West of Loathing

West of Loathing elicits this powerful emotional connection with stick figures. It bonds you to its world with nothing more than doodling and dialogue. There’s a pretty good turn-based adventure game there, under the hood, but West of Loathing’s many strengths are all personal: connections made between developer and player when you both laugh at the same time.

When something like West of Loathing comes along – something completely unique and ‘out there’ in its style – it can go one of two ways. It’s either a complete disaster, or it’s a true gem among the rough. Asymmetric’s wonderful little game definitely falls into the latter category here. Their gamble to make a stick figure-led game has paid off massively.

West of Loathing is one of the most memorable games I have played this year. It’s unique simple-yet-detailed visuals and witty writing for everything from basic dialogue to item descriptions will keep fans of both westerns and RPGs very entertained. Unfortunately, once you hop into battle, the game’s cracks start to show. While there is a great feeling of progression, West of Loathing’s combat never did much to stand out from the systems in countless other turn-based RPGs.