Blood West

Blood West is a stealth first-person shooter set in a corrupted version of the Wild West, where gunslinger legends meet eldritch horror. You play as the Undead Gunslinger, cursed to roam the Barren Lands until you can purge the curse and free your soul. The three scenarios—the Canyons, the Swamp and the Mountains—are open-ended areas to explore at your own pace, and take over 20 hours to complete on average, or over 35 hours to see everything.

The Barren Lands

The curse has corrupted every living thing, defiled the land and summoned restless spirits and dark entities. Abominable monsters, unholy demons and dark occult magic threaten the frontier, where a gunslinger’s bullets are not the only danger.

You meet fully voiced NPCs who are also prisoners of the Barren Lands. They share their stories and send you on missions. Treat them well and they may reward you or become allies; cross them and you risk their wrath.

Stealth and combat

Careful play is rewarded: scout areas, stalk enemies and strike from the shadows. You can explore forts and find ways to clear them without raising an alarm, but you can also take on enemies head-on with guns blazing.

The game leaves you to explore the land and find your own approaches to quests. Maps can be bought from vendors, and the three expansive areas contain hidden places and secret stashes.

Weapons and equipment

You can choose from revolvers, rifles, shotguns and carbines, including standard firearms, magic-infused weapons and possessed guns. For quieter combat, there are also hand-to-hand weapons and bows.

The Barren Lands hold useful items ranging from one-use bandages to medical tinctures, explosives, incendiaries and arcane artifacts. Slotting artifacts can change how you play, and a stash crate lets you store rare potions and other finds.

Progression and playstyles

An RPG-like perk system lets you shape your playstyle as a stealthy hunter, a revolver-fanning gunman or a relentless berserker. You gain experience and progress through a skill tree, while finding new artifacts in each scenario that grant additional abilities. Combining skills and equipment allows for more playstyles than you can explore in a single playthrough.