Jesse Reindeer is always there when monsters are spotted somewhere.

Armed with a revolver, shotgun and his combat glove, he puts an end to every pest.

He learned that from an early age, after all he is the son of the famous William Reindeer, who founded the monster hunting institute named after him.

He and his institute colleagues ensure a little order in the Wild West.

Philipp Johannssen

Editor on duty at FAZ.NET.

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But great trouble is brewing: the vampires hold a meeting, fearing that humans and their technology could wipe them out.

The panel from the underworld plans the counterattack and experiments with hybrids of different monsters.

After an attack on the institute's headquarters, only Jesse and a few colleagues remain to defeat the now hordes of bloodsuckers.

In "Evil West" by the Polish studio Flying Wild Hog, steampunk fantasies and horror characters meet in a Wild West scenario.

The game, which is quite unusual for today, relies on tubular levels and a solo campaign, for which there is also a multiplayer mode.

No online mode, no open world, no side quests to complete - it's almost as if the developers took the action video games of the early 2000s as a model.

It's a nostalgic idea that should warm the hearts of some seasoned players.

But there are also good reasons why almost all video games have freed themselves from this scheme.

The game itself provides the best evidence of this because it cannot cover up the known weaknesses.

Invisible walls and insurmountable obstacles at the protagonist's ankle height are no longer up to date, but unfortunately they are often found in the game world.

Jesse is also teleported back and forth between the locations of the events: one moment under the scorching sun of the desert, he is shortly afterwards in the snow-capped mountains.

When the level is completed, Jesse finds himself in a saloon.

In addition, there is also the erratic narrative style of the story, with video sequences that appear out of nowhere and appear choppy.

Loading screens with information boards that nobody can read completely due to the short loading time.

Jesse's changing colleagues are mostly superfluous because they don't accompany him permanently through the levels.

Yet, miraculously, they always manage to arrive at their destination before him.

When a game reduces itself that much, at least the basics should be consistent.

What follows is a lack of identification with the characters and the story.

The fun carnage - there are a variety of horrific enemies, a colorful arsenal of weapons from the Wild West and steampunk fantasies as well as various finishing moves - is robbed of its potential.

Unfortunately, "Evil West" is not an alternative to the games of a similar category, which mostly rely on open game worlds and online modes.

Evil West is 18+ and available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S from €54.