Hard West Game

Nov 18, 2015  See what IGN thought of this dark, fresh blend of the AmericanWest and turn-based tactics.

Hard West is a turn-based tacticalgame developed by CreativeForge Games and published by Gambitious Digital Entertainment. It was released digitally on November 18, 2015 for Microsoft Windows, OS X and Linux, and was released for the Nintendo Switch on March 7, 2019.^[1]

Setting[edit]

Hard West takes place in a heavily fictionalized version of the American Old West following standards of the Western genre but with the addition of supernatural elements, taking inspirations from XCOM: Enemy Unknown.^[2] Themes typical of the Western genre, such as bank robberies, lynching and the gold rush are commonplace in the game's world but also metaphysical beings such as Death and the Devil directly influence the lives of the local population. Creatures such as demons, ghosts and undead gunslingers are present in the game's vision of the old west.

Gameplay[edit]

The game is divided into two strictly separate modes, turn-based tactical encounters and a strategic exploration map where the player can travel a map and visit locations. Location visits on the strategic map are presented via simple text panels accompanied by static illustrations and allow the player to perform actions by picking entries from a list. This way players can interact with characters, perform a variety of custom actions, hire new characters into the player character's posse or initiate trade or combat.

Hard West's tactical gameplay largely follows the standards set by XCOM: Enemy Unknown. During combat every character starts each turn with two action points which can be spent on either a move or shot each, although most weapons instantly end a character's turn upon being fired. The game also uses a cover system based on two cover types which lower the chance to get hit and damage received. Low barriers constitute 'half cover' and barriers taller than a character constitute 'full cover', the latter providing more protection.

A major difference from most other turn-based tactical games is the absence of randomness in Hard West's core gameplay. Rather than relying on random number generation to determine hits, characters are given a luck attribute. Luck is reduced by the hit chance of a shot and a character is hit if a shot depletes his luck. Luck is replenished upon getting hit. At point-blank range every shot automatically hits.

Over the course of the game characters can be improved and given special abilities, some of which are active and can be used instead of moving or firing while others are passive. Instead of relying on experience points and skill trees Hard West uses a custom system based on poker cards. After every tactical encounter or performing pre-defined actions on the strategic map the player is rewarded with unique poker cards which can be assigned to characters, each of them providing a different bonus. Arranging cards in poker hands yields additional bonuses.

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A controversial aspect of Hard West's gameplay is the reaction shot which replaces the overwatch mechanic of XCOM.^[3][4] Approaching an enemy up to point-blank range makes him automatically fire at the approaching player character if he could already see the player character before executing the move. Player characters are not protected from enemies by a reaction shot.

Development[edit]

Development on Hard West began before the release of CreativeForge Games' previous game, the sci-fi RTS game Ancient Space, and was first publicly announced in the context of its crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter in August 2014 which quickly found support from well-known game developers such as John Romero and Brian Fargo.^[5] It had a goal of $70,000 CAD and reached $94,183 CAD pledged by 4,398 backers. On July 30, 2015 the developers announced that Gambitious Digital Entertainment would publish the game and soon-after announced a release set for November 4.^[6][7] On October 30 Gambitious announced that the release would be delayed by two weeks and the game was ultimately released on Steam on November 18, 2015.^[8] A limited physical release distributed by CDP.pl, including the soundtrack and a comic book, followed in early 2016.^[9]

In February 2016 development of DLC titled Scars of Freedom was announced which would move away from the supernatural themes of the base game towards Frankenstein-esque Gothic horror.^[10] It was also announced that the character customization system would be replaced with a new one based on harvesting organs and ether. The DLC was released on Steam and GOG.com on March 3, 2016.^[11][12]

Reception[edit]

Aggregate review website Metacritic assigned it a score of 73/100 based on 42 critic reviews.^[13] Vince Ingenito from IGN awarded it a score of 7.3/10, saying 'Hard West trades some tactical grit for a touch of mystical fun, and a flair for the supernatural.'^[16] Tyler Wilde of PC Gamer awarded it a score of 6.1/10, saying 'The presentation is aced, but Hard West's turn-based combat is too rote to be engrossing.'^[17] Zack Fumiss from Destructoid awarded it a score of 5/10, saying 'What I'd really like to see is a tabletop game in this setting, because it honestly feels like it might be better suited in that realm. Either way, I hope there'll be a reason to come back.^[14] Brett Todd of GameSpot awarded it 7/10, saying 'Tactical combat fans and horror buffs alike will find a lot to like here in both the spooky surroundings and the shoot-em-up scenarios.'^[15]

References[edit]

1. ^Lane, Gavin (February 20, 2019). 'Hard West, A Gunspinning XCOM-Alike Is Coming To Switch Very Soon'. Nintendo Life. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
2. ^Smith, Graham (August 11, 2014). 'Hard West Kickstarter Offers Turn-Based Cowboy Tactics'. Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
3. ^'Review: Hard West'. Destuctoid.com. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
4. ^'Overwatch? :: Hard West General Discussions'. Steamcommunity.com. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
5. ^'Hard West'. Kickstarter.com. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
6. ^'Update 34: One Giant Leap for Hard West but One Giant Leap. wait · Hard West'. Kickstarter.com. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
7. ^'Hard West launch date announced'. Pcgamer.com. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
8. ^Good Shepherd Entertainment (October 30, 2015). 'Hard West - New Release Date Announcement Message'. YouTube.
9. ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
10. ^Sarkar, Samit (February 26, 2016). 'Hard West's Scars of Freedom DLC augments the game with new limbs and organs'. Polygon.com.
11. ^'Save 75% on Hard West: Scars of Freedom DLC on Steam'. Store.steampowered.com.
12. ^'Release: Hard West: Scars of Freedom'. GOG.com.
13. ^ ^ab'Hard West Critic Reviews for PC'. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
14. ^ ^abFumiss, Zack (November 18, 2015). 'Review: Hard West'. Destructoid. ModernMethod. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
15. ^ ^abTodd, Brett (January 29, 2016). 'Hard West Review'. GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
16. ^ ^abIngenito, Vince (November 18, 2015). 'Hard West Review'. IGN. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
17. ^ ^abWilde, Tyler (December 3, 2015). 'Hard West review'. PC Gamer. Future US. Retrieved January 31, 2016.

Rough round the edges and clunky in parts, Hard West's refreshing take on turn-based strategy is still worth saddling up for.

From start to finish, the Gunfight at the OK Corral lasted 30 seconds which, incidentally, is about how long it takes to grasp the concept of Hard West. CreativeForge Games has produced a turn-based strategy game with a dark, supernatural story set in the wild west. Think XCOM, but with cowboys (howdy, commander).

The reasons why it's an interesting game, however, require a more detailed explanation. Hard West is deeply ambitious; it boasts a few mechanics that could prop up a game like this on their own. Combined, they make for a refreshing take on the genre that - in spite of its faults - is rather special. We'll start, as all good westerns do, with a bit of story.

Hard West

• Publisher: Gambitious
• Developer: CreativeForge Games
• Platform: Reviewed on PC
• Availability: Also available on Mac and Linux

Hard West's campaign is split into eight separate chapters or scenarios; each one centred around a particular character. These scenarios (each one of which can be completed comfortably in one sitting) often intertwine, allowing you to explore the same story from both sides. In one instance, the person you just spent a whole chapter controlling becomes the elusive figure your new character is hell-bent on killing. It's an interesting approach that keeps the campaign from feeling like one long slog, and it offers up a good deal of mission variety.

While the obligatory gunfights play out in turn-based missions, much of the narrative substance comes from wandering and role-playing your way across the game map (this portion of the game is the equivalent of base building in XCOM). Exploring locations on the map will help you acquire new items, new posse members and, crucially, advance the story. How you fare in this text-based adventure determines what shape you enter your next combat mission in - the choices you make impact on your finances, your health and, in some cases, even your sanity.

This section of the game gives a surprising amount of narrative heft to Hard West, making it one of the more memorable stories I've encountered in a turn-based game. It's a pity, then, that it's hampered so badly by an over-emphasis on conciseness. Consider this passage:

'Solomon locked himself in the workshop for an entire day. He built a mining drill to extract the meteor from the crater. He also built an insanity gauge, so that whenever he visited a location, he could observe the gauge to check that area's Madness level.'

While the desire to avoid swamping the player with a wall of text is understandable, that's an awful amount to absorb in just three sentences. Too often story beats like these feel so rushed as to seem amateurish.

By contrast the game's narrator, death, is fantastic. The understated voice acting punctuates the game's tragedy-laden story brilliantly. In narrating key moments during combat missions, it also spoon-feeds you some tactical information from time to time. These are always worth exploring; not only do they give you an advantage in combat, but they pad out the story in ways that make the missions memorable, rather than just another gunfight next to some tumbledown buildings.

The combat missions in Hard West are solidly executed and will be familiar fare for anyone who's played a turn-based strategy game before. Where Hard West's combat gets interesting, though, is in the card system. Eschewing skill trees and class systems, all of Hard West's special abilities are tied in to playing cards that can be assigned to any character. Characters have between three and five slots available, allowing you to play around with different character builds before beginning each combat mission. Equipping shadow salve and shadow cloak, for instance, means you not only regenerate health when out of direct sunlight, but you're also completely invisible to enemies. These cards allow for a tremendous amount of character flexibility, opening up a vast range of tactical options. It's just a shame that your card stash resets at the start of each scenario - the abilities are so much fun to play around with that it would have been nice not to have to unlock them all again each time.

Hard West is also interesting in that it doesn't rely on random dice rolls to determine whether an attack hits or not; instead, you have the luck system. Every combatant in Hard West has a luck stat. When a shot is fired, the percentage chance to hit is compared to the number of luck points the target has left. If the luck value is higher the shot goes wide, however the target loses luck points to cover the cost. Conversely, if the bullet connects, that character gains luck points back, making them harder to hit next time. It's a slightly more open-faced approach that encourages a more aggressive playstyle. For instance, if an enemy is in full cover and you only have a 20 per cent chance to hit, it's still worth taking that shot. You'll either do some damage or whittle away some of their luck, making the next shot more likely to connect. Wyatt Earp once said 'in a gunfight.. you need to take your time in a hurry'. I couldn't have put it better myself.

Using a character to soften up targets like this while sending someone round on a flanking manoeuvre is immensely satisfying and helps reduce the amount of chin-scratching that so often occurs with turn-based strategy games. It also, bizarrely, sometimes has you hoping one of your characters gets shot.

The thing is, the majority of special abilities in Hard West are powered by luck - some requiring a whopping 75 points to activate. While you can use consumables to boost your luck, the easiest way to fill the meter is to get shot. Hoping someone would wing one of my characters so I could use their shriek ability and deal 3 damage to every enemy in sight was a strange feeling, but in some ways that's the essence of Hard West's combat. It's a more ragged take on turn-based strategy; taking lumps is a central part of the experience. Hard West is a game about falling down six times and getting up seven.

While the combat for the most part in Hard West is really enjoyable, there's one major drawback in that your enemies don't trigger when discovered for the first time. While in games like XCOM they'll dash to cover when revealed, Hard West's cowpokes remain perfectly still. As a result, it's remarkably easy to move forward into cover and, in doing so, flank an enemy you didn't even know was there. After that, it's simply a matter of turning around and killing them outright (if you still have an action point left) or wincing as your character gets plugged on the enemy turn.

Making kills this way feels like failing upwards or playing dirty. I could make a hackneyed reference to 'gettin' the drop on a varmint' at this point, but frankly these moments don't feel like the actions of a slick gunslinger. They feel more like robbing yourself of an interesting tactical challenge.

There is, however, an element to Hard West in which you can legitimately get the drop on your enemy. In a fisftul of missions, you start out in the setup phase, whereby the enemy hasn't been alerted to your presence yet. You're free to position your shooters to your heart's content before slapping leather, though straying into an enemy's cone of vision will cause them to become suspicious and eventually attack. This phase can make all the difference at the start of a combat, letting you level the playing field in a way that doesn't feel like cheesing - mostly because each mission with a setup phase tends to be crawling with bad guys.

Despite its limitations, then, Hard West is a game that punches well above expectations. Its developers took some bold design decisions that, for the most part, really pay off. It's occasionally clunky and frequently exploitable, but it's also genuinely memorable. CreativeForge Games may not be the best writers in the business, but they sure as hell ain't no snake oil salesmen.