Colt Canyon Review
Release date: December 23rd, 2020
Developer: Retrific
Platforms: PS4 (Reviewed), Xbox One, Steam, Nintendo eshop
Price: $14.99
Saddle up your horse young man and take back the west! Well, there’s no horse but gamers will get to play as several colorful characters in this 8 bit old west roguelike. The Gamers Lounge has spent some time with this bite sized game and has good things to report.
Players are tasked with rescuing their partner through 5 stages. Each stage has 3 levels and a boss. The game plays like a twin stick shooter. 1 stick to move, 1 stick to aim. Players can carry 2 weapons at a time. There are explosives, a roll mechanic and a nice melee attack
This is a roguelike which means when players die it's back to the start of the game. The only progress that carries over are the characters you unlock and variations of their starting weapons. There are a lot of enemy types from animals to gunslingers, some who need multiple shots to take down. The bosses include larger animals and well defended villains. Players can take down the enemies with shotguns, pistols, rifles, dynamite, cannons, bows and crossbows, knives, pans, rocks, etc. All sorts of weapons can be shot or thrown. If you can sneak up or stay out of line of sight you can do a melee attack. Rolling helps players sneak up or dodge enemy fire. Players will be picking up different ammo for their rifle, shotgun, revolver, bow and dynamite along the way.
While on this adventure, players can free prisoners who will offer player upgrades for their freedom. These include explosive damage, guns reload faster, do more damage to certain types of enemies. Players can skip the upgrade and get the prisoner to join their party.
Gamers will have to find their new companions some sort of weapon. Once they have a weapon the NPCs will attack enemies and can be given commands such as to defend, attack or stay back. Sometimes the camera can do strange things when you have people in your party. The companion NPCs won't drain your ammo and if they die you can revive them at a cost of some hearts. Players can also give 1/2 a heart at a time to heal companions.
A merchant hangs out in each level where players can sacrifice ammo or their hearts to get weapons or more ammo. Once you complete a stage you can go back to the previous levels and try to get collectibles. There are plenty of unlockables and new characters throughout the game. Some of these include a shotgun based character that’s slow but can take damage, as well as a Native American who is great with melee and a bow. There is also a former slave and a few female characters who do great with rifles. My least favorite character was the dynamite based one since their starting pistol was terrible.
The game is easy to play but tough to master. Later stages gave me a lot of trouble. I wish this game had more upgrades and unlockables as you progressed. Overall the game reminded me of Hotline Miami. I found myself playing one more run many times over. If you like roguelikes and want something with a different theme this might be your jam. And right not its 1/2 off on the Nintendo eshop
Thanks to the publisher for letting us review it.
Final score
Pros:
Western themed
Fast gameplay thats not hard
Cons:
Not enough unlockables
Needs more of a fleshed out story