GamesFPSWild BastardsVoid Bastards' space cowboy sequel has 13 different ‘outlaws’ you equip and swap like weapons, but if you play poorly they’ll refuse to work togetherWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesFPSWild BastardsVoid Bastards' space cowboy sequel has 13 different ‘outlaws’ you equip and swap like weapons, but if you play poorly they’ll refuse to work togetherWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
I think I began to get a handle onWild Bastards' unique character swapping system just as I ran out of characters to swap. I was down to the last member of my three-cowpoke crew as I faced a tough random encounter, the last thing between me and a successful planetary extraction.
Wild Bastards represents a slight genre shift to its 2019 predecessor,Void Bastards—instead of the Bio/System Shock reminiscent corridor crawling, light stealth, and resource scavenging, Wild Bastards features more open levels with a ton of verticality and a large number of enemies. It also introduces a cast of 13 “outlaws” you play as, in contrast to the randomly generated anonymous convicts of the first game.
This isn’t a Borderlands or Destiny situation where you just stick with one character you like though—each one has advantages and disadvantages in the face of Wild Bastards' unique enemy types. Blue Manchu audio director Ryan Roth likened it to a “rock paper scissors” system, and said that “Void Bastards did the same thing where it’s like: Hey, these are the enemies on the ship. What’s your loadout? What tools do you want to bring with you?”
From a galaxy map of the whole roguelike campaign, you choose a set number of characters (I had three in the demo) to send to the surface of a planet. The surface is presented as a game board/world map with the usual roguelike risk/reward nodes and enemy encounters. Each one of those nodes is an FPS arena where you can bring in two of your planetside characters.
Swapping between your chosen gunslingers is instantaneous, like switching your weapon in another FPS, but they also come with their own sound effects, voiceover, and special ability in addition to a mechanically distinct weapon. Crucially, each character has their own health bar as well, introducing new options for managing your limited resources in the healing-averse roguelike.
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(Image credit: Blue Manchu)(Image credit: Blue Manchu)(Image credit: Blue Manchu)(Image credit: Blue Manchu)(Image credit: Blue Manchu)(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
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(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
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(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
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(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
(Image credit: Blue Manchu)
I had Paul Atreides prescient visions of a deliciously-high skill ceiling, where you’re balancing your team of three to account for all possible threats, narrowing them down to two based on individual mission parameters, then deftly swapping your guys to maximize their damage and counter enemy attacks.
Wild Bastards already had my interest, but playing its GDC demo cinched it as one to check out day one for me. Wild Bastards is set to release some time this year, and you can currently wishlist it onSteam.
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