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Summary
There’s a new playful roguelite FPS on the horizon, a spiritual sequel to 2019’s cranky comic-book-styledVoid Bastards. The sophomore release by studio Blue Manchu,Wild Bastardsborrows some structural aspects of the original game, but packages them under a sci-fi western space opera wrapper with new systems and mechanics besides. With publishing duties handled by Maximum Entertainment, this action-RPG FPS leverageselements seen inFTL: Faster Than Light, the lesser-knownBunker Punks, and Blue Manchu’s own predecessor,focusing on bite-sized action sequences framed by strategic map navigation, all with that irreverentBastardstone.
Void Bastardshit the scene back in 2019, offering a hard-edged but hilarious narrative centered on a rotation of prisoners as cannon fodder drifting through a foul-mouthed outer space wilderness. Node by node, an assortment of disposable avatars made their way through the comic-art themed corridors of derelict spaceships, snatching up upgrades, ammo, and resources, and doing their best to inch towards the next zone, at the mercy of hazardous defense systems, scores of mutated ship passengers, space starvation, and the dry humor of an uncaring AI.
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Screen Rantrecently snuck a peek ofWild Bastardsin advance of its upcoming release.The gameplay certainly feels a little likeVoid Bastards, but focusing on abbreviated scraps with randomized enemies in closed-off space-western-themed arenas, all while navigating maps in between the action to snatch up all the goodies and plot the route to the exit. The game feels in touch with the luck-based chaos of the original, but it’s slower-paced overall, and brings over most of the criticisms once levied against the first game intact.
Moseying Down The Cosmic Trail
Wild Bastards' Colorful Crew Hunts for Bell Peppers and Beef
At the start ofWild Bastards, players are introduced to Spider Rosa, an arachnid-themed galactic outlaw traveling the stars with her robot partner Casino on their spaceship, The Drifter. With just a pair of pistols, Spider Rosa beams down to the surface of a planet at a jump gate, then veers off to retrieve her companion, who tumbles elsewhere after the teleporter malfunctions. The two soon link up planetside, at which pointplayers are able to instantly swap between them with a quick jog of the mouse wheel at any time in combat.
Planet mapsfeature various hotspots like a tabletop boardgame, whether they be a quick item pickup, a teleporter that warps them to a different node, or a shop to trade in accumulated cash for special one-off items or gear. In between these points of interest are roving posses, combat roadblocks, and even surprise boss-like encounters which materialize after a few rounds and chase them on the grid, as well as a node which instantly returns the outlaws back to The Drifter, safe and sound.
Overall, these navigational decisions are more interesting and expansive than their equivalent in the previous game and … we saw a lot of potential in this design, which hopefully opens up even more in the finished game.
In familiar roguelite fashion,Wild Bastards' level maps are procedurally generated, with potential reward nodes and routes randomized on each run.There are alternate pieces of gear to find with stat increases or special abilities, and rare drops like golden ace cards, which upgrade an outlaw with a choice of buffs and mutations. Special nodes can even affect the current map layout, weakening roving enemies temporarily, teleporting the player at random, and other interesting functions that add unexpected twists to the increasingly larger and busier planets.
Each warp jump node accessed on The Drifter enables different encounters and planets to land on, with no feasible way to clear them all in one go.Much likeVoid Bastards, this means looking ahead and determining which treasures and risks are worth it, both on the jump nodes and on the planets themselves. Overall, though, these navigational decisions are more interesting and expansive than their equivalent in the previous game and,though the preview only presented a few jumps before coming to a close, we saw a lot of potential in this design, which hopefully opens up even more in the finished game.
Shooting Space Cowboys Is A Drag
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Amid those decisions isWild Bastards’ frequent instanced FPS combat, but it’s unfortunately less successful in play. Combat traps the players in a randomized level – non-boss encounters afford the chance for a quick escape without rewards, though we never felt pressured to make use of that – with enemies crowing at the player and muttering to each other while hiding behind cover for a clean shot. Clearing out enemies abruptly ends the level, though certain pickups are automatically hoovered up before exiting, which is a nice touch.
Fights take place in kettled-in arenas composed of sci-fi western nonsense; think saloons and similar structures, only the signs are made of holographic neon instead of wood.As inVoid Bastards, enemies are all flat 2D sprites with a few shaky frames of animation, and their AI is a mixed bag; they’re either hiding in foliage or cover, practically invisible while able to perfectly hit the player every time, or jogging mindlessly back and forth, effortlessly dodging aimed shots and babbling country nonsense.
We unlocked a third character in the preview named Smoky who introduced fire abilities into the game, and the full release promises a ship full of outlaw companions to swap between.
Chance-to-hit percentiles fail to enliven the action. Somewhat reminiscent of the early 3DFalloutgames, lining up a shot is never a guarantee, with lasers diverting wildly, requiring repeat shots while usually eating damage.Chalk it up to the RPG nature of these types of games, but it’s wholly unsatisfying to scamper after an enemy missing clear shot after clear shot, with snipers landing perfect hits with what seems like one single frame of aiming.
Somebody Liven Up This Saloon
Wild Bastards' Action Often Feels Easy and Inexact, Though Boss Encounters Are Tough
And yet, the game’s combat is easy enough that it’s usually hard to bite the dust in most encounters. Bosses and their adds are exponentially harder, and usually were where our runs met their untimely end, but Casino’s special ability of instantly killing a random enemy can prompt an easy but cheap-feeling win.
While it’s clear that the developers intendWild Bastard’s combat to be as tactical as its map navigation, we rarely found this to be the case.The action fundamentals are just too loose and randomized, the movement mechanics sluggish and strange– reloading feels gummy, the enemy AI is atrocious, and ladders act as teleporters, which are easily abused – and the few powerups that spawn fail to inject chaotic surprises or curveballs.
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Despite its brash title,Wild Bastardsfeels too slow and sedate, and the action proves confusing. It’s not uncommon to just get peppered by lasers from unseen enemies, health devastated by a poorly telegraphed poison swamp, or trudge through a level for a few hidden wandering enemies who will still instantly get their shot off on a dime.
Final Thoughts on the Preview
Wild Bastardscertainly has a few strong elements. The writing is colorful and upbeat, gesturing to the wider lore of the in-game universe, but it’s also less snappy and distinct than the sarcastically grim bureaucratic humor ofVoid Bastards.Full voice acting helps the world feel more alive, but the minimal transition effects and limited character animation counter immersion.
Still,Wild Bastard’s interesting boardgame-like maps and navigation mechanics feel fresh and inspired.Limited movement per turn forces players to think out moves ahead on the more complicated maps, which leads to interesting decisions and compromises on what upgrades and gear can be effectively collected on each map. Furthermore, clearing out character inventory between warp systems prevents the usual momentum-halting resource grind found in these types of roguelites, for the better.
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For now, there’s a good base inWild Bastardsfrom which to build another dynamic FPS roguelite, and we remain excited about the challenges to come past the abbreviated preview portion. We’d love to see the combat and AI sharpen, or at least include more immersive elements, because these wild west environs feel notably lifeless and bland, let alone the gunplay found therein. Hopefully,Wild Bastardsgets a bit wilder prior to release.
Screen Rantreceived a digital PC code for the game, for the purpose of this preview.
