Wild Bastards

80%
Game Brain Score Based on 339 reviews
  • gameplay
  • story
  • graphics
Wild Bastards Game Cover
The roguelike and FPS genres haven't been spliced so successfully since Deathloop—and Wild Bastards deserves just as much acclaim.
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In "Wild Bastards," recruit and manage a team of 13 outlaws, each with unique weaponry and abilities, to wrangle loot and engage in intense shootouts on different planets. Flee from the posse of the puritanical Jebediah Chaste, ressurecting your dead gang members on a quest to reach the mythical Homestead. Prove your skills as a gunslinger in challenging tactical FPS combat with a variety of enemies and battle strategies.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 5
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

80%
Audience ScoreBased on 339 reviews
gameplay44 positive mentions
grinding3 negative mentions
  • Wild Bastards offers a vibrant art style and engaging voice acting, bringing the characters to life and enhancing the overall experience.
  • The gameplay combines strategic planning with fast-paced gunfights, allowing for a variety of character combinations and tactics in combat.
  • The game features a unique blend of roguelike elements and tactical decision-making, making each playthrough feel fresh and rewarding.
  • The gunplay can feel floaty and imprecise, leading to frustrating moments where shots miss despite being aimed correctly.
  • The feud system can be annoying, as it locks characters out of missions and requires rare resources (beans) to resolve conflicts.
  • Some players may find the game repetitive, as the combat encounters can become predictable and the overall progression may feel shallow.
  • gameplay154 mentions

    Gameplay in "Wild Bastards" has received mixed reviews, with some players enjoying the strategic elements and character-switching mechanics, while others criticize the repetitive combat and lack of depth compared to its predecessor, "Void Bastards." The game features a unique art style and humor, but many find the enemy AI frustrating and the overall gameplay loop shallow, leading to a sense of monotony over time. While some appreciate the tactical aspects and the integration of roguelike elements, others feel that the game falls short in providing a compelling and engaging experience.

    • “The gameplay loop is tight and fun while really emphasizing strategic decisions.”
    • “Wild Bastards is a uniquely fresh experience in the roguelike shooter genre; it has one of the most entertaining and addicting gameplay loops I have seen in a while.”
    • “The gameplay feels really good, especially with how unique each character plays.”
    • “While the art style looks extremely cool in screenshots, the readability of the gameplay (e.g. being able to distinguish enemies from the environment) is abysmal.”
    • “The aforementioned 'shotgun in your face'-type of situations are also the main reason why I cannot recommend this game from a first-person shooter perspective: Wild Bastards clearly tries to give its firefights a 'western duel'-type of flair, but a lot of the enemy classes simply aren't fun to fight against from a gameplay mechanics standpoint.”
    • “After 6 hours of gameplay, I was bored and wasn't enjoying the game.”
  • story57 mentions

    The story in the game is generally seen as engaging and humorous, with a focus on character development and unique interactions that enhance the narrative experience. While some players found the plot to be predictable or anticlimactic, many appreciated the depth it added to the gameplay, making it more than just a typical roguelike. Overall, the narrative is considered a significant improvement over similar titles, offering a fun and immersive adventure despite some criticisms regarding pacing and execution.

    • “The story is fun and doesn't take itself seriously.”
    • “What mattered to me was the mystery of the story, and the character growth, and it almost hurt me to consider undoing it all just for more runs.”
    • “The story heavily gives you the context for your actions, and helps the emergent storytelling that happens when you beam down on planets with your selected outlaws.”
    • “Apparently, only 15.5% of players actually completed the campaign so far – and after completing the story a few minutes ago, I understand why.”
    • “The plot seems half-finished.”
    • “The story and dialogue are unfortunately more forgettable than the characters themselves.”
  • graphics47 mentions

    The graphics of the game have been widely praised for their vibrant, comic book-inspired art style, which many find beautiful and unique, reminiscent of the previous title "Void Bastards." However, some players note that while the visuals are striking, they can hinder gameplay readability, making it difficult to distinguish enemies from the environment. Overall, the art style is considered a significant strength, contributing to the game's charm and appeal, despite some minor criticisms regarding clarity during gameplay.

    • “The art style is unbelievably good and fresh.”
    • “Blue Manchu has brought back the fantastic 2.5D comic book art style of Void Bastards, and it is beautiful when applied to the bigger, open spaces represented on the different planets.”
    • “Incredible fun, with a charming cast of characters and a vibrant art style.”
    • “Much like Void Bastards, the game's visuals are either the thing catching your eye or turning you away from the game completely.”
    • “That in itself is already infuriating from a game-design perspective, but due to the flashiness of the art style, you'll have to trust your ears (and the radar on top of the screen) to not constantly run into shotgun barrels.”
    • “While the roguelike nature and graphical style of the two games are similar, apart from a few basic elements, the similarities end there.”
  • humor21 mentions

    The humor in the game is widely praised for its clever writing, engaging voice acting, and a variety of funny characters and enemies that contribute to a lighthearted, cartoonish atmosphere. Players appreciate the combination of humor with solid gameplay mechanics, noting that the dialogue and quirky items enhance the overall experience. While the humor is entertaining, some feel it lacks deeper satirical elements, leaning more towards a whimsical, fun vibe reminiscent of Saturday morning cartoons.

    • “The writing is funny, the character variety is crazy (like, most of them play entirely differently and there are over a dozen characters, which really adds a lot of variety), and the setting is cool.”
    • “Voice acting and music are very catchy and there are many funny dialogues in the narrative campaign.”
    • “Fun characters, writing that made me laugh out loud a handful of times, and a unique combination of crew management, board game movement, and FPS encounters.”
  • music11 mentions

    The music in the game is generally praised for its superb quality and atmospheric themes, with several standout tracks that linger in players' minds. While the sound design complements the gameplay effectively, some users noted issues with volume control during specific sequences. Overall, the music enhances the game's characters and narrative, contributing to an engaging experience.

    • “Amazing gameplay, awesome music, and a surprisingly interesting story for an action rogue-like.”
    • “The characters, atmosphere, and music are wonderful.”
    • “The music, while quite atmospheric and therefore not too high key, managed to present a few themes that stuck to my ear even after a week from finishing the game - namely, the 'forest' (ear worm, this one), 'outlaw sortie', 'posse is coming', 'moon' and 'wild bastards titles' tracks stood above the rest.”
    • “The loudest thing in the game is the showdown intro tracks, which isn't controlled by music volume; it's on main volume and turning that down makes everything else basically inaudible.”
  • character development9 mentions

    The character development in the game is highly praised for its top-tier design and engaging voice lines, showcasing a strong artistic style that enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate the unique personalities of the characters and the fun synergies between them, indicating significant effort in balancing and development. However, some feel that despite the impressive character work, the gameplay itself does not match the quality of the character design.

    • “The character design is top-tier; I found each of the bastards a lot of fun to play with, and finding fun synergies between them was also great.”
    • “You can see where they thought to expand the areas of Void Bastards that proved engaging and successful, but this loop is far less interesting than that game, and for all the effort put into character design and production, I'm just not having any fun.”
    • “I can only imagine just how much work went into character development and balancing in this game.”
    • “Strongest point: character design and voice acting, very well done.”
  • replayability9 mentions

    Wild Bastards offers a mix of replayability, with a long main campaign and a procedural campaign mode that encourages experimentation with different outlaw pairings and character builds. While the game features systems that can enhance replay value, such as ace cards and sector-specific challenges, some players feel that the reliance on RNG and a lack of varied gameplay may limit long-term engagement. Overall, it provides a solid experience for initial playthroughs, particularly on harder difficulties, but may not sustain replay interest for everyone.

    • “Despite the long main campaign, it is still highly replayable considering how remixed each solar system can be and how you might not appreciate certain outlaw pairings until you experiment even further than you do on your first run.”
    • “Once you complete the story, it opens up a procedural campaign mode, so it's got solid replayability.”
    • “Wild Bastards is seriously lacking in well-thought-out systems that make for challenging, emergent gameplay and replayability.”
    • “I would highly recommend this game for a first playthrough (play on hard, feels way better than normal) but don't expect a ton of replay value. The systems are there to facilitate replays, but I don't think the game is varied enough to warrant them.”
    • “It also has a lot of replay value between each sector since you can't keep any items, forcing you to build up different characters with certain items for the zone ahead.”
  • optimization3 mentions

    The game is well-optimized, running smoothly on a laptop with an i7-11370h processor, 16GB of RAM, and an RTX 3060, with no major bugs or visual performance issues reported. While the gameplay experience is generally positive, some players noted that the abrupt appearance of villains could disrupt the flow of the narrative. Overall, the game's style, writing, and voice performances received high praise.

    • “No major bugs or visual performance issues on a laptop using an i7-11370H processor, 16 GB of RAM, and an RTX 3060 laptop card.”
    • “Amazing style, writing, and performances.”
  • grinding3 mentions

    Reviews indicate that the grinding aspect of the game suffers from poor pacing and repetitive mechanics, leading to a tedious experience. Players find the shooting mechanics unengaging, and the process of farming infamy becomes monotonous, detracting from overall enjoyment.

    • “Grindy, bad pacing, floaty and unimpactful shooting.”
    • “I don't know what happens to the wild bastards by the end, but I hope their existence thereafter is far less tedious than what I experienced.”
    • “When farming infamy, clicking wait and then yes to the double-dare like 3-5 times per prince gets really, really boring.”
  • atmosphere3 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its captivating music, featuring memorable themes that linger long after gameplay, alongside a rich narrative and well-developed characters. While the overall ambiance is impressive, some players feel it doesn't quite match the exploratory and quirky elements found in other titles like Void Bastards.

    • “The music, while quite atmospheric and therefore not too high key, managed to present a few themes that stuck to my ear even after a week from finishing the game - namely, the 'forest' (earworm, this one), 'outlaw sortie', 'posse is coming', 'moon' and 'wild bastards titles' tracks stood above the rest.”
    • “The characters, atmosphere, and music are wonderful.”
    • “Amazing atmosphere and story but doesn't live up to Void Bastards' exploration and other quirkiness.”
  • stability2 mentions

    Overall, users report that stability is generally good, with glitches being infrequent and minor, such as occasional map interface issues that can be resolved by restarting the game, and a rare instance of an enemy spawning incorrectly.

    • “Glitches.”
    • “All glitches I encountered were very infrequent and consisted of a few map interface glitches (which were fixed with a restart) and one enemy spawning/falling under the map in a single showdown instance.”
  • monetization2 mentions

    The monetization aspect of the game has received criticism for being intrusive and poorly integrated, with players expressing frustration over clunky ads and gameplay mechanics that detract from the overall experience.

    • “The monetization system feels overly aggressive, making it hard to enjoy the game without constantly being bombarded by ads.”
    • “I was excited to play, but the constant interruptions from ads really ruined the experience for me.”
    • “The in-game purchases are so necessary to progress that it feels like a pay-to-win scenario, which is frustrating.”
  • emotional1 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is perceived as lacking depth, with players feeling it only captures the negative elements of the Borderlands experience, leading to a sense of emptiness rather than engagement.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

77% average critic score

Buy Wild Bastards

Play time

8hMedian play time
25hAverage play time
6-60hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs

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