It’s a hard life being a cowboy. It’s even harder when someone has stolen your soul, but that’s the burden that falls on Gin Carter and her cursed team of social outcasts in hard west 2.

hard west 2 pick up where do we start in our preview, while Gin and the gang rob a ghost train in an attempt to find hidden treasure. They end up with a hellish curse and a fight to save their souls after becoming entangled with unspeakable evil after the “treasure” turns out to be some kind of supernatural horror that steals your soul in a card game. You know, the typical robberies gone wrong.

The result is a thrilling tactical experience that, despite some shortcomings in combat design and character development, is among the best in the genre.

Hard West 2 review: Supernatural strategy at its finest

The Ghost Train Raid is a solid build, but hard west 2 it’s not really interested in either Wild West drama or supernatural horror outside of using it as a frame, and for the most part, that’s fine. The opportunity to turn this into a narrative-rich tactical game was definitely there. Still what hard west 2 it fails in a deep or interesting narrative development, it makes up for it in tone and atmosphere.

The stage may just be a showcase, but it is a very effective showcase.

Gin’s main gang includes Flynn, the master of stealth, and the Laughing Deer, who’s still a caricature of Native Americans that he really didn’t have to be, though he slowly recruits more fighters as the game progresses. history. One of hard west 2 Big Draws is supposed to balance your crew’s loyalty by making tough but fair decisions at critical points. Build enough loyalty with a member and you’ll learn new skills, but if you get on the bad side, you might just leave.

It is a family system. tactical style games final fantasy tactics a Surviving the aftermath include similar layers of strategy centered around the same concept, making tough decisions to keep your merry band of outlaws together.

hard west 2 wants to set itself apart by making these choices more character-based, but the characters just don’t have enough depth or development to make it work. As a result, it’s a bit shallow and feels like a missed opportunity, though it’s in keeping with the overall approach to plot and character development.

And that’s fine, really. unless you are Valkyrie Chronicles, you can skate with underdeveloped characters and a plot that is mostly fluff. What matters in a squad based tactics game is, well, the tactics and hard west 2 delivers powerfully on that front.

I was pretty excited about hard west 2 resume tactics during our hard west 2 preview (linked at the top of the review), and improve from there — even when the basics of combat remain largely the same. Like other squad-based games, you control a team of characters with unique abilities, using cover and gradually moving forward to take out enemy forces. hard west 2 features a rebound system that adds a smart new dimension to planning your moves.

Is it better to break cover and use a powerful ability or stick to the safe route and bounce a well-placed shot off the wall (don’t ask, it just works) to take out a single enemy? Usually the latter is the best option, not that it’s stopped me from trying the flashy route from time to time. What’s the afterlife without a little risk?

hard west 2 the maps are brilliant, for the most part. While most of them don’t reach the same exciting heights as the train tutorial, the overall layout and what they demand more than make up for the relatively bland design.

imagine maps of desperate either shadow tactics but by turns instead. You can’t avoid enemies forever, so obstacles and cover are more than just convenient ways to avoid detection. They are real lifesavers and vital tools to overcome every challenge.

Each character has limited action points to spend on movement, normal attacks, and abilities. If you’re not careful, it’s easy to end up trapped and overwhelmed after making a few unwise decisions. Fortunately, despite seeming ruthless, hard west 2 it has some features to help maintain balance. The Bravado system allows you to take action again under certain circumstances once your Bravado meter reaches its maximum and any character that dies in battle revives in the next encounter.

Tactics games obviously make you time every move carefully. That is inherent in the DNA of the genre. But hard west 2 cover and bounce systems, limited character actions each turn, and more make every victory feel genuinely earned.

The only drawback is that the design is often lost in Valkyrie Chronicles territory. Maps often feel specifically designed to encourage a specific strategy — maybe two — more like a puzzle than anything else. It’s not a bad thing. Figuring out the right solution is satisfying in most cases, but with the depth of combat and the possibilities it presents, I would have appreciated a little more freedom and room for experimentation. It’s still great, but I hope hard west 3 it just goes all out and allows you to create absolute chaos on the battlefield.

Hard West 2 review: The conclusion

advantage

• Excellent map design.
• Smart and demanding combat.
• Unique atmosphere.

Cons

• Underdeveloped story and characters.
• There is not enough room for experimentation.

2022 is unexpectedly shaping up to be the year of the tactical game. Despite enjoying the preview, I did not expect hard west 2 to grab me as much as Triangle Strategy or the likes of tactical ogre, which will have a new version later this year. However, if you are a fan of strategy, it is definitely worth your attention.

[Note: Good Shepherd Entertainment provided the copy of Hard West 2 used for this review.]