For anyone that has not been keeping up with the latest project from Flying Wild Hog, developers behind the over-the-top Shadow Warrior series, a new extended gameplay trailer for Evil West has dropped with over ten minutes of action-packed, demon-slaying fun.
Since its announcement in 2020, there has been a relatively slow information drip coming from Flying Wild Hog, as Evil West has yet to show up in any prominent summer game showcases in 2022. Instead, the developers dropped a ten-minute game trailer this morning, June 20th, detailing many of the gameplay aspects that were, until now, unknown.
Right off the bat, the game looks immediately similar to 2018’s revolutionary God of War reboot – in the best way possible. This time, however, players can trade their mystical melee weapons for supernatural monster-hunting abilities… and guns. While Evil West’s only previous gameplay trailer seemed to place a heavier emphasis on melee combat, it is clear from the extended trailer that rifles and revolvers are a (cow)girl’s best friend.
Though lever-action rifles will be used for long-range combat and revolvers for a bit closer engagement, melee will contribute to the flow of battle, especially with the player’s ability to use their environment to their advantage; for example, pushing an enemy into mounted spikes. Because this is an alternate, supernatural version of the American Wild West, the player will be outfitted with similarly supernatural abilities, including electric and seismic power-ups that allow the character to ground pound or electrify bullets.
This all fits into a relatively straightforward mold, as Evil West seems to mimic 2018 God of War’s guided traversal and clearcut combat arenas; along these lines, the movement looks incredibly smooth and the environments are varied and intriguing. Just in the ten minutes of footage, we see a decrepit Western town, a thrilling underground cave system, and a forest containing the remains of a giant prehistoric creature.
Few story details are known at this point, but it is clear from the onset that you are the last line of defense in this alternate American frontier against a massive demonic threat known as the Sanguisuge. Stepping into the boots of Jesse Rentier, your sole task is to protect the pioneers of the New World with the only means at your command: some guns, some magic, and some courage. Evil West looks to be released later this year.