Wild Bastards takes every ingredient that made up BioShock's Irrational Games and blends it with cowboy beans

GamesFPSWild BastardsWild Bastards takes every ingredient that made up BioShock’s Irrational Games and blends it with cowboy beansWhen 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)

The crew in their cockpit

“Oh we heard of you Wild Bastards,” says Eugene. The robot wears a steel Stetson and an apron, and he means the swear as a compliment. He might look mean, with his single, flat brow and pink glowing eyes—but Eugene’s ire is reserved for our common enemy, the Chasteners.

(Image credit: Blue Manchu)

A showdown

Every planetary visit is an extended escape sequence—in which you navigate a turn-based map to dodge patrolling enemies and pilfer resources, before squaring up to Chasteners in FPS battles at roadblocks. Where the fights of Void Bastards took place in the tight corridors of space stations, here you’re scrapping on the surface—crouch-walking through swamps, climbing water towers and taking potshots through the windows of saloons.

(Image credit: Blue Manchu)

The turn-based map

As a fan of developer Blue Manchu’s previous games, it’s this step outside that most worried me about Wild Bastards. It’s relatively easy for a procedurally generated level to convince when it’s made up of rectangular modules on a spaceship. Less so when it’s smushing together complicated pieces of terrain in a natural environment.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Blue Manchu’s pedigree goes all the way back to Irrational Games, and that immersive sim DNA is tangible in battle. Enemies don’t automatically know where you are, instead shouting back and forth to each other as they attempt to locate you through sound or snatched glimpses. This cat-and-mouse setup suits the setting—leading to long, tense moments with your finger resting on the trigger, before the sudden resolution of a few squeezed shots to the temple.

Flashbang

(Image credit: Blue Manchu)

Smoky pointing with his flaming hand

Encounters are often over in a flash, but can quickly tip in your enemy’s favour thanks to surprising AI behaviour. The Gunhands pop in and out of cover as you’d expect, but the Kyotes—doglike opponents roughly reminiscent of Half-Life’s Houndeyes—move to flank you in packs, penetrating your armour with short-range sonic blasts. More deadly still are the Rattlers: snakes which pop up out of the ground to spit poison. Listening for the rumble of disturbed soil is your best chance of beating them.

You bring two Bastards into a showdown, but for complicated sci-fi reasons, only one fights at a time. You switch between each character on the fly, as if they were a different battle stance. Tap a button, and you’ll instantly get access to the other Bastard’s weapons and special abilities—like Smoky’s arced fireballs, or The Judge’s crit-dealing sniper rifle. It might sound confusing, but is simple enough in practice—pulling on all the gun-swapping instincts gleaned from other shooters.

(Image credit: Blue Manchu)

A purple swamp

This constant state of escape brings to mind Irrational’s XCOM shooter, as it was first revealed in 2010. Blue Manchu founder Jon Chey had a hand in that game’s design, which put you on the back foot as more and deadlier aliens piled into a level. Though ultimately reworked into something very different as The Bureau, once you know the connection, you can see XCOM everywhere in Wild Bastards.

There’s a strong focus on research: take a detour to pick up data about your enemies and you’ll be given clues as to their AI quirks and weaknesses. Then there’s the changing geography of the randomly-generated battle sites—and the fact that Bastards can be injured, pushing you to try out different combinations of soldiers and form new bonds. It’s a game that flits between sober strategic planning and the consequences of split-second decisions made in the heat of combat.

A stew of strange and contrasting flavours, then. But this first sip has given me every reason to believe Wild Bastards might be delicious.

More about fpsThe most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’If you missed it over the holidays, this noir Half-Life 2 mod turns you into a hardboiled detective in Prohibition-era ChicagoLatestMSI intros cheaper ‘back connect’ Project Zero Intel motherboards for super-clean PC builds you might actually be able to affordSee more latest►

More about fps

The most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’If you missed it over the holidays, this noir Half-Life 2 mod turns you into a hardboiled detective in Prohibition-era Chicago

FBC: Firebreak

The most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’

A noir Chicago with Combine metro cops from Half-Life 2

If you missed it over the holidays, this noir Half-Life 2 mod turns you into a hardboiled detective in Prohibition-era Chicago

LatestMSI intros cheaper ‘back connect’ Project Zero Intel motherboards for super-clean PC builds you might actually be able to affordSee more latest►

Latest

MSI intros cheaper ‘back connect’ Project Zero Intel motherboards for super-clean PC builds you might actually be able to afford

MSI MAG Z890 Tomahawk WIFI PZ

MSI intros cheaper ‘back connect’ Project Zero Intel motherboards for super-clean PC builds you might actually be able to afford

See more latest►

Most Popular

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

Five new Steam games you probably missed (January 6, 2025)

I’ve seen enough: No more forcing singleplayer studios to make mediocre live service games

6 games that could be bigger hits than you’re expecting in 2025

What are your 2025 gaming resolutions?

The FBI put a $5 million bounty on the ‘Cryptoqueen’ last year but still hasn’t found her, so take your pick: Russia, South Africa, or murdered on a yacht in 2018

The Witcher season 4: Everything we know about Hemsworth’s debut on The Continent

8 bold gaming predictions for 2025

The PC game releases we’re most excited about in January

Twitter is dead, X is a cesspit, let’s make 2025 the year of the message board

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

Flashbang#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Flashbang