I was born to be a cowboy in any life (just not this one), but getting to be a robot cowboy while completing extremely fun tasks may have been the perfect one for me. If you're wondering whether you should pick up Far Far West to play with your friends or even solo, keep reading our preview and thoughts below!
One Big Yeehaw for the Visuals!
Robot cowboys in the Far Far West is an excellent setting to start off with, but build on that with a stunning map design, quirky Robot Skins you have to earn, as well as the variety of mobs and Bosses you have to fight or escape from with a sliver of health, everything really starts coming into place.
While I do love how far we have advanced when it comes to how realistic you can make a game look, I much prefer when a game has its own cartoony aesthetic. Far Far West does its design well, with the available maps feeling like they are part of a single world while keeping their unique flavor.
The Woodlands are my favorite area to explore, with a blue fog over the entire area, lots of water and geysers which can shoot you up in the air (perfect for those aerial combat upgrade Jokers!). The cacophony of little frog croaks add to the ambient. On the other hand, the Canyon map is also well designed, but just not great for people that rush and don't think like me. Those cliffs really are waiting to jump out at you from every corner! It's totally not me that's jumping off them by accident!
Another thing that adds to the charm of the game is the Saloon area. There's much to do, and lots to see, but the absolute cutest have to be the mechanical farm animals. And no, you can't kill the chickens if you see them in the wild! I regrettably tried, but learn from my mistakes and don't do it!
Spell, Shoot, Miss, Run Away, Spell, Repeat!
While the game is beautiful to look at, how does it feel to play? Well, the basis of combat in Far Far West are your primary weapon, secondary weapon, and a loadout of three Magic Spells. That's only the basics, however, as you have a bunch of weapons to unlock along with their various upgrades. You can choose to be more close range with Shotguns, or go super far away with Snipers. You can even delegate yourself to be the healer of the group (which I absolutely did by grabbing Voodoo and Healing Area). Just remember, there is friendly fire, your teammates are not target practice!
Spells are divided into five types, Fire, Electric, Acid, Voodoo, and of course, Cactus. It is Cactus Day after all! You have three slots for spells and they do work together. You can spray down Acid and light it in a very explosive fire or have your Turret deal electric damage after placing it down in an area where you've used an Electric spell. There's combos galore, you just have to figure out what works best for you.
However, the most fun part of upgrades are the Jokers. These are cards which you can equip permanently on yourself as well as your weapon (don't be stupid like me and realize you need to equip weapon Jokers onto weapons four hours into the game), or pick up in the wild for a single run.
Jokers range from extremely useful cards like healing after being hit for 20 seconds, to your shots having a small chance to blow confetti. Absolutely useless but utterly charming and funny. My favorite Joker is the Rubber Duck, which makes rubber duck noises as you walk. There's no greater intimidation tactic than duck walking towards your enemies.
The Desert is Vast but Not At All Empty
Far Far West is in Early Access and sometimes with games that means some content but not enough. That fact doesn't deter me, as I have plenty of hours in 7 Days to Die (some might say too many) where there's barely an ounce of story. However, lucky for all of us, there's plenty to do even in this early version of the Robot Wild West.
The main gameplay loop is you and your team of up to four players picking up bounties from the sheriff, completing the objective, defeating the boss, then escaping. Think of bounties as a single run in a roguelike, you go in, complete the tasks, solve some mysteries and secrets along the way like the Scooby Gang and you get to unlock new areas to explore. Sounds simple enough, but then you get to a map and see that there's always something else to do.
Every run works towards upgrading your character, with you earning Souls and Gold. While you can just keep going on missions, it is very important to head back to the Saloon where you can upgrade your Spells, acquire new Weapons, new Jokers, as well as have some fun shooting darts at a board.
All maps also hide secrets, whether it be loot, gold, quests, graveyards, or even music. Every time you think you've figured something out, you'll turn the corner and find something else that you have to solve. Just make sure you always, and I do mean ALWAYS, interact with the glowing green well. It will give you a fun surprise, trust me on this!
Should You Also Join a Ragtag Band of Robot Cowboys?
If co-op games are your bread and butter, then you should absolutely play Far Far West. This is one of the most interesting co-op games I've played this year and will keep playing. There's definitely things I wish it had, like more dialogue lore. You can interact with NPCs but they'll usually give you one line of dialogue before moving away, but that's just how it is for now (or maybe they think I'm painfully uncool and have all chosen to ignore me). There's promises of lots more content to come in 1.0, and while I can't wait for that, I am definitely going to be having lots of fun in the meantime as well. Because honestly, what wilder combination can exist than guns, spells, and robots?
[Disclosure: Free copies of the game were provided to PGG for review purposes.]
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Hristina is the Assigning Editor for Pro Game Guides with a Master's degree in English Language, Literature and Culture from the University of Belgrade. She's written blogs, anime quizzes, books, as well as worked as a Content Editor before starting at PGG as a Staff Writer. She lives, breathes and often screams for the horror genre. If a game has multiplayer, be sure that she is playing it, like Dead by Daylight, PEAK, R.E.P.O. and Marvel Rivals. Hristina's comfort games are Outlast, Last of Us, and Until Dawn, which she has played or watched other people play more than 10 times each.