It's a really cool thing when a game makes a single thing Its core, and does that thing remarkably well. And speaking of really cool, can I introduce you to every person who's ever supported me on Patreon? www.patreon.com/ThaneBishop
You know how there are "popcorn movies"? Evil West is a popcorn game. It's not trying to win GOTY, explore the human condition, or anything like that. It drops you in a world full of vampires and tells you to punch them in the face. I sincerely hope this game sold well enough to get a sequel, because I would love to see what this dev team could do with a bigger budget and more time. Evil West is criminally underrated.
exactly this, and I hope so too, because I think in the time of triple A high flying, high concept games, we need more silly games that ask, well why the fuck not?
We need more games that aren’t trying to push the envelope and prove it’s the best thing since pockets on jeans. We need more games that care about being fun and that’s it. I’m a writer and narrative is usually the big point that will make or break a game for me. Does Evil West have the best story? No. It doesn’t even compare with games like Halo, Gears of War, Bioshock, etc. But Evil West is awesome because it feels like the developers had two main goals. 1 make the gameplay fun. 2 make every other aspect good enough. And sometimes when you just want something to be mindless fun. Good enough can be more than enough.
ill often see what a game is about and assume i wont be interested in it but if i see that thane bishop tag then i know im in for a treat and ill watch anyways
Having watched Abraham Lincoln vampire hunter in theaters this game speaks to me. Just hilarious fun camp that knows exactly what it wants to do and does it well. Thank you for highlighting your time with this game!
Hell yeah! I love Evil West and I'm very glad to see it receive some well-deserved recognition! The game's mad fun, so it's nice to see someone acknowledge it like this. Great video, as always!
I also agree that we're in the best time for video games. I don't get the cynical people who argue otherwise and I hope I never become them. When Dark Souls 1 came out back in 2011 I was in the most cynical phase of my gaming life. It felt like everything was becoming dumbed down, overly tutorialized, open world garbage. Skyrim is a good game, but they cut out a LOT of the complexity that made me love Morrowind and Oblivion and that's the perfect poster child for how I felt about gaming around that time. I felt like I was ready to be done with gaming for good, and If not for Dark Souls 1 coming out when it did I likely would've stopped. Probably not permanently, but at least for a couple years. That's how fucking DONE I was with games at the time. Fast forward to 2024 and not only has FromSoftware been releasing banger after banger ever since DS1, but after many failed attempts other studios are finally starting to release soulslikes that are worth playing. Lies of P, Lords of the Fallen, Black Myth: Wukong, Nioh, etc. You have quite unapproachable and complex RPGS like Baldur's Gate 3 winning GOTY. Even Ubisoft is the best they've been since Assassin's Creed II. Do they still release bland, formulaic games? Sure, but they're expanding into more fantastical scifi settings for that bland formula with Avatar and Star Wars, which is at least something different than Far Cry and Ass Creed. I doubt that Star Wars games is going to blow me away but it's a different enough setting that I'm interested in playing it. And don't even get me started on indies. Back in 2011 the indie scene had really just begun. Mostly they were very slight, forgettable, arcadey experiences on XBLA and PSN, with only a handful of exceptions like Braid and Bastion. Now indies are HEAVY hitters, both artistically and commercially. Outer Wilds, Hades 1 and 2, Ori 1 and 2, Tunic, Animal Well, Chants of Senaar, The Witness, Valheim, Deep Rock Galactic, the list goes on for ages and ages. Even if you're such a hardcore gamer that the 3 to 6 REALLY great AAA games that release each year aren't enough to keep you busy, you will NEVER run out of amazing indie games to play. Ever. My backlog is so long it's exited the atmosphere and is on its way out of the solar system. \ There's never been a better time to play video games.
I personally think that the golden age for video games was late 90s to early mid 2000s It was a point where games got bigger budgets and a larger customer base, but before it became so industrialized that there is "whaling" practices out there to get people. While many great games have been made recently, it was in that period that formulas started being made. It was then we got the BIG games that spawned entire franchises that live on today. Current games mostly refine on that or change things around, but if you want innovation and great games, you don't look to the AAA industry, you look to smaller studios like Larian Studios (and I hope they remain on the trajectory they are on without becoming so big that it becomes design by the numbers).
You didnt mention 1 great thing about its visuals. THE best optimisation. I have rather mid pc, low fps for most, is avarage or straight up good to me, and in this game, with my absolutly favorite visuals ('cuz no one does justice to lightning :d), i have ACTUALLY good frame rate!
Im glad you are comfortable branching out. I like how you keep a similar tone but manage to keep it creative even with a less serious title. It shows quality of videos. Seriously, I swear every video is a must watch (except the ones where i dont want to spoil the game 😭)
Effectively the happy himbo of video games. Beautiful to look at, fun to be with, and unfettered by any complexity whatsoever. Just pure fun and everybody is fine with it.
4:18 ok REAL QUICK this train engine is named Persephone, who in Greek mythology is the daughter of Demeter, which is the name of the ship Dracula takes to England. They just made a really meh movie about that part of the book, which I would NOT recommend watching, but, y'know, that's the reference.
I am again begging you to review the show ReBoot. It was basically the first 3d show, so the first season is shitpost the TV show. The second season is shitpost with more than a 5$ budget. The 3rd season is solid gold. I understand that you are a gaming channel and I will respect your choice if you decide not to. But I truly think you would LOVE the show. For example, there's an episode in the second season dedicated to the creators just SHITING on TV moderators censoring stuff. I cannot stress how good the show is, and that I would LOVE to hear your opinions on it. But again, I totally understand if you decide not to! Great video today!
Tbh, I think these games that "exist just to be fun" are works of art in their own right, alongside games that overtly strive to be artistic. More than just the literal, pragmatic artisanship that goes into them like the visuals, voice acting, writing, and music, but I also think that there's something artistic about successfully realising the fantasy and experience they're trying to sell you on. In Doom, it's that of an unstoppable marine killing demons, in Fall Guys it's participating in this chaotic game show, in Evil West it's being steampunk cowboy man, etc.
The thing i like most about Evil West is that it has a dedicated "lore" tab. The story is super linear and never hides anything in that story that would require lore. They just wanted to write more to explain what makes their vampires and history unique XD. Wonderful addition to the SonyPrestige genre
I had a similar experience with Army of TWO: The Devil’s Cartel. It’s equally as absurd, but it manages to somehow have one of the best difficulty/power curves in gaming, and sort of a “best of 7th Gen” hit list for the setpiece design that ensures if you like making things explode, you’ll have fun.
I was dying to click on this video. I love Evil West! I was eager to play it when i saw its first announcement trailer! It is an old school beat-em-up with vampires and cowboys, and it is wonderful! Bit like Darkwatch and Van helsing! We need more dark fantasy westerns. The only problem with it is the jankness. I made my way through 99% of the game, and right as i'd busted up a slog of enemies and game was telling me to move on, the chains saying you can vault something were not glowing. I could not vault it to proceed. I cannot iterate how frustrating that was, to reach what was probably the end of the game and not be able to finish it. That was game-breaking jank. But Flying Wild Hog are an indie studio. There is only so much that they can do. and what they did was amazing!
Ultrakill is pretty fun too, I think you'd enjoy it. It has the best healing mechanic, bathing in the fresh blood of your enemies. So get yourself up in their face and punch them. And when you get the Shotgun, you might notice that the bullets it fires are rather slow. So slow you can almost reach out and touch them. I wonder what happens if you try.
Love Evil West. I love a good 7/10 game. I'm currently playing through Star Wars Outlaws and to me it's another great 7/10 game that does everything well enough and has a fun, enjoyable story and gameplay loop. As you said in the video, not every game has to be a genre defining masterpiece. Sometimes a nice 7/10 is all you need until the next big thing drops.
I hate the way we currently rate games. Not everyone likes the same things, some titles will be niche by design. There also seems to be a skew in how we perceive different ratings. Like, technically 5/10 game should be perfectly average, nothing new or crazy, but it also doesn't have any problems. Rn it seems like 7/10 is more that, which gives less room to praise the game and consequently focuses more on criticizing every small detail, even the ones that are insignificant. Like Thane said, not everything has to be genre defining, you can just have something be plain fun. Tl;dr: Numerical rating of anything sucks ass.
My guess is that 5/10 is nothing good nothing bad, but maybe boring or just isn't catchy enough for everyone. A 7/10 is an average game but with the bonus of just being really catchy, even if it's janky
Have you played the original God of War games? If you had I don't think you'd call them "basic hack and slash," or imply the 2018 sequel has a superior narrative.
Yeah the whole time I was playing I'm like fuck this game is just fun wish they did more like this a game that takes its out there concept completely straight.
0:19 oh that’s my que, I’m that guy! *ahem* Despite everything, we are in a golden age for single player games. …the less said about multiplayer, the better.
I agree fun games should exist too. But it is never clear if a game is fun. There are even games that want you to play for 20 hours before the fun begins. I only have a few hours per week and if I spent that on the first boring 20 hours of a game I might as well wash the dishes and do some vacuuming while listening to an audiobook, at least I can look back on a fun time while working. Or you have stretched games like Ubisoft. Where 20 hours of fun gameplay is stretched out over 100 hours of gameplay. Giving you 48 minutes of boredom per hour. Evil West seems like it could be fun for me. So it is on my wishlist. For everybody else, my recommendation is Freedom Fighters on GoG. Short fun game. Wish I had more like those games I can finish in 1 week.
More recently(really the last year or two) ive shifted to playing more games that are simply fun. While some times i do crave a massive epic with a gripping story ive mostly moved away from them. Ive been really diving into games that are a nothing more than a 7/10. They know what they want to be, dont attempt to break the mold and really just focus on a enjoyment in the moment to moment gameplay. These games are usually shorter, 15-20 hour romps or are "endlessly replayable" like roguelites.
For all those people you mentioned at the start, I would say: Gaming isn't dead, but social gaming is long dead. So, in that way, I both agree and disagree with you.
One of the reasons a ton of people focus on those mind-blowingly good games is because people, obviously, have limited time and money to spend on games. If you have just enough to invest 60 dollars into your hobby this month, are you going to spend that 60 dollars on a 7/10 or a 9/10? Just a thought.
Solid point, but consider your own line of thinking. If I only have a few hours a week to enjoy a game, am I going to get more value out Elden Ring and Baldur's Gate 3, 100+ hour behemoths that I'll be trying to work my way through for 3 years, all the while trying to remember what I did last, or a shorter, 13 hour adventure where it doesn't matter if I forgot what I was doing last time, because all it was was punching vampires in the face?
Yeah, the Norse GOW games are incredibly overrated and highly pretentious. God Of War was always deep, it was always about family and breaking the cycle but because the Norse games have Kratos skulking around, they are seen as deep.
It's a really cool thing when a game makes a single thing Its core, and does that thing remarkably well.
And speaking of really cool, can I introduce you to every person who's ever supported me on Patreon? www.patreon.com/ThaneBishop
Maxor said the same thing in his review of Doom Eternal, and I honestly see a lot of parallels between these two games after watching your vid :3
drinking game: every time he says a variation of "punch a vampire in the face" take a shot
You know how there are "popcorn movies"? Evil West is a popcorn game. It's not trying to win GOTY, explore the human condition, or anything like that. It drops you in a world full of vampires and tells you to punch them in the face.
I sincerely hope this game sold well enough to get a sequel, because I would love to see what this dev team could do with a bigger budget and more time. Evil West is criminally underrated.
Perfectly said and it's so good. This small studio released three gamea in 2022 Trek to Yomi, Shadow Warrior 3, and Evil West.
exactly this, and I hope so too, because I think in the time of triple A high flying, high concept games, we need more silly games that ask, well why the fuck not?
We need more games that aren’t trying to push the envelope and prove it’s the best thing since pockets on jeans. We need more games that care about being fun and that’s it. I’m a writer and narrative is usually the big point that will make or break a game for me. Does Evil West have the best story? No. It doesn’t even compare with games like Halo, Gears of War, Bioshock, etc. But Evil West is awesome because it feels like the developers had two main goals. 1 make the gameplay fun. 2 make every other aspect good enough. And sometimes when you just want something to be mindless fun. Good enough can be more than enough.
a game like the founding fathers intended
This is what Washington fought for when he crossed the Delaware
I slammed that notification faster than you could say "Punching vampires in the face"
Ok but what if I say it really fast
@@Kutomi1Impossible
@@Kutomi1 then I hit it faster than you could say it really *really* fast ^^
ill often see what a game is about and assume i wont be interested in it but if i see that thane bishop tag then i know im in for a treat and ill watch anyways
Having watched Abraham Lincoln vampire hunter in theaters this game speaks to me. Just hilarious fun camp that knows exactly what it wants to do and does it well. Thank you for highlighting your time with this game!
I like the decency and empathy in your dialogue in minute 11. Subscribed.
Hell yeah! I love Evil West and I'm very glad to see it receive some well-deserved recognition! The game's mad fun, so it's nice to see someone acknowledge it like this. Great video, as always!
I also agree that we're in the best time for video games. I don't get the cynical people who argue otherwise and I hope I never become them. When Dark Souls 1 came out back in 2011 I was in the most cynical phase of my gaming life. It felt like everything was becoming dumbed down, overly tutorialized, open world garbage. Skyrim is a good game, but they cut out a LOT of the complexity that made me love Morrowind and Oblivion and that's the perfect poster child for how I felt about gaming around that time. I felt like I was ready to be done with gaming for good, and If not for Dark Souls 1 coming out when it did I likely would've stopped. Probably not permanently, but at least for a couple years. That's how fucking DONE I was with games at the time.
Fast forward to 2024 and not only has FromSoftware been releasing banger after banger ever since DS1, but after many failed attempts other studios are finally starting to release soulslikes that are worth playing. Lies of P, Lords of the Fallen, Black Myth: Wukong, Nioh, etc. You have quite unapproachable and complex RPGS like Baldur's Gate 3 winning GOTY. Even Ubisoft is the best they've been since Assassin's Creed II. Do they still release bland, formulaic games? Sure, but they're expanding into more fantastical scifi settings for that bland formula with Avatar and Star Wars, which is at least something different than Far Cry and Ass Creed. I doubt that Star Wars games is going to blow me away but it's a different enough setting that I'm interested in playing it.
And don't even get me started on indies. Back in 2011 the indie scene had really just begun. Mostly they were very slight, forgettable, arcadey experiences on XBLA and PSN, with only a handful of exceptions like Braid and Bastion. Now indies are HEAVY hitters, both artistically and commercially. Outer Wilds, Hades 1 and 2, Ori 1 and 2, Tunic, Animal Well, Chants of Senaar, The Witness, Valheim, Deep Rock Galactic, the list goes on for ages and ages. Even if you're such a hardcore gamer that the 3 to 6 REALLY great AAA games that release each year aren't enough to keep you busy, you will NEVER run out of amazing indie games to play. Ever. My backlog is so long it's exited the atmosphere and is on its way out of the solar system. \
There's never been a better time to play video games.
YOUR NEARLY AT 50K🎉 So proud of you man
I personally think that the golden age for video games was late 90s to early mid 2000s
It was a point where games got bigger budgets and a larger customer base, but before it became so industrialized that there is "whaling" practices out there to get people.
While many great games have been made recently, it was in that period that formulas started being made. It was then we got the BIG games that spawned entire franchises that live on today. Current games mostly refine on that or change things around, but if you want innovation and great games, you don't look to the AAA industry, you look to smaller studios like Larian Studios (and I hope they remain on the trajectory they are on without becoming so big that it becomes design by the numbers).
You didnt mention 1 great thing about its visuals. THE best optimisation. I have rather mid pc, low fps for most, is avarage or straight up good to me, and in this game, with my absolutly favorite visuals ('cuz no one does justice to lightning :d), i have ACTUALLY good frame rate!
Dude ive benn looking for a game like this for years, never knew about Evil West, definitely gonna grab it on sale!! Thank you so much!
Games should be fun, that's why they are called games. From the old English word, gamen which means Joy, Sport, past time, AMUSEMENT!
Im glad you are comfortable branching out. I like how you keep a similar tone but manage to keep it creative even with a less serious title. It shows quality of videos. Seriously, I swear every video is a must watch (except the ones where i dont want to spoil the game 😭)
It's always those dang Italians 🤌
Effectively the happy himbo of video games. Beautiful to look at, fun to be with, and unfettered by any complexity whatsoever. Just pure fun and everybody is fine with it.
4:18
ok REAL QUICK this train engine is named Persephone, who in Greek mythology is the daughter of Demeter, which is the name of the ship Dracula takes to England. They just made a really meh movie about that part of the book, which I would NOT recommend watching, but, y'know, that's the reference.
I absolutely love the idea of covering more games like this. It's good to see game just being fun even with scuff. Thanks for covering this 😁
well then to qoute tombstone;
"you tell em vamps I'm coming, and Hell coming with me, HELL COMING WITH ME!!!"
I am again begging you to review the show ReBoot. It was basically the first 3d show, so the first season is shitpost the TV show. The second season is shitpost with more than a 5$ budget. The 3rd season is solid gold.
I understand that you are a gaming channel and I will respect your choice if you decide not to. But I truly think you would LOVE the show. For example, there's an episode in the second season dedicated to the creators just SHITING on TV moderators censoring stuff.
I cannot stress how good the show is, and that I would LOVE to hear your opinions on it. But again, I totally understand if you decide not to!
Great video today!
Tbh, I think these games that "exist just to be fun" are works of art in their own right, alongside games that overtly strive to be artistic. More than just the literal, pragmatic artisanship that goes into them like the visuals, voice acting, writing, and music, but I also think that there's something artistic about successfully realising the fantasy and experience they're trying to sell you on. In Doom, it's that of an unstoppable marine killing demons, in Fall Guys it's participating in this chaotic game show, in Evil West it's being steampunk cowboy man, etc.
I have been proselytising the good word of Evil West since I played it last year. It’s outrageously good at what it sets out to do.
The thing i like most about Evil West is that it has a dedicated "lore" tab. The story is super linear and never hides anything in that story that would require lore. They just wanted to write more to explain what makes their vampires and history unique XD.
Wonderful addition to the SonyPrestige genre
Darksiders is my Evil West
Also heck yeah ANNO : Mutationem. Great game, great soundtrack.
I hope the sequel is based off cowboys versus aliens, I will take no disagreements on this matter.
If a game company shoots your dog, make a John Wick video game that sells so well you buy that company out.
I had a similar experience with Army of TWO: The Devil’s Cartel. It’s equally as absurd, but it manages to somehow have one of the best difficulty/power curves in gaming, and sort of a “best of 7th Gen” hit list for the setpiece design that ensures if you like making things explode, you’ll have fun.
Wish I got a notification for this video, but at least it eventually popped up on my home page
I was dying to click on this video. I love Evil West! I was eager to play it when i saw its first announcement trailer! It is an old school beat-em-up with vampires and cowboys, and it is wonderful! Bit like Darkwatch and Van helsing! We need more dark fantasy westerns. The only problem with it is the jankness. I made my way through 99% of the game, and right as i'd busted up a slog of enemies and game was telling me to move on, the chains saying you can vault something were not glowing. I could not vault it to proceed. I cannot iterate how frustrating that was, to reach what was probably the end of the game and not be able to finish it. That was game-breaking jank. But Flying Wild Hog are an indie studio. There is only so much that they can do. and what they did was amazing!
a game has never needed to reinvent the wheel for me. All i've ever asked from a recreational activity is that it entertains me.
Ultrakill is pretty fun too, I think you'd enjoy it.
It has the best healing mechanic, bathing in the fresh blood of your enemies. So get yourself up in their face and punch them.
And when you get the Shotgun, you might notice that the bullets it fires are rather slow. So slow you can almost reach out and touch them. I wonder what happens if you try.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is amazing, so you've convinced me to buy this game
Love Evil West. I love a good 7/10 game. I'm currently playing through Star Wars Outlaws and to me it's another great 7/10 game that does everything well enough and has a fun, enjoyable story and gameplay loop.
As you said in the video, not every game has to be a genre defining masterpiece. Sometimes a nice 7/10 is all you need until the next big thing drops.
I hate the way we currently rate games. Not everyone likes the same things, some titles will be niche by design. There also seems to be a skew in how we perceive different ratings. Like, technically 5/10 game should be perfectly average, nothing new or crazy, but it also doesn't have any problems. Rn it seems like 7/10 is more that, which gives less room to praise the game and consequently focuses more on criticizing every small detail, even the ones that are insignificant. Like Thane said, not everything has to be genre defining, you can just have something be plain fun.
Tl;dr: Numerical rating of anything sucks ass.
My guess is that 5/10 is nothing good nothing bad, but maybe boring or just isn't catchy enough for everyone. A 7/10 is an average game but with the bonus of just being really catchy, even if it's janky
Such a great and fun ride
Have you played the original God of War games? If you had I don't think you'd call them "basic hack and slash," or imply the 2018 sequel has a superior narrative.
It's funny seeing this discourse in 2024 still.
Evil West is like Dying Light to me, since they are probably the funnest 7 or 8 out of 10 games I’ve ever played.
Agreed
Man, just how overexagurated your standarts are? DL is straight up 9/10.
@@D-N-0 for me the gameplay is 10/10, music is 8/10, graphics are 8 or 9/10, and story is 6 out of 10. The average is about an 8 or 8.5/10
I gotta put Control in that same category. Ashtray Maze is one of the best levels in any game, ever, period.
@@D-N-0 what would be a 10/10 for you?
The common enemies remind me of ghouls, which are familiars vampires make and are sort of zombie like
It is on game pass, and it’s two player co-op.
The start of the game REALLY reminds me of a game for PS2 and XBOX
Darkwatch.
Look it up, it was really neat!
I love thane bishop!!!!
Yeah the whole time I was playing I'm like fuck this game is just fun wish they did more like this a game that takes its out there concept completely straight.
Called it last video.
0:19 oh that’s my que, I’m that guy!
*ahem* Despite everything, we are in a golden age for single player games.
…the less said about multiplayer, the better.
I love silly enjoyable games
Guys I think you can punch a vampire in the face
Va-11 Hall-a, and is that Anno Mutationem? Both good games, looking forward to the next video.
I agree fun games should exist too. But it is never clear if a game is fun. There are even games that want you to play for 20 hours before the fun begins. I only have a few hours per week and if I spent that on the first boring 20 hours of a game I might as well wash the dishes and do some vacuuming while listening to an audiobook, at least I can look back on a fun time while working. Or you have stretched games like Ubisoft. Where 20 hours of fun gameplay is stretched out over 100 hours of gameplay. Giving you 48 minutes of boredom per hour.
Evil West seems like it could be fun for me. So it is on my wishlist. For everybody else, my recommendation is Freedom Fighters on GoG. Short fun game. Wish I had more like those games I can finish in 1 week.
We back 🔥
More recently(really the last year or two) ive shifted to playing more games that are simply fun. While some times i do crave a massive epic with a gripping story ive mostly moved away from them. Ive been really diving into games that are a nothing more than a 7/10. They know what they want to be, dont attempt to break the mold and really just focus on a enjoyment in the moment to moment gameplay. These games are usually shorter, 15-20 hour romps or are "endlessly replayable" like roguelites.
Hell yeah brother
Good video. Feed algo.
What was that cyberpunk game near the end of the video?!
They're teasers for the next video!
Damn it i shouldn't watch videos on games i dont know now i wanna play this
i've played a few hours of this game and could not decide whether m&k or controller was better
cool
My GOTY in 2022
For all those people you mentioned at the start, I would say:
Gaming isn't dead, but social gaming is long dead.
So, in that way, I both agree and disagree with you.
Soo is it better than darkwatch?
One of the reasons a ton of people focus on those mind-blowingly good games is because people, obviously, have limited time and money to spend on games. If you have just enough to invest 60 dollars into your hobby this month, are you going to spend that 60 dollars on a 7/10 or a 9/10? Just a thought.
Solid point, but consider your own line of thinking. If I only have a few hours a week to enjoy a game, am I going to get more value out Elden Ring and Baldur's Gate 3, 100+ hour behemoths that I'll be trying to work my way through for 3 years, all the while trying to remember what I did last, or a shorter, 13 hour adventure where it doesn't matter if I forgot what I was doing last time, because all it was was punching vampires in the face?
This game is just darkwatch but not as good
Dislike those opening examples.
Yeah, the Norse GOW games are incredibly overrated and highly pretentious. God Of War was always deep, it was always about family and breaking the cycle but because the Norse games have Kratos skulking around, they are seen as deep.
No no, they are great
@@pleasekillyoursef That is an opinion you're allowed to have.