Far Far West (PC) Preview

When most players hear the words “extraction shooter” these days, they usually get the icks. The market has been flooded with multiple extraction shooters over the last few years, especially since the release of Helldivers 2. However, when news of Far Far West reached my eyes and ears, I could tell there was something different here. So I grabbed a friend and dragged the two of us into the robotic world of Far Far West!

For those who don’t know, Far Far West is an early-access extraction shooter developed by the indie development team Evil Raptor and published by Fireshine Games. This game is set in a post-apocalyptic world where all animals have been wiped out, with the only survivors being robots and the undead. You play as a robot bounty hunter who is tasked with clearing out the undead and collecting the bounties of dangerous spirits who stalk the land. On each map, you will find a variety of side missions, locations, and unusual characters who can help you unlock a variety of items to use on current and future expeditions.

One of the things I greatly enjoyed about the game was how perfect it is for most computer builds. My friend and I have different builds, with his being middle of the road and mine being more high-end. Both of us had very few, if any, frame drops or long load times. This, to me, was a breath of fresh air given how janky the frames and load times can be on Helldivers 2. There is no doubt that Helldivers 2 is a more demanding game than Far Far West, but this difference means that Far Far West is a more accessible game.

Far Far West excels at distilling the fun elements of extraction shooters while leaving all of the bloat that occasionally comes with similar titles. You have a myriad of weapons and abilities that come in a few different forms. There are primary weapons, secondary weapons, utilities, magic spells, and Jokers. Primary Weapons and Secondary Weapons are your run-of-the-mill western weapons, from shotguns to pistols to boomerangs and even a minigun. I guess that the last two aren’t standard, but they fit in quite well with the others.

Utilities are area-of-effect abilities that can either heal teammates or damage enemies. Magic spells come in a few varieties and can honestly turn the tide in sticky situations. You can summon everything from a cactus that shoots enemies to a literal beam of fire that kills most who touch it. The final fun ability at your disposal, Jokers, are the cherries on top of this sundae of a game. These are special cards that grant you different buffs that are temporary for the expedition and can stack on top of each other. Some can make you twice the normal size and do more damage, while there are others that can make your steps squeak like a rubber duck.

The bloat that the developers have kept away from Far Far West that tends to come with extraction shooters are gear packs and daily missions. While I understand that those two things can occasionally be done well, I think most extraction shooters and games in general tend to use them as a way to keep daily users and earn additional revenue. Far Far West gives you the game in all its glory with just the purchase of it. They do have challenges, but they are overall challenges, meaning that there is no fear of missing out if you can’t play the game one day.

Could Evil Raptor and Fireshine Games decide to change this in the future? Sure, but I believe it would be quite foolish for them to do that unless something catastrophic were to happen and they needed to hit a financial panic button. Given the early sales success of it so far, I highly doubt that this will be a thing that happens anytime soon. If you are looking for previews of other unusual games, consider checking out Alexx’s preview of UnderMine 2 for PC right here.

A PC Preview copy of Far Far West was provided by Fireshine Games for the purposes of this Preview.