Image: Flying Wild Hog/Focus Entertainment Unfortunately, Evil West, despite devoting a lot of time to its narrative, doesn’t seem all that interested in its story beyond the foundational premise of mixing a pulpy monster movie with a semi-passable Western. A mythological take on historical settings can be a great way to portray the past. A vampire conspiracy, we’re told during the opening, has existed in the nation “since the time of the Founding Fathers,” resisted by monster hunters belonging to an organization called the Rentier Institute. The latest from Flying Wild Hog, the team behind the Shadow Warrior reboot series and Hard Reset, is set in a supernaturally inflected version of the 19th century westward conquest of the United States. It’s important to mention the texture of Evil West’s violence up front because, ultimately, it’s what carries the entire game. Shoot a different enemy and its arms might fly off, fountains of blood gushing forth like Monty Python and the Holy Grail’s Black Knight suffering from hypertension. Sometimes, when using certain moves, punching a monster makes its skeleton zap into sight as its freakish body vibrates, fixed in mid-air with bolts of blue electricity. Punch a monster some more and it will eventually burst apart with the wet sloppiness of a water balloon filled with ketchup. Punch a monster in Evil West and the connection of armored fist with enemy body makes a cartoon sound effect like a cinder block smacking into a side of frozen beef.
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