Do you like Monty Python? Do you like westerns? Then boy oh boy, I have the game right for you.

West of Loathing is a slapstick comedy RPG game with very simplistic, doodle-like graphics situated in western setting. But don't be deceived by how primitive the game looks, it has more depth than meets the eye. And it is so, so funny. In fact, the strongest part of this game are the jokes and absurd atmosphere. I'm talking about delving deep into spittoons, punching cows from hell, dealing with devilish clowns, throwing beans at people, trying to solve murder mysteries with ghosts… All of this is thanks to excellent, quirky (but in a good way — and I'm saying this from a perspective of the person who dont like quirkiness) writing, which can be compared to Monty Python's level of absurdity.

Despite focusing mostly on humor, this is a surprisingly deep RPG. Yeah I admit, the main storyline is bare bones and mostly a poor excuse to explore the world. Basically you need to make a way for the train to come to Frisco city. Firstly, you need explosives to clear a path from the rubble by using ♥♥♥♥ ton of dynamite, second you need to build a bridge, finally you need to deal with one old fart who steals your train. It's not deep, it mostly exists only to give you direction and goal. Third act of the game is also heavily rushed, with less location to explore and less npc to talk.
Nevertheless, the strongest part of the story and worldbuilding are side quests. Devs take a path similar to Fallout 1 and 2, where you have this big chain-quest which takes place in several different locations and has multiple ways of resolution. We have side stories about raising the dead by necromancer, Clowns fighting with devil cows or ancient civilisation buried underground. All this is tied to the main quest — you need to complete several steps to reach a goal, and have different paths to do it. For example, in the second act you need to build a bridge. You can go to the nearest city, complete several quests and get help from the mayor, you can use necromancy to build a bridge or use an alien device to create a construction. All this is a lot of work and the RPG part of my brain was overjoyed when I was playing. Like, yeah! This is what I expect from RPGs, the complexity, the depth, not some pew-pew and bare bones story (Yeah, im lookin at you, Fallout 4!)

So yeah, how about RPG mechanics? If you love classic RPGs like the first two Fallout games, Baldur's Gate or Arcanum, you will feel at home. Everything that makes this genre is here, You have stats that you can develop by spendings exp, non—combat skills like foraging, speech or lockpicking, combat abilities which are using your action points and traits. Most skills/traits are learned by buying books, and exploring the world. Your gear gives you mostly passive boosts to your three primary stats, and the game is heavily focused on boosts from food. One of my characters has like base 10 Moxie stat (which is tied to your range attacks) and +90 from all equipment and food. Which turned him into a Hulk like monster who can literally one shot all enemies. So yeah all those systems give you many options and more importantly — depths to be creative. Especially when in some quest you progression is tied to having the right amount points in stat or having the right skill on the right level — like locksmith. You cannot open locks if you don't have that skill. Some people don't like feature like this, but for me is quintessential for classic RPGs

But then we have combat — which is the weakest part of the game. Mainly, it's too easy and builds around extremes. Either you destroy enemies in the first turn or they annihilate you. And in the later game you one shots everything. Once you establish a pattern of most effective skills there is no incentive to experiment or change tactics, because enemies do not adapt and dont have different attack patterns. When you figure out what you need to maximize to be efficient, the game turns mostly into a point and click adventure. You spend most of your time reading dialogues and trying to solve puzzles, which can be convoluted, to the point of trolling. Like a military cemetery puzzle, which forces you to inspect 999 burial places, use MORSE CODE and BINARY LANGUAGE to find a treasure. Like, I'm pretty sure devs who create this are laughing their ass off thinking about all those people trying to figure out what the hell you suppose to do.

So yeah, that's all. I like this game a lot and Im 100% sure Im gonna buys Shadow over Loathing.

The style is simple - what the game does not show, it tells in text format along with all the dialogue which is not voiced. The writing is quirky and clever. The quests generally call for acquiring the right item or skill at one of over sixty locations and remembering to bring it over; in most cases the dialogue options will reflect it automatically, if the right one is in the player's possession (though some items need activating in inventory). However, the acquisition part is often mindlessly accidental, which ultimately killed the initial buzz for me - there is simply almost no way to know in advance what loot or perks a certain location will yield. Some items are acquired after a bit of a grind.

The player's engagement is manifested mostly in memorising the game's peculiar world, loosely tied together by the wild western frontier theme. I suppose the game can be played in short bursts every now and again, but be prepared for some tedious wandering, if you have forgotten what lies where.

Otherwise it is like watching a comedy show; the only decisions to be made are between peaceful (with more funny dialogue) and violent (quicker) resolutions. Losing battles does not matter, unless going for the achievements. The game seems to only have one auto-save slot and no manual save slots, so multiple replays would be required in case one wanted to see more dialogue.

Regarding the DLC, something to keep in mind - it is mostly self-contained. I went off to the "mainland" in search of some beans for a DLC-related quest, but brought back the wrong kind, which the game did not accept as the solution. The right ones were in one of the areas of the DLC, which I simply forgot about.

This game has been shattered on the altar of purity, and it has been reborn as more than a video game.