Hard West 2 is making the jump to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S with its mix of turn-based combat, demonic folklore, and brutal showdowns.
Hard West 2, the Tactical RPG with a grim Weird West twist, is headed to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Klabater, Good Shepherd Entertainment, and Ice Code Games, the studios behind the title, just announced that it would make the jump to those platforms, nearly two years since the game launched on Steam (for PCs) back in August 2022. Store listings for the titles have popped up on both Sony and Microsoft’s online stores.
As a supernatural take on the Wild West, the game takes you on a campaign with Gin Carter, a lone outlaw who tries to pull off one final heist with the Ghost Train.
When that doesn’t go well, Gin finds himself fighting for his soul, all across a demon- and black magic-plagued frontier. The idea is still one of the game’s strongest hooks, as it combines the classic “frontier vengeance” storyline with some serious occult horror, along with a party-led journey through a cursed western landscape.
At its core, Hard West 2 is a Tactical RPG where you control a group of gunslingers and their supernatural companions.
Each character has unique abilities that allow them to control movement, position themselves relative to the enemy, apply pressure on the enemy, and initiate aggressive kill sequences. A major element of the gameplay, Bravado, is what allows your characters to regain action points when they kill an enemy.
As a result, if you’re able to get a strong turn going, you can start a killing chain that becomes a real snowball. This creates a different rhythm in terms of how fast-paced or slow-moving the game is, especially compared to other turn-based strategy games. In addition to speed, the player also needs to think about position, cover and accuracy in order to do damage.
In addition to combat, there is also a strong focus on party building and progression. By acquiring stronger equipment and trinkets and by using a card-based system tied to the hand you were dealt at the poker table, you’ll be able to build up and strengthen your posse.
Additionally, the choices you make throughout the campaign will impact the loyalty of your party members and their individual character development. Finally, as indicated by the store listings, there will be larger-than-life set-pieces (such as train robberies and horseback chases), that will take the player’s experience outside of the grid-based combat system and add additional variety to the game world.
While no console-specific release date was included in the store page descriptions surfaced thus far, it is now confirmed that the game is coming to the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. As part of the description, the listing for Xbox indicated that the game was being released as an “optimized” version for the Xbox Series X|S consoles.
Also, it was noted that the version would support 4K Ultra HD and 60 frames per second (fps)+. Overall, this indicates that this new version of the game is being targeted towards being a current-generation release, as opposed to simply being a port of the previous version.
For fans who may have missed it on PC, this provides another opportunity to try out one of the most unique Tactical RPGs released in recent years.
