long ago. And seriously, fancy hats just never go out of style. After Red Dead Redemption and co, I knew I had to get into Blood West.
Ironically, though, it’s not so much the setting that makes the title pick me up. It’s mainly the mystery aspect that appeals to me. I also like the fact that the shooter doesn’t take me by the hand too much and rather lets me learn from mistakes, just like the old school.
And that’s twice as much fun, because the shooter part is really well done. In other words: Blood West feels precise and direct, after I’ve finally levelled away the annoying swivelling of the barrel.
Only the visual dreariness bores me too quickly in Blood West. Sure, low-poly pixel style is the order of the day here, and what’s more, the western is set on the steppes. Nevertheless, Blood West could do with a little more visual variety, even if it’s just a few colourful accents here and there.
In any case, I will keep an eye on further developments and return at the latest for the full release. If the developers consistently build on the strengths and expand the content, Blood West could turn into a real western hit. And hopefully the developers will also improve the presentation a little more.
