Why You Should Play West of Loathing
Image Credits: West of Loathing
About the game
West of Loathing is an adventure role-playing game set in the Kingdom of Loathing universe. The game, Kingdom of Loathing, is a multiplayer game that is browser-based and was released in 2003. The game made use of stick figure animation and was well-known for being a humorous game with parody and wordplay. The game involves fighting with monsters to gain currency and points using a turn-based system. The game became extremely popular and had 150,000 players who played the game regularly. It was a free game without ads; it earned money through donations.
The success of the Kingdom of Loathing led to the development of the game, West of Loathing, which was a spin-off. West of Loathing used the same stick figure drawings and turn-based combat, just like the Kingdom of Loathing. The difference is that West of Loathing is a single-player game. Both these games are created and published by Asymmetric Publications. They are a game publisher that has worked on games like Infinity Plus One, Bee on Drugs, and Word Realms in the past.
West of Loathing was initially announced as a follow-up to the Kingdom of Loathing in 2016. It was released in August 2017 on Windows, Linux, and macOS platforms. In May 2018, a version was developed for the Nintendo Switch. The developers are working on a version for iOS. The game is available on Steam also. It has been developed on the Unity Engine. The game has been well-received and obtained favorable reviews. It won the Best Comedy Game at the PC Gamer’s award show in 2017.
The game plot, characters, and storyline
The game characters
The game characters are parodies of regular RPG characters. For instance, the conventional warrior class of RPG is called the Cow Puncher. The Bean Slinger is another character who uses beans to do magic. The Snake Oiler, as the name suggests, is a conman type of character. When you start the game, you need to select your character from one of these three classes. Each character has specific skills but can be enhanced as you progress higher in the game. You will come across many other characters like goblins, ghosts, horses, and even ghost cowboys.
What is the game about?
The game is a slapstick comedy RPG. The game has a basic storyline that is then extended through the use of conversations. The game starts with the character that you create initially. Your character leaves the farm where he stays with his family and moves west. He moves to the Frisco in search of fortune. It is a turn-based combat game, which is the heart of the game. There is a 3 x 6 grid that you use for combat, just as in all RPGs. There are strategies that you need to plan to ace the game. There is no complicated storyline in the game. It is all about solving puzzles with many optional missions. Some of the optional missions can be good fun, like doing paperwork to make a bartender serve you whiskey.
The game is a typical wild west game with the use of stick characters for artwork. The game is set in an open-world that you can freely explore. Deal with the various characters of the game in your own special way by using the skills that you possess. Tackle the skeletons with cowboy hats and defeat demon cows as you move ahead in this game. There are more than 50 hats for you to use. The highlight of the game is the comic element. There are thousands of gags that you will come across, along with jokes and parody elements. There are also non-player characters who have their own story and add to the overall entertainment.
The gameplay
The gameplay is set in an open world that you can explore on your horse. Throughout your journey, you will come across many characters who will give you quests to complete or provide you with information that is needed for you to move ahead in the game. As you travel across the world, you face enemies who you need to fight. There are puzzles to solve, which can be real brainteasers. The game has many fantasy elements with goblins and ghosts. The gameplay is affected by your character choice, which narrows you down to playing as a fighter, rogue, or wizard.
The puzzles are real fun. One makes you resize a pencil while the other asks you to remove staples. There is humor in every single situation, which is what makes this game so endearing. Every stage of the gameplay has some comic elements or the other that will keep you entertained, never boring you. As you proceed in the game, you will (like all other games) pick up many items. You will also pick up experience points that will be highly helpful. The objects you come across may not seem useful, but suddenly at some point, you may end up finding that the object you saw will help you.
There is a vast inventory with a lot of things to collect. You can pick up weapons, more than 50 hats, and even food. You even end up, literally, searching a haystack to find a needle. Apart from objects, you will need to pick up experience points. You can find them in some strange places. You can find a magical sword in a spittoon. Flushing a toilet will help you gain points. You can even hurl abuses on yourself looking at the mirror to get points. There is humor in every situation. The text conversations are another interesting part of this game. The branching conversations are fun to read. You even want to read more; it is so much fun.
There is vast content in the game, which is one of its key features. There is so much to play that even after completing the game, you can still come back to check out some unexplored parts of the open world. You have towns to explore and mines to check out. There are forts and caves that dot the landscape. There is even a jellybean museum in the game. You can’t explore all places immediately. Some of them need some special items to visit the locations. The game elements are so engaging that you may even need a pen and paper to work out the puzzles and unravel the various secrets.
The turn-based combat is the only downside to this game. It is not a major negative but turns out to be too simple. The combats are fun but not challenging. Losing a fight does not harm you much. The fights are more of a side event in your main journey as you travel through the open world. As you play the game, you need to work on one of the objectives, building a railroad to Frisco. The game ends once the railroad is ready, but not without an interesting epilogue that draws a thread through various plot elements and gives the story a satisfying conclusion.
Game features
The features of West of Loathing explain why you should play this game without fail:
· There is plenty of entertainment, action, and comedy content in this Wild West game. You can play this game for more than 11 hours and then still come back for more.
· There are puzzles to complete and interesting side missions to make the game more interesting.
· The turn-based combat decides the action in this game. There are many abilities that help you to launch attacks.
· You will find books in the game that can help you enhance your abilities.
· The open world of the game has many dangers and mysteries that you will enjoy playing.
· The graphics are all black and white and use stick drawings; you must know this before you start.
· Select one among the three character classes and get started playing this Wild West game.
Conclusion
West of Loathing will be immediately lapped up by all those who loved the Kingdom of Loathing. For those who are playing this game first time, what attracts you is not the stick drawings but the sense of humor that is on display. The game mocks the RPG genre and has so many absurdities that it turns out to be a rib-tickling slapstick comedy.
The turn-based combat and the engaging action will make you like this game. Select a character class and use its abilities to take on colorful characters, who are in black and white drawings. The open-world game has plenty of puzzles and actions for you to enjoy. The writing of the game is top-class and is the reason why you should play it. The Western soundtrack is just apt for the game. The branching conversations take the game to a different level. Overall, this is a great game that you will have great fun playing.
Game Trailer
Video Source: YouTube
Preview trailer
Video Source: YouTube
