West of Loathing

West of Loathing is an original RPG developed by the independent studio Asymmetric - a team whose portfolio includes the browser-based Kingdom of Loathing. The title appeared on PC and Switch, and the developers themselves suggested that the main source of inspiration for them were slapstick comedies, which can be seen in a solid dose of humor, which appears both in the storyline and game mechanics.

Story

The action in West of Loathing takes place in a universe developed for the aforementioned Kingdom of Loathing, namely, in a land stylized on the American Wild West. The player takes on the role of a daredevil who is fed up with the boring existence on a farm and, in order to gain fame and wealth, sets off on a long and dangerous journey; his goal is the city of Frisco, where he intends to start a new chapter in his life.

Mechanics

West of Loathing offers a vast open-world, whose nooks and crannies can be explored in any order. We can visit not only larger and smaller towns and saloons, which are the hallmarks of the Wild West, but also vast and dangerous wildernesses and dark dungeons, in which, like most other representatives of the genre, we can find treasures guarded by animated skeletons. While having fun, we travel through new territories, talk to NPCs and perform tasks assigned by them, from time to time solving more or less complicated puzzle. An important element of the game are battles with enemies, played in a turn-based mode, during which we use classic revolvers, cannons or dynamite, which plays a role similar to modern grenades, as well as various special skills.

We can lead a representative of one of the three specializations - Snake Oiler is a great orator, who is able to get out of oppression both using violence and smooth words; Beanslinger is great at solving puzzles; while Cow Puncher makes use of his fists and pretty much nothing else. We can customize the appearance of our character to suit our individual preferences, for example by wearing one of the fifty hats. It should be noted that the combat potential of individual heroes can be increased, both by acquiring more and more powerful weapons and by developing individual stats and abilities.

Technical aspects

West of Loathing is noteworthy for its extremely simple but nevertheless eye-catching visuals - the game employs a characteristic black and white palette, while in stylistic terms, the visual sphere of the title may resemble drawings created by a student on the last pages of their notebook.

Last updated on 20 April 2023