As a seasoned gamer with over two decades under my belt, I must confess that Wild Bastards left me with a mixed bag of emotions, much like its Outlaws themselves. On one hand, the game’s vibrant art style and distinct characters were a treat for the eyes and ears, respectively. The unique abilities and weapons for each Outlaw promised a rich and varied gameplay experience. However, my experience was marred by the repetitive nature of the planet map gameplay and an unbalanced roster of Outlaws.
In May 2019, developer Blue Manchu unveiled a first-person shooter with roguelike elements titled “Void Bastards.” This intriguing game title mirrored the captivating nature of the game itself. Upon its release in 2019, “Void Bastards” received warm reception from both critics and fans alike. Five years later, Blue Manchu returns with another colorful roguelike journey, but this time under a new name: “Wild Bastards.” Although it maintains the same aesthetic and atmosphere as its predecessor, there are significant changes in gameplay mechanics.
Essentially, “Wild Bastards” is similar to its predecessor, “Void Bastards,” in being a first-person shooter with a roguelike format. However, it introduces an extra layer of turn-based strategy that was absent in the original. This change alters the game’s tempo significantly, which may not please all fans, but there are still many appealing aspects to explore. Unfortunately, not every aspect of “Wild Bastards” delivers a fully satisfying experience.
Wild Bastards Has an Engaging Sci-Fi Narrative
Following an introductory scene, the main concept of “Wild Bastards” unfolds, offering a captivating blend of Sci-Fi and Western storytelling. Embarking on a journey across the cosmos, players are tasked with boarding The Drifter, a puzzling sentient vessel. Their mission involves retrieving the spirits of their deceased former crewmates, with the ultimate goal being to reach a paradise, a sanctuary for robots, mutants, and alien species.
The tale of Wild Bastards is straightforward yet impactful, motivating players to continue their journey across the cosmos. Moreover, this adventure is filled with delightful, science-fiction inspired in-game explanations for its mechanics, like the roguelike loop being linked to Drifter’s sentience. Completing the main campaign of Wild Bastards takes approximately 9 hours on normal difficulty.
In addition to the main gameplay, Wild Bastards offers a Campaign Mode, Challenge Mode, and Iron Man Mode for those seeking a more difficult experience. These extra features make the game seem more comprehensive, although they won’t significantly alter the primary gameplay loop.
Wild Bastard’s Gameplay Loop Bites Off More Than It Can Chew
In a straightforward and engaging manner: Wild Bastards plunges players straight into action, and it doesn’t hesitate to let them struggle a bit initially. Right from the start, Wild Bastards presents players with numerous intertwined game mechanics, leaving them to decipher things on their own during the first hour of play. This initial experience can be quite daunting.
After some initial sparring matches, the challenging barriers posed by Wild Bastards gradually diminish, paving the way for an immersive gameplay loop. Players will quickly adapt to jumping to a fresh sector to discover a new Outlaw and initiate the laborious task of freeing them. Upon arrival in the new sector, players must strategize their route through space, as each celestial body provides a crucial upgrade. When above a planet, players descend to its surface, and it’s here that Wild Bastards introduces its fresh turn-based strategy mechanics.
1-4 outlaws find themselves on a planet resembling a board game layout, with important locations scattered along straight pathways. During their journey, players are given a specific number of moves per turn, aiming to collect as many treasures, enhancements, modifications, and valuable assets as possible. However, a formidable boss lurks, ready to appear and drive the players off the planet, leaving them empty-handed if they fail to escape beforehand.
In the sprawling worlds of Wild Bastards, I find myself not just gathering upgrades, resources, or healing spots for my character, but also navigating through planet maps that are brimming with confrontations – from roadblocks to relentless patrols. Whenever I stumble upon these combat encounters, it’s time for a nerve-wracking first-person Showdown! I’ve got to take down every last enemy if I want to keep moving forward.
The central loop of this game persists throughout its entirety, keeping players hooked due to multiple interwoven advancement systems and dynamic mechanics that continually evolve. In each region, you’ll discover at least one novel gameplay element. These can range from permanent enhancements such as ‘Aces’ or ‘Tonics’ which aid in healing teammates, to the Pal/Feud system where your band of Outlaws may form alliances or rivalries at unpredictable moments. The gradual introduction of these mechanics throughout the game fosters a satisfying sense of progression essential for roguelike games, although it’s not without its flaws.
A significant concern with the gameplay mechanics in “Wild Bastards” is that although uncovering these mechanics offers an immediate sense of accomplishment, several don’t contribute substantially to the overall gameplay experience. The Pal/Feud system serves as a clear illustration of this issue. At first glance, this system appears complex, offering players a comprehensive chart detailing relationships between characters, represented by various lines connecting Outlaw icons. However, upon closer examination, it seems that the system’s depth doesn’t translate into meaningful gameplay interactions.
In the beginning of the game, it’s significant which characters are at odds because they can’t descend together. However, once a player has opened six or more Outlaws, this aspect becomes less crucial as they usually prefer a duo, regardless of who’s feuding. Consequently, the Beans resource becomes almost unnecessary since players won’t often need them to mend feuds. This issue is shared by several gameplay mechanics in Wild Bastards, where many find them enjoyable to acquire but lacking the complexity needed to keep them interesting throughout the entire gameplay experience.
Regrettably, due to its limited depth, the gameplay in ‘Wild Bastards’ may grow somewhat monotonous after a few hours. This is particularly noticeable for those players who aren’t fond of the turn-based system in the planet map, as it dominates a significant part of the gaming experience.
Wild Bastards’ Outlaws Are a Mixed Bag of Likable Rogues
In line with its title’s meaning, a significant portion of the narrative and gameplay in “Wild Bastards” revolves around its gang of Outlaws. Across the primary storyline, gamers will gradually uncover and control a total of 13 playable Outlaws, similar to its predecessor. The unique comic-style art design of “Wild Bastards” effectively differentiates each of the game’s 13 Outlaws, and the high-quality voice acting significantly contributes to developing and defining their individual personalities.
In terms of gameplay, each Outlaw in Wild Bastards has their own unique weapon and special ability, providing up to 13 distinct playstyles. However, this isn’t as straightforward as it sounds. In actuality, the 13 Outlaws in Wild Bastards offer a diverse experience when it comes to gameplay, but there’s a catch. While Wild Bastards features many useful characters with powerful, versatile weapons and special abilities that are enjoyable to use, it also includes some who aren’t worth including in a fight.
While opinions on some Outlaws will vary depending on the player’s preferred playstyle in first-person shooters, there are some Outlaws that are objectively weaker than the rest. Smoky’s flame-spitting finger gun looks cool as hell, but it’s incredibly weak, and its reload time is just too long, for instance. In a standard FPS, these traits wouldn’t be a major issue, but Wild Bastards is a difficult game in which every single shot matters. There’s simply no room in the posse for weak Outlaws, as weak Outlaws mean a swift death, and death means the abrupt end of a run, the need to restart, and a strong feeling of frustration that quickly clouds the entire experience.
Unfortunately, this situation can make the team composition of Wild Bastards seem slightly lopsided. By roughly halfway through the game, most players will have settled on their preferred group of four Outlaws and may overlook a significant portion of the roster. However, the Ace upgrade system does offer some improvement, providing powerful stat enhancements and abilities to Outlaws. These Aces help to improve even the weakest members of the team, although they might not persuade players to switch their preferred four.
Wild Bastards Lands More Shots Than it Misses, But It’s a Close Call
Wild Bastards” is an energetic and ambitious game, always striving to introduce fresh gameplay features and characters. This endeavor is undoubtedly praiseworthy, however, it’s clear that some of these innovative aspects fail to deliver the intended impact. Despite this, enthusiasts can still find enjoyment in “Wild Bastards“, albeit with periods of perplexity, irritation, and occasional dullness.
The game titled “Wild Bastards” is currently accessible on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S platforms. For this review, we were given a PS5 code by Game Rant.
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2024-09-25 10:04