Talk about setting high expectations! Hard West from Poland-based developer PlayWay is currently on Kickstarter, attempting to gather funds for its interesting blend of tactics, role-playing and exploration. Set in the Wild West, it’s up to the player to search for treasure, go on adventures and find places to practise your cool gun tricks.
The project page’s second paragraph sets the tone for quite an ambitious game:
In a nutshell, Hard West is a turn-based squad tactical with adventurous world exploration. Think X-Com combat with Heroes of Might and Magic world map.
I think we can all agree that sounds like an excellent idea. The pitch video mentions the game is from the “makers of: Call of Juarez & Dead Island“, though considering the creators of these titles is Techland, and not PlayWay, I’m going to assume that the studio is instead stocked with people who at some point worked on them. PlayWay did however get another one of its games — The Way — successfully funded a few months ago.
As for Hard West, it’ll focus on “fast” combat, with encounters no longer than 10 minutes. Damage will be brutal with no “peeling off HPs”. Characters will be lucky to survive a single shot, let only multiple ones, which sounds like a recipe for F5, F9, F5, F9.
One of the neat features mentioned is the ability to perform trick shots. In the first screenshot above, you can see that you’re able to bounce bullets off objects to kill opponents in cover. You’ll also be able to perform gun “experiments”, allowing you to concoct new weapons, with the example image showing a four-barrelled shotgun.
The visuals and gameplay remind me of the Desperados series, which was very good for its day. Hard West has the potential to be better… if it gets funded. It’s currently sitting on $CAD1731, with the target set at $CAD70,000. The pessimist in me reckons it won’t get that high, sadly.
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