Evil West Review — Brutal Combat, Online Co-Op & Is the Weird West Shooter Worth It?
Evil West is a back-to-basics action game: no open world, no battle pass — just you, an electric gauntlet and a frontier full of vampires.
Evil West is a third-person action game from Flying Wild Hog (the studio behind Shadow Warrior and Trek to Yomi), published by Focus Entertainment and released on 22 November 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. You play vampire-hunting agent Jesse Rentier in an alternate 1890s American frontier, mixing brutal gauntlet melee with cowboy firepower — and the entire campaign is playable in 2-player online co-op. In 2026 it is easier than ever to try: it is on Xbox Game Pass, was a PS Plus monthly game, and regularly drops to about $12–15 in sales.
Quick verdict:
Play it for the combat — one of the most satisfying punch-and-shoot systems in any AA game. Do not play it for the story. Best experienced in co-op and bought on sale.
Evil West at a glance
| Game | Evil West |
| Developer | Flying Wild Hog (Shadow Warrior, Trek to Yomi) |
| Publisher | Focus Entertainment |
| Release date | 22 November 2022 |
| Platforms | PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S |
| Modes | Single-player + full campaign in 2-player online co-op |
| Length | ~10–14 hours (16 missions), plus New Game+ |
| Critic score | Metacritic 75 / OpenCritic 73 |
| Subscriptions | Xbox Game Pass (console + PC); was a PS Plus monthly game (Jan 2024) |
Table of contents
- Story and setting
- Combat: gauntlet, guns and gore
- Upgrades and the in-game economy
- Online co-op
- Graphics and performance
- PC system requirements
- Prices, subscriptions and buying advice 2026
- FAQ
Story and setting
Evil West takes place in an alternate 1890s American frontier — a weird-west America where the Industrial Revolution collides with an ancient vampire threat called the Sanguisuges. You are Jesse Rentier, a veteran agent of the monster-hunting Rentier Institute run by his father, William Rentier. When a conspiracy within the vampire highborn threatens war on humanity, Jesse heads west to punch it in the face.
If you enjoy games like Darkwatch or Weird West, you are in the right saloon. The presentation is pulpy B-movie fun: dramatic lightning, occult labs, dusty mining towns and villains who monologue in opera-cape fashion. The catch is that the writing never rises above that. Characters are thin, twists are telegraphed, and the story largely exists to shuttle you between arenas. Few players finish Evil West remembering the plot — and that is fine, because the plot is not why you are here.
Combat: gauntlet, guns and gore
The combat is the reason to play, and it is excellent. Evil West plays like a cousin of the modern God of War games — close, over-the-shoulder, melee-first action — filtered through a spaghetti-western monster hunt.
Your core tool is the Rentier Gauntlet, an electrically charged fist that uppercuts enemies into the air, air-juggles them, slams them into each other and finishes weakened foes with gloriously gruesome cinematic kills. Layered on top is a growing western arsenal: a six-shot revolver, a lever-action rifle for weak points, a sawed-off shotgun that shatters shields, a crossbow, dynamite and a flamethrower — plus tools like the stunning Crippling Rod and the Zapper Pull, which yoinks a distant enemy straight into your knuckles.
The smartest design choice is what is missing: there is no ammo to scavenge. Guns recharge on cooldowns, so every fight is about flowing between melee, pulls, parries and gunfire rather than rationing bullets. A perfectly timed block electrifies attackers, and the Overdrive ultimate turns Jesse into a blur of super-heated punches. By the late game you are conducting an orchestra of uppercuts, shotgun blasts and finishers — it feels fantastic, especially on higher difficulties where the enemy hordes demand real mastery.
The honest caveats: difficulty spikes can be sharp when the game floods you with mixed enemy types, a few arenas outstay their welcome, and there is no lock-on, which makes tracking fast enemies occasionally messy on controller.
Upgrades and the in-game economy
Leveling grants perk points for new moves and passives, while "bucks" found in hidden chests and pouches pay for weapon upgrades. Perks can be freely re-specced, so experimenting costs nothing — a friendly touch.
The weaker side is the economy: chest money is finite, scattered along the main path of each linear mission. The glowing trail makes chests easy to find, but it also means obsessive sweeping is the only way to afford the full upgrade tree in one run. It is not a grind so much as a treasure hunt tax — annoying, but tolerable, and New Game+ lets you carry everything forward anyway.
Online co-op — the headline feature
Something the original version of this review completely missed: the entire campaign supports 2-player online co-op. Every mission, boss and collectible can be tackled with a friend, and Evil West's combo-driven combat is genuinely better with a partner — one player juggles and stuns while the other lines up headshots and finishers.
On consoles, online co-op requires PS Plus or Game Pass Core; on PC it just works over Steam/Epic. If you buy this game for anything beyond the solo experience, co-op is the feature that elevates it from decent to great.
Graphics and performance
Evil West is a good-looking AA game. Locations are dense with period detail — candle-lit occult laboratories, stormy graveyards, steampunk frontier towns — and the gore tech behind finishers is (for better or worse) impressive.
On PS5 and Xbox Series X you get two modes:
- Quality mode — higher resolution targeting 30 FPS. Sharper, but the input feel suffers in a game this fast.
- Performance mode — 60 FPS at reduced resolution. Noticeably softer, occasionally pixelated in busy scenes, but the correct choice: in a game about reflexes, fluidity wins.
Load times are quick, the install is refreshingly small (about 25–40 GB), and major bugs have long been patched out.
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Superb melee + gun combat with zero ammo hassle | Forgettable story and thin characters |
| Full campaign playable in 2-player online co-op | Linear arena structure; little exploration |
| Great weird-west art direction and finishers | Occasional difficulty spikes; no lock-on |
| Tight 10–14 hour length + New Game+ | Limited per-run cash gates weapon upgrades |
| Cheap in sales; on Game Pass; runs on modest PCs | Performance mode softens image quality |
PC system requirements
Evil West is happily light by 2026 standards — the official specs from the publisher:
| Component | Minimum (1080p / 30 FPS Medium) | Recommended (1080p / 60 FPS Epic) |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit (Windows 11 also works) | |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-2500K / AMD FX-6300 | Intel Core i5-10505 / AMD Ryzen 5 1600 |
| RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB |
| GPU | GTX 750 Ti / RX 460 (4 GB VRAM) | GTX 1060 / RX 590 |
| Storage | 40 GB available space | |
Prices, subscriptions and buying advice for 2026
- Xbox Game Pass: Evil West joined Game Pass (console + PC) in late 2025 — if you subscribe, you can play the whole game, including co-op, right now at no extra cost.
- PlayStation: it was a PS Plus Essential monthly game back in January 2024, so check your library — millions of subscribers already own it. A 2-hour full-game trial is also available for PS Plus Premium members.
- Sales: the $59.99 list price is a formality. It hits 75–80% off (~$12–15) several times per year on Steam, PlayStation Store and Xbox Store. Wait for one.
- No story DLC required: Evil West is a complete, finished single purchase — no season pass, no live-service roadmap. What you buy is the full game.
Best buying advice:
Game Pass or your PS Plus library first; otherwise grab it under $15 on sale. Either way, bring a friend for co-op.
Safe official links
Buy or download only from official stores and apps. The old version of this post linked to pirated scene-repack files on MediaFire — those archives are exactly how PCs end up with cryptominers and stolen passwords, and they are illegal in most countries.
- Steam: Evil West on Steam
- PlayStation Store: Evil West on PlayStation Store
- Xbox Store / Game Pass: Evil West on Xbox Store
- Publisher store: Evil West at Focus Entertainment
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Evil West FAQ
Is Evil West open world?
No. It is a linear, mission-based action game with 16 chapters. Levels contain hidden chests and lore, but there is no open world to roam.
Does Evil West have co-op or multiplayer?
Yes — the full campaign supports 2-player online co-op from start to finish. There is no competitive multiplayer and no split-screen.
How long is Evil West?
About 10–14 hours for the main campaign depending on difficulty, plus a New Game+ mode that carries over your upgrades for a harder second run.
Is Evil West harder than it looks?
It can be. Late-game arenas mix shielded brutes, exploding creatures and ranged enemies, and higher difficulties demand real combo and parry skills. There are multiple difficulty options, so you can tune it.
Is Evil West on Game Pass or PS Plus in 2026?
Yes — it is included with Xbox Game Pass on console and PC (added in late 2025). On PlayStation it was a PS Plus monthly game in January 2024 and has a 2-hour Premium trial; check your library before buying.
Is Evil West connected to Shadow Warrior?
No, it is a separate universe. It is made by the same studio (Flying Wild Hog), so fans of Shadow Warrior's punchy, fast combat will feel at home.
Is Evil West worth playing in 2026?
Yes, if you want a focused, gory action game with great combat and co-op — especially on Game Pass or under $15. Skip it if you want a strong story or an open world.
Final verdict
Evil West knows exactly what it is: a loud, gory, gloriously dumb action game where an electric fist is the reasonable solution to a vampire problem. The story is disposable and the arena design is old-school, but the combat is top-tier AA work — and full-campaign co-op, New Game+ and constant deep discounts make it an easy recommendation in 2026.
Best for: action-game fans, Shadow Warrior players, co-op duos, and anyone who misses single-purchase AA games.
Skip if: you want narrative depth, open-world freedom or competitive multiplayer.