Far Far West playtest preview — My little first extraction shooter

I hadn’t heard of Far Far West until recently. That first trailer grabbed my attention and pulled me in. A co-op shooter from the team behind the likes of Pumpkin Jack? Count me in. After enjoying a bit of it with my dad, I’m glad to say it hits the spot – that being an intriguing mix of shooter with a laid back extraction element I didn’t expect.

As soon as you boot in, the aesthetic is set. This dusty hub town is charming, with that cartoonish style you’ll remember from games like Pumpkin Jack or Medievil. You are a bounty hunting robot cowboy (yep, that’s right), with Rayman-like missing limbs and varmints to catch. Stomping around the streets, you can do a couple of upgrades to your kit, like new weapons that unlock as you level up, or spend gold and souls on fresh outfits or buffs to your damage, abilities, and more. I didn’t change out much in my initial runs, but you can also swap said abilities for new ones as they unlock – for instance, I moved an acid-spraying one for an electric bolt. Sounds simple enough, and most of your adjustments are straightforward.

Once you figure out your kit, it’s time to board a train and head off to a mission. There are a couple in this test, and they are repeatable. You can play these solo or with up to three other pals.

When the train arrives at its destination, you are offboarded into the wide-open wilderness. You’re plopped down with a few map markers and sent on your way to collect the bounty. This is a lot more in-depth than I expected, while still not being anything over-the-top. You can go straight for the main task at hand, or head off the beaten path to collect gold, shoot up random skeletons or vigilantes, or even do side missions for folks out in the field. There isn’t a timer, so it’s up to you to explore and do your quests as you please.

Gunslinging will be what draws most in, and the combat is incredibly fun. All of the shooting is smooth, with accurate weaponry that feels right in hand. This is arcadey in the best ways. Similarly, jumping and dodging around is great, with a punchiness to it. My only qualm would be a lack of spring – I could definitely feel a restriction in my pace. Backing up your gunplay with the abilities is a nice touch. I often had a bunch of skeletons chasing me at once, and being able to obliterate them with a fireball was timely and awesome.

After messing around a bit, it’s on to begin the main mission. There is a first step to summoning the boss, with a particular one being opening a nuclear rocket and filling it with dynamite. These little puzzles can be enjoyable, and I look forward to seeing how the team mixes these up in new bounties. Once you’re past that step, the boss is available to fight, and this is another great part of Far Far West. These are handled in usual boss fashion, but I like the choices in design. One I fought was a usual ghoul who used a magic scythe to throw bolts at me, but another was a freakin’ ghost train that flew around the arena. Evil Raptor has me intrigued by what they can come up with next, and that’s a good sign in a playtest.

Now that the flying train was dead, it was time to skedaddle. This part of the mission sequence is most similar to an extraction shooter – you need to get out, and get out safely. Apparently, slaying this boss caused all the skeletons to riot and give chase, so jumping on your trusty steed is a helpful function. This horse can be summoned at any time, but I will mention it is somewhat hard to control on a controller (mouse and keyboard were oddly easier). After you’ve reached the escape station, you can request an “exfil” and have to survive a mob of the undead. None of this was too challenging, but there are difficulty options for those who want them.

While my time in Far Far West wasn’t anything revolutionary, I see a really unique game here. With all the intense shooters that are out there, it was nice to play one that’s more relaxed. It’s extremely friendly in design, and although I joked about it being an extraction shooter in the title, it’s almost a perfect entry point for the younger crowd. Honestly, Far Far West is exactly the kind of game I’d play with kids, so hopefully it’ll get a console entry at some point.

If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend trying the playtest while you can on Steam! Far Far West launches soon on Steam in Early Access.

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