Far Far West Early Access Impressions

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been playing Far Far West, a new co-op shooter that’s currently available in early access. Thus far, I’ve had a fun time with the game, but it still has some way to go before it’s ready for prime time.

Far Far West is structured into rounds that see you completing objectives to summon a boss. Defeating this boss allows you to extract from the location before doing it again in a different map. Each location also includes side objectives to complete and resources to collect. Oh, and you’ll want to collect these resources and take time to complete the additional objectives because doing so will help you unlock new weapons and upgrade abilities.

This is a simple yet effective gameplay loop that shines best while playing with friends. However, I also found myself enjoying single-player runs nonetheless, thanks to the core gameplay mechanics. It’s a first-person shooter that combines the use of guns with spells, all of which level up the more you use them. Shooting works as you’d expect from any modern shooter game: hold the left trigger to aim down sight and press the right trigger to fire.

The game gives you two weapons, a main gun and a sidearm. To start with, you'll have a simple machine gun and revolver. Once you progress enough, you’ll be able to unlock several other choices of weapons, from a shotgun to a minigun and much more. These are unlocked by finding the correct weapon parts, which is done by defeating bosses and in various other ways that I won’t spoil here.

What sets Far Far West apart from a typical co-op shooter of this style is the ability to use spells. Nothing ever beats throwing a fireball directly into a boss's face after all. Similar to the guns, you’ll begin with two spells, one fire-based and the other acid-based. Using these spells will level them up, and as they level up, you’ll be able to upgrade them for stronger spells that do different things. Thankfully, they are simple to activate as well, with a press of either the left or right bumper, depending on which spell you want to use. These spells also have a relatively short recharge time that feels well-balanced to avoid spamming without minimizing player choice.

From a presentational standpoint, Far Far West will disappoint some players due to the lack of voiced dialogue, which I would like to see added before the full launch as it would provide some additional personality. However, outside of that, the audio and visuals of Far Far West are really fun. The steampunk/western aesthetics remind me of the Steamworld franchise, but the character models and animations constantly made me think of Sea of Thieves. Neither of those is a bad thing, and in truth, that mix of elements makes Far Far West feel unique. Although I will admit that I would like to see a little bit more variation in the games’ color palette. 

Right now, most of the color comes from spells from the different enemies, such as skeletons or some annoying birds. The environments themselves appear mostly brownish-orange, which is obviously in keeping with the western theme. 

Audio goes largely unnoticed, but that’s because everything sounds as it should; guns have a nice twang and bang that fits well with the visual design. Music is understated but ramps up suitably during boss fights and extraction moments, providing some tension where it is most needed.

Far Far West is in a solid place right now, with the developers planning several more updates that include additional missions, new cosmetics to earn and much, much, more. I’d say that, unless you are really starving for another co-op shooter to play with friends, this one will definitely be far, far more worth waiting for until closer to its full release.