I played through Hard West.
It’s a tactical, turn-based shooter. Similar to something like X-Com, where you have multiple characters on your team, and you position them around the map and are given to-hit percentages on your targets. I don’t play a lot of these games, but I had fun with Hard West.
The game uses a ‘luck’ system, where your luck determines how likely you are to get hit. With high luck, the shot will miss, but drains your luck. Getting hit restores your luck. So, you want to make sure you’re in cover when you’re likely to get hit. And luck is also consumed to use abilities (like ricochet shots, shots that cause injuries or bleeding, etc.).
The core of the game is the tactical shooting. There are a number of scenarios with a few tactical shooting map missions, and then in between there is a world map section that plays out the storyline. The world map sections are the weak point of the game. You’re just represented as a skull that moves around to different map locations. Each location just pops up some text dialogues where you can shop to buy items/guns, or make various decisions. Most of the decisions are just a basic risk/reward option where you might find more items/gold at the risk of taking on an injury.
The game has a western theme with some demonic stuff. The stories aren’t particularly engaging. Each scenario you play different characters. Some characters show up in multiple scenarios, but there is no character development or carryover in terms of stats. All you really can do is buy better guns, and as the scenario advances you get awarded ‘cards’ that give you abilities or improve your stats for a bit of customization.
It’s a decent game. It’s often on sale for like $2. I’ll eventually play the sequel.
