A Cowboy’s Review

Game: Westerado: Double Barreled

Available on: Steam

Setting: Westerado is best described as a playable Clint Eastwood film. You play as a rancher whose family is killed by a mysterious murderer, and now seeks revenge. As you explore the massive map, you hunt for clues as to the murderer’s identity. There are also sidequests and various factions battling it out for control of the west, which results in an interesting web of alliances forming around your character as you progress. Promises you have made are kept in a journal, and the game will remind you of your treachery or failure with a QUEST FAILED icon.

Gameplay: The controls are simple but immersive. WASD to move, E to talk, and J and K control the gun. As a western, Westerado has a large emphasis on gunplay and violence. You may draw your gun at any time by pressing J, allowing you to use it as intimidation during dialogue, or scare away bandits with a bluff. K will cock the gun, and pressing K again will fire. The controls make the fights more tense, as you are slower with a cocked gun, meaning you have to learn to aim and fire quickly and accurately if you want to survive.

There is also a non-violent option. Bolas allow you to tie up enemies and make your escape, or turn them in for a bounty. You can find multiple solutions to most quests, allowing you to go the entire game as a pacifist, cold-hearted killer, or somewhere in between.

Your decisions affect the game world in subtle (and not so subtle) ways. Helping one group will make their rivals dislike you. Shooting a buffalo on a ranch will cause the owner to chase after you. There are many other major changes that can be made, but revealing them would cheapen the experience

Music: Catchy tunes, fitting the setting. Not much stands out.

Graphics: Simple retro 8-bit. Love it or hate it.

Final Verdict: Westerado is a great adventure game, with great potential for storytelling. I give it a 9/10.