LOVE AT FIR-… SECOND SIGHT
When I first received Wild Bastards for review (yes, a while ago) I didn’t love it. I really enjoyed Blue Manchu’s previous game Void Bastards and I foolishly assumed Wild Bastards would be more of that and found myself disappointed when it wasn’t. Wild Bastards is definitely different and is quite good… outside of a major hiccup.
Wild Bastards is a strategy game with rogue elements and first-person shooter battles that maintains the unique style of Void Bastards but with a sci-fi western theme. Initially the player chooses which planet to visit from a galactic map that gives the player info on what items and enemies can be found on each planet and any modifiers the planet may offer. Modifiers include decreased gravity or storms and affect the FPS battles. Once a selection is made the player then chooses their team (each planet limits how many members can go to the surface) and then moves those members across the planet map. Once landed there’s a web like map the player can move each outlaw around to get into fights, collect items, and activate power ups. Outlaws can also team up in groups of two and move as one unit which offers some benefits based on relationships (I’ll get back to this) which can help in fights.
PLATFORMS: PS5, XBOX SERIES, SWITCH, PC
MSRP: $34.99
PRICE I’D PAY: $34.99 WITH CAVEAT
Fights in Wild Bastards are FPS arenas, where the goal is to kill all the enemies. Each outlaw has their own play style and unique powers (not dissimilar to a hero shooter) and learning how to use each outlaw to their highest potential is key. I was thoroughly impressed with how much better the shooting felt in Wild Bastards. Even in the pitch black of night, being able to shoot an enemy in the head from afar because of their silhouette is a satisfaction I never felt in Void Bastards where I think combat was supposed to be a bit more intimidating as to be avoided. Not in Wild Bastards though, combat is mandatory… and with night falling that means some bounty hunters are that much closer to landing on the planet to get my outlaws and they are much harder to kill than standard enemies.
So, I grab the Ace (skill upgrade for an outlaw) and a couple of items to help planetside and escape the planet from a marked location on the map. My outlaws are tired which means their charge skill won’t work, but they are getting along and form a stronger bond which means when they are partnered together certain bonuses will come into play. Outlaws who hate each other though cannot go down to planets together and a can of beans is needed to be able to touch down together while passive outlaws become friends when sharing beans. Relationships are sometimes ruined or renewed for story in the main campaign, because of actions on a planet, or at seemingly random and absolutely can ruin a winning strategy.
The goal of each galactic map in the story mode is to free another outlaw and gain a new party member, and once that is done it’s onto a new galaxy. This means all collected items like beans and teleporters are destroyed but outlaws are healed. Aces are kept as permanent upgrades. The first stop in a new galaxy is trading in infamy from the last galaxy for some items to help in this new one which is randomized like the last. It’s a fun loop.
An unfun loop would be repeating a part of the game because the game crashes when there’s too much happening on screen. I assume this is a Switch specific issue. The easiest way to have this game crash is to use the outlaw Smoky whose flames linger, but it does happen with other characters. It’s clearly avoidable to some extent but it very much diminished my feelings on this game to the point of not finishing it for my review. The game is already similar enough with it being built around a repetitive loop, so every crash just reminds me of how monotonous it all is.
So, what do I say? It’s fun, people should play it but clearly not on Switch. The campaign is fairly long as is, but I had around 10 crashes playing the game. If the game ran well (which out of good faith I will assume is the case on other platforms) it would absolutely be a must buy at $34.99 for the amount of great content of the campaign alone. Since I didn’t beat the campaign, I didn’t get to see the mission mode. I will likely buy this game somewhere. It will run better and the reviews seem to match what I wanted to give this game which was a 9, but alas I had to heavily drop the score.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
