Take to the open ruthless world in these western set video games. The setting doesn’t seem to get used too often but we definitely enjoy trying out video games that are set in the gritty lawless world where individuals are seeking fortunes and refuge from the law nipping at their heels. These are some oft the best western set video games available today, though we’ll be updating the list with new titles on a regular basis.
#10 West of Loathing
- Developer: Asymmetric
- Publisher: Asymmetric
- Platforms: PC, NS
- Release: August 10, 2017
West of Loathing is a slapstick wacky western indie title with simplistic stick figure drawings. The game is a RPG where players set off on an adventure to seek fortune as the make their way to the city of Frisco. Gameplay is lighthearted and combat is done through standard turn-based mechanics. If you’re looking to enjoy a different take on a western video game then trying indie titles like West of Loathing is a must-try.
#9 Hunt: Showdown
- Developer: Cryek
- Publisher: Crytek
- Platforms: PC, XBO
- Release: February 22, 2018
From development team Crytek comes Hunt: Showdown. Acting as a spiritual successor to Darksiders, Hunt: Showdown has players facing each other in a PvP bounty hunting video game. However, the spin on this title is that the setting takes place in a rural nightmarish Louisiana swampland.
Not only will you be hunting or being hunted by other players, you’ll have to be careful of your surroundings for the lurking monsters. As of right now the game is currently in Early Access on Steam if you would like to give it a go but it looks like the actual full game won’t release until sometime next year.
#8 Call of Juarez
- Developer: Techland
- Publisher: Ubisoft
- Platforms: PC, PS3, X360
- Release: September 15, 2006 (Call of Juarez)
Similar to the Wild Arms franchise we have listed below, Call of Juarez is another point that covers several video games. Some may be better than others but they mainly follows the same western atmosphere. The video games are first-person shooters that feature their own narrative adventure with Call of Juarez: The Cartel being the more drastically different title between the four installments currently available.
Most of the four titles also received favorable reviews with again, Call of Juarez: The Cartel being one video game you can avoid. Unfortunately, this series hasn’t seen a new entry in a years with Call of Juarez: The Gunslinger being the last video game released in 2012 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and lastly, the PC platforms.
#7 Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath
- Developer: Oddworld Inhabitants, Just Add Water, Square One
- Publisher: EA Games, Oddworld Inhabitants
- Platforms: Xbox, PC, PS3, PSV, iOS, Android, Ouya, NS
- Release: January 25, 2005
Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath definitely looks appealing visually and the gameplay is what you would expect from a title within the Oddworld franchise. However, in Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath, players take the role of a bounty hunter named Stranger who wanders into the wastelands of Western Mudos, a town filled with belligerent outlaws. Stranger sets off on his goal in order to earn enough money for a much-needed life-saving surgery. As mentioned, the world of Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath is stunning, the gameplay mechanics are fun with quirky weaponry and the game world is filled with outlandish characters to meet along your journey.
This title has been supported for a number of years as well with it continuing to find new players to enjoy the game. Outside of originally releasing on the Xbox, Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath has made its way to a number of platforms such as the PlayStation 3, Nintendo Switch along with Android and iOS platforms.
#6 Westerado: Double Barreled
- Developer: Ostrich Banditos
- Publisher: Adult Swim
- Platforms: XBO, PC
- Release: April 16, 2015
Westeraldo: Double Barreled is a bit of a small indie title that we think is well worth playing. This pixelated title follows a young man who finds that his family had been murdered. Out for revenge, players are free to explore this open world environment to gather glues and a location to the fleeing desperado. This might not be the most in-depth narrative adventure and it can be relatively short, but the gameplay is addicting enough to keep you playing as you gun down all the gritty pixel enemies across the lands.
#5 Wild Arms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIXvh3SIAz0
- Developer: Media.Vision, Contrail, Forward Works
- Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment, Ubisoft, Agetec, Xseed Games, 505 Games
- Platforms: PSX, PS2, PSP, PS Classic
- Release: 1996 (Wild Arms)
The Wild Arms franchise has become a big hit across several mediums. Outside of video games there are manga and anime based on the series setting and we’re not pointing to any one particular video game in this list. Instead we want to give you a quick look at the franchise as a whole, which has first came into fruition in 1996 for the original PlayStation and continued to have installments with the latest being available on the Android and iOS platforms within the Japanese markets.
Without going too deep into the lore and several video game installments Wild Arms is set in a more fantasy world that mixes in American western culture. Within the world, firearms are considered taboo as a means of ultimate destruction from ancient history though there are still groups that wield them. Players will be going through the world wielding these firearms, known simply as arms, in a world to protect the innocent from different terrorist organizations. While we haven’t received a new main installment to the franchise since 2006 for the PlayStation 2, Sony is bringing back the first installment with their upcoming release of the PlayStation Classic.
#4 Darkwatch
- Developer: High Moon Studios
- Publisher: Capcom, Ubisoft
- Platforms: PS2, Xbox
- Release: August 16, 2005
Darkwatch is one game that we hope is picked back up on today’s latest generation consoles. The video game was developed by High Moon Studios where it was supposed to kick off a media franchise with more video game installments and even a film adaptation. Unfortunately, only one game came out of this franchise and its actually a bit of an underrated gem.
Players take the role of Jericho Cross during the 19th-century. Living as an outlaw gunfighter in the west, Jericho finds himself becoming a vampire and tossed into a secret organization that is tasked with hunting down monsters. You’ll find that this game is a first-person shooter with a bit of an RPG element to it.
The game would present a series of choices that would result in various powers and reception for your character. Speaking of powers, because you’re a vampire, powers are only available at night which means during the day, you’ll have to go through missions with more of a reliance on firearms. As mentioned, there were other installments planned for this franchise that would have acted like the Assassin’s Creed series. Players would follow this secret monster hunting organization through different time periods and settings, but unfortunately, it was canceled.
#3 Fallout New Vegas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_-6ymuk9i4
- Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
- Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
- Platforms: PC, PS3, X360
- Release: October 19, 2010
While not a direct sequel, Fallout New Vegas released after Fallout 3 where players are a courier sent out to deliver an unknown package. However, during your journey you are ambushed and left for dead. Remarkably you recover starting on a brand new journey, to seek out the one who attempted to take off with your life. Taking place within Nevada and its surrounding areas, players will play a major role in changing the world through their selected choices. Now this game may not follow a traditional old west setting but the title is definitely a highly regarded entry to the Fallout franchise in general. Likewise, the game does put players into the more desert barren wasteland that is lonesome and harsh.
The game featured a few different endings depending on the choices such as if you decide to side with NCR or the Legion for example. Reception for the game has been positive from critics and its one title that we can see being touched up and released again in the near future especially for today’s latest platforms.
#2 Red Dead Redemption
- Developer: Rockstar San Diego
- Publisher: Rockstar Games
- Platforms: PS3, X360
- Release: May 18, 2010
Red Dead Redemption is the Old West made anew with the fiction of Rockstar Games, and it’s every bit as bleak and unforgiving as it was back in the olden days. Players follows an old outlaw named John Marston who is attempting to live out his days as a more law abiding citizen with a family of his own. With the government out for blood with any outlaw groups still active, John Marston ends up having to do their bidding to track down his former gang members and bring them to justice.
Needless to say, the game’s atmosphere is second to none, and it is host not only to John Marston’s story and those of his counterparts but to the greater battle between the old and the new as the old west starts to bleed out into a new progressive age.
Players will likely enjoy the exploration that ranges from the game’s Texas analog to the Mexican desert across the border. During the journey, players will find an assortment of interesting characters who have their own tasks and requests for players to complete.
#1 Red Dead Redemption 2
- Developer: Rockstar Studios
- Publisher: Rockstar Games
- Platforms: PS4, XBO
- Release: October 26, 2018
Rockstar Games has crafted up a number of incredible pieces of work. Their beloved long-running series Grand Theft Auto, the single IP release of Bully, and of course their old western series, Red Dead Redemption just to name a few. Red Dead Redemption has a massive following and gamers all over the world have been waiting for a new installment.
Within Red Dead Redemption 2 players take the role of Arthur Morgan who finds himself on the run from the law with his fellow members of the Van der Linde gang. Outside of being another western adventure full of gun battles and forming your protagonist as a law abiding citizen or morally corrupt outlaw, the game also sets players on a massive open world. This open world environment will also feature a variety of landscapes, wildlife and interesting characters.
