Wild Bastards

Wild Bastards is the spiritual successor to Void Bastards and just like its predecessor, this game layers a lot of genres and mechanics on top of each other into a somewhat unusual, but very well-functioning end product. There are layers of a first-person shooter and another of a turn-based strategy game, and to top it off, there are roguelike elements, cowboy hats, six-shooters and a neon-lit alternative sci-fi version of a spaghetti western. Yes, there's a lot going on here.

The Wild Bastards are, or were, the most dangerous gang of outlaws in the galaxy until Jebediah Chaste and his band of outlaws, almost one by one, wiped them out. As the only two remaining gang members, Spider Rosa and Casino now set out into the galaxy to find and resurrect your fallen gang members in an attempt to return to former glory - and of course to take down Chaste once and for all.

Your fallen gang members, of which there are 11, are scattered across the galaxy, so you now travel from solar system to solar system, each consisting of a number of planets. When you land on these planets, you use a tactical map to plan your route around the planet and they contain everything from rival gangs and lots of loot to mods, shops selling energy and shields, upgrades and more - and hopefully one of your missing gang members is also located somewhere.

All your gang members are continuously upgraded with permanent mods, called Aces, and during a run, you can get additional mods that disappear again when you die or when you move from one solar system to the next. Both mods and Aces are important to experiment with, as it doesn't matter which mods you give to which gang members and you will need them in the shoot-outs you inevitably end up in.

In these shoot-outs, you're thrown into small, bite-sized FPS arena shooter segments that take place in this weird neon-lit and very different sci-fi western world - as well as other places with different themes. These battles can last anywhere from 15 seconds to several minutes and if you're not careful, you can wipe out most of your gang in minutes - these segments are actually far more tactical than you might think, because if you run forward, guns blazing, you won't survive long.

It's all a kind of cat and mouse game, not just in the shooter segments, but also when you plan your route on the map. You don't have unlimited time here, because after a predetermined amount of time, Jebediah Chaste's youngest, and very eager, henchman Prince McNeil and other bad guys arrive close to Chaste and if they catch you, you're not just in trouble, but in really big trouble. So it's a case of exploring the map as much as you can, grabbing as much loot as possible, freeing your gang member if there is one on the map and then hurrying on before you get chased wildly.

Blue Manchu has created 13 truly excellent gang members, all of whom are very different to play with, and they all ooze personality. The only negative thing to say here is that there are a few that really don't work, but the vast majority are really excellent once you get to know their strengths and weaknesses. The different gang members all have their unique weapons, for example Casino is equipped with a shotgun, The Judge with a futuristic sniper rifle, Spider Rosa has two six-shooters and Smoky can shoot fire out of his hands.

Each gang member is also equipped with a 'Stunt', a kind of special ability that is activated when you pick up a power up. Casino can flip a casino token that will make a random enemy explode, The Judge can activate Judgement Time, which causes time to slow down for 10 seconds so he can make extra accurate shots, and Smoky can make enemies from afar go up in flames.

With such a growing band of outlaws, drama is bound to ensue. That's why there is a so-called 'feud' system where different gang members can become 'pals' or get into 'feuds' with each other. If two gang members are pals, they will help each other in battles and if they are feuding, they will not ride together as you move around the map, which can complicate your gang member composition when planning your runs. If you pick up a tin of baked beans along the way, you can let two gang members make up over a portion of these delicious treats.

Finally, it should also be mentioned that this is a roguelike, but you can to some extent decide how roguelike you want it to be. This is done via Ironman Mode, which is a setting found in the menu and can be set to three levels; off, on and super. Depending on how it is set, you can choose how punishing the game should be - and even if it is set to 'off', it is still a roguelike we are dealing with here. If you choose to set it to 'super', you need to be pretty sharp in the roguelike genre if this is to be enjoyable in any way.

Wild Bastards has a unique look and it's probably not for everyone, but you can't question whether or not the style is consistent - because it really is. From the menus, to the tactical map, to the FPS segments. The sound is excellent, with really good 'Howdy pard'ner!' voices and dialects for your gang members - however, the one-liners that the enemies come up with during battles become somewhat monotonous because each enemy type doesn't have a lot of variety.

There are no less than 41 different types of enemies that you get the pleasure of defeating during the game. Because many of these FPS shoot-outs take place in the same environments, but on different level layouts, they tend to get a bit monotonous, but that can suddenly change when you get an outlaw with a new weapon and new abilities, and things get interesting again.

With Wild Bastards, Blue Manchu has created a really excellent, and somewhat different, sequel to Void Bastards. Wild Bastards is well-balanced, feels really well-crafted and it's a very successful roguelike, with great characters, a lot of exciting mechanics layered on top of each other and more tactical depth than you might expect. At the same time, it's quite accessible, so if you're not an expert in strategy and roguelikes, Wild Bastards is a great place to start - and it's one of the big positive surprises of late summer.