WolfEye Studios and Devolver Digital have joined forces to develop and publish an unlikely immersive sim title, Weird West. What makes this game special, however, is the fact that it's an isometric title, rather than a first-person adventure, which means it's almost entirely unique in this niche.
Of course, Devolver Digital is known for its penchant for publishing strange and off-beat titles, and a game that attempts to tackle the subject of the New Weird literary genre seems like a perfect fit. Much of Weird West's audience may still be on the fence about the game, however, and that's where the recent 40-minute gameplay stream comes in.
Though it may not be apparent at first look, this game has got a lot of pedigree behind it. Namely, Raphael Colantonio of Dishonored is making Weird West, and he's one of the two developers who are offering commentary as part of the 40-minute stream. Colantonio is joined by Gael Giraudeau, the Lead Systems Designer of Weird West, which allows the pair to explain various game mechanics and features as they go.
The 40-minute gameplay video shows virtually all the tenets of a proper immersive sim, including freeform quest and character progression, in-depth world and NPC interactions, and a huge array of gameplay options for players to specialize in. Aside from the perspective, in fact, Weird West seems to be in line with immersive sims that fans of Deus Ex love, which is sure to be a good sign.
Virtually all of Colantonio's previous immersive sim projects had been first-person titles, such as Dishonored, Dark Messiah of Might & Magic, and Arx Fatalis, which immediately makes Weird West stand out. Players that might not be thrilled about the isometric perspective will have an opportunity to play Weird West via Xbox Game Pass on day one, however.
While Weird West got its release date pushed back once already, the game is now set and primed to hit the stores on March 31st, and there's no apparent reason to believe that yet another pushback might be necessary. As per the developer commentary, all the core tenets of an immersive sim release are present and accounted for, even though this is an isometric title, and the fans of the genre won't need to wait long to give the game a shot.
Weird West is set to launch on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 on March 31st, 2022.
