Evil West Critic Reviews

Evil West might wear old-school clothes, but under the hood it's a modern stunner. Gorgeous and gutsy, the tale of Jesse Rentier paints a dark world where the best way to illuminate your path is by way of a shocking Tesla-powered knuckle duster. It deftly navigates some of the pitfalls that are to be expected when forging a new IP and drops a winning hand that is more aces than eights.

One of the year's most shocking surprises gives us both an entertaining story and incredibly fun and constantly evolving gameplay.

Evil West has the style of a B movie (in a good sense) and the vibe of a PS3/360 game (also in a good sense): it gives exactly what it promises, doesn't add any unnecessary filler and ends where it has to end. It's the kind of game that you don't see any more; it's a blast.

Evil West is the third in an unrelated trilogy of games that weave together the old West with supernatural elements. The West has recently been Hard, Weird and now, Evil. To me, this is the best of the bunch. It’s definitely the most fun. It combines an old-school shooter’s lack of fussy complexity with plenty of depth and engaging, fluid, frenetic combat. Add in a well-acted narrative and some iconic environments, and you’re in for a great time slaying vampires and taking names.

Evil West is an old-school banger, a reminder of the quick and sharp fun that action games can deliver. It has some flaws here and there, but the meat of the game is fast-paced and endlessly entertaining combat. Smacking vampires into clouds of red mist with a giant lightning gauntlet is something that every video game needs.

Smashing your way through hordes of vampires in a style reminiscent of Gears of War and Godhand, Evil West is a limb-tearing, frenetically great time. It’s a ridiculously over-the-top title with intentionally garish dialogue, balance issues and some questionable decision choices, but when you’re mashing a 10-punch combo into a bloodsucker’s deservingly battered face, you’ll forget all about logic in favour of a rip-roaring good time.

Evil West combines brilliantly designed, satisfying combat inspired by mechanics from the new God of War games with deep and engaging - but also humorous - story about America.

Evil West deserves a spot among the best games that take place in the wild west. This isn’t the first time cowboys have faced off against vampires, but this is one the better attempts at fusing the opposing genres. From the time Evil West sinks in its teeth, it immediately becomes a game that’s difficult to put down. The story is told through cutscenes that are long enough to get the point across without affecting the pacing. The real star of Evil West is the combat where using the obscene amount of firearms strapped to Jesse’s back to supplement melee attacks couldn’t have felt more intuitive. Not everyone is a fan of westerns or horror, but anyone who’s a fan of either owes it to themselves to play Evil West.

An excellent action game with terrific combat and spot-on controls. The campaign is at a decent length, but there should have been more to do after clearing it.

Evil West manages to do a great job entertaining players and that’s what all games should do. Despite some mediocre writing and lack of memorable characters, Evil West delivers on its promise to provide players with an exhilarating gameplay experience.

Evil West is an enjoyable experience that allows smooth transitions between combos and abilities with a well-made arsenal of weapons. It is far from perfect but has a solid base that can be built on.

Evil West has done something fairly remarkable by dragging the sort of shlocky, B-tier, 360-era action games into 2022 with basically all of the quality-of-life upgrades you’d expect from a modern title. This is how you remember games of 10-odd years ago, as opposed to how they actually play now.

Evil West is a well-executed cross between over-the-top cowboy action and gory vampire battles with an entertaining cast. The lack of exploration and gameplay variety quickly makes this game repetitive and certainly not for everyone, but if you're looking for non-stop action, fun and a linear story without fuss, then you've come to the right place.

A game that shows efforts to lower the entry barrier of action games. Thanks to the friendly aim assistance, the game enables you to perform great action without difficulty. However, somewhat repetitive combats with same monsters and overall volume of the game, vague main stories are the ones that could have been better.

Evil West isn’t a bad game, but it’s certainly a disappointment. Jesse Rentier is a fun character to play, but unfortunately the encounter design doesn’t always let his full capabilities shine, and the boss battles are downright awful. Still worth playing if you’re looking for a decent single-player (or coop!) action with over-the-top characters, but perhaps wait for a sale.

Evil West is very much like a cowboy version of Shadow Warrior 3 that has increased action content. Its combat system is well designed. There are various gun skills which can bring players fresh experiences, but there is not much depth in level design, the puzzle-solving parts also slow down the rhythm. What's more, you can really feel that Evil West lacks polishing in many details, which makes the quality of the game unsatisfying.

Poor writing and some technical issues are not enough to hold back what is otherwise a blast to play. Solo or co-op if a turn-your-brain-off type of kill-a-thon sounds appealing I think this one is worth it.

For all its superficial swagger, it'd be remiss to call Evil West a case of style over substance, because there's a deceptive amount of substance to its combat system and the vibrant world its set in–just the amount you'd want in such a game. It's a good game for a good while, before its relentless pace runs of steam in the final third when repetitive, tiresome battles highlight the limitations of a mostly solid combat system. With the ability to play the entirety of the campaign in co-op however (with appropriately scaled enemies), I wonder whether spreading the relentless heat between two players could actually be the best way to play the game, and I plan on finding out soon.

Evil West is a fun and well-made beat-'em-up that doesn't exceed its reach. The focus is on the combat, and thankfully, that largely pays off. Even coming from God of War: Ragnarok, I managed to have a lot of fun with Evil West nonetheless. There isn't a ton to see beyond the combat, and you'll probably be done in a single playthrough, but that single playthrough will be a darn fun time.

Evil West feels almost spectacular at launch and scores points in the first few hours. In the others, however, it loses points and it may happen that you will be excited at first, but you will finish it only out of obligation and because of the finale of the story, which is finally decent and without major surprises.