Far Far West is a run-and-gun 1-4 co-op shooter that takes players to the haunted Wild West. Read our review of its early-access build to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
Everything We Know About Far Far West
Far Far West Plot
Far Far West takes place in a reimagined version of the Wild West that includes supernatural elements such as undead enemies, cursed locations, and other unexplained threats. Players take on the role of robot bounty hunters working under a local sheriff, accepting contracts to track down and eliminate targets across these dangerous regions.
Far Far West Gameplay
Far Far West is a co-op roguelite first-person shooter where players take on bounty contracts either solo or in teams of up to four, venturing into hostile regions filled with enemies, objectives, and environmental hazards. Each run plays out across procedurally varied maps, where players must explore, complete contract goals, and defeat powerful bosses before extracting with their rewards. The structure encourages balancing risk and reward, as staying longer can lead to better loot but increases the danger.
Combat combines traditional gunplay with ability-based attacks, allowing players to switch between weapons and spells to take down ever-increasing threats. Between runs, players return to town to upgrade weapons, enhance abilities, and customize their builds through perks, enabling different playstyles such as damage-focused, support-oriented, or precision-based approaches.
Far Far West Release Date
Released on April 28, 2026, Far Far West is now available to be purchased in Early Access on Steam for $19.99.
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 Steam |
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| $19.99 |
Far Far West Review [Early Access]: The Fun Side of The Wild West
Partner, It’s Shooting Time
Although I mainly play cozy games, simulation games, and RPGs in my spare time, I do fancy myself a shooter game every once in a while to let off some steam. There is simply nothing like gunning down chumps with a loaded rifle or shotgun, leading you to victory.
This isn’t actually my first rodeo with Far Far West. I was lucky enough to catch its demo during the Steam Next Fest last February. Taking on the challenge with a friend, we rode into the game’s desert lands, not expecting that it would become one of the most entertaining games we’ve had the privilege of playing back then.
Now, it’s here, in Early Access, and so far, it’s delivering exactly what it did on day one, made bigger and better.
Giddy-Up To The Far West
Welcome, ye olde cowboy or cowgirl, to the Wild West. In this deserted wasteland that is seemingly ruled by a mysterious floating skull in the sky named the Cryptic Overseer and where land stretches as far as the eye can see, you are a bounty-hunting robot who makes a living by taking dangerous contracts from the Town Sheriff, teaming up with up to three other friends (or three other players from around the world through public matchmaking).
And...that’s the main premise of it. The game doesn’t suffer from the lack of solid lore—after all, you’re here to shoot down crazed skeletons, Marauders, ghastly vultures, and terrifying bosses like there’s no tomorrow. It’s a task, and it must be done. Rinse and repeat until satisfied, probably about…several hours in.
For lore lovers, though, there is a bit of lore scattered throughout the maps. There are several questlines from NPCs to finish that add a dash of worldbuilding to the whole thing. For instance, the first NPC you’d probably encounter is Dr. Spark-Twist, who has ongoing beef with the military-like Marauders taking up space in the desert. Finishing his short questline will unlock a new map for digging further into lore—and with extra rewards to boot.
Shoot, Run, And Shoot Some More—And Solve Puzzles I Guess
Far Far West’s main mechanic, if it isn’t quite obvious enough, is first-person shooting. It feels similar in gameplay to Risk of Rain 2, if only Risk of Rain 2 had undead robot cowboys, wasn’t technically endless, and was played in the first person.
As mentioned before, gameplay revolves around taking on contracts by the Town Sheriff and fulfilling them for EXP and gold. As such, players are generally well-equipped for such risky undertakings—a main gun, a secondary gun, up to three magic spells, a trusty horse, and extra utilities for some ammo on the go. Along the way, you also get card skills called "Jokers" that enhance your battle capabilities, such as an additional 10% fire rate when in ADS (aim down sights) mode.
Whether solo or with up to three other Steam friends (or new friends, if you’re in a public lobby), you venture out into the map of the selected mission and complete all sorts of objectives.
When you first drop into a map, the world is pretty much your oyster. There is no hard time limit, allowing you to explore the map at your leisure. That’s where the other half of the fun gameplay comes in—traversing the rather large map either on foot or on your mount and taking on side objectives, smaller areas with environmental puzzles, NPC quests, and even a few collection-type activities like finding the graves of fallen souls across the land.
In any game, I never go straight to the main objective first, hoping to discover more about the world around me. Far Far West tickles that itch perfectly, with several side quests and cool locations to discover. Fortunately, it’s not just for sightseeing—a lot of mini locations have some kind of objective to fulfill, all while you’re gunning down foes in between.
So far, I’ve encountered a match-2 type of puzzle in a graveyard, a power-line-forming puzzle with batteries (even here, away from Arknights: Endfield, I’m still putting up power lines), and shooting down ghoulish teal skull heads like targets to unlock a chest, to name a few. And this is only on one map so far, which makes me excited for what’s more to come when I get stronger and progress more through the game.
A mission run concludes when the main objective is fulfilled, the map’s boss is defeated, and players are able to extract themselves successfully and get picked up by the sheriff's train. Upon returning to the safety of the town, you then use your hard-earned Gold and Souls (simply acquired by defeating enemies or solving environmental puzzles) to upgrade your hero or your guns or to purchase permanently equippable Jokers separate from the temporary ones you get from a mission. Or, if you’re into cosmetics, spend them on skins for your character, mounts, or new emojis to use with other players.
And…you do this cycle all over again until you get tired of it, which is something I say lightly. The simple gameplay loop, the smoothness of it all, and the sheer entertainment it brings are so insanely addicting that I had to reluctantly pry myself off the game.
There are no immensely complex gameplay mechanics here—shoot, take on bosses, upgrade, and repeat. It’s easily replayable with just a dash of variety, a solid progression line to follow, and several maps to discover—it doesn't get stale as quickly as it should.
Fun, Challenging Bosses
As mentioned previously, the culmination of a contract run is defeating the boss at the end after completing a main objective, and boy, I’m sure the developers had a blast putting them together, design and mechanics and all.
The one that stuck out the most to me was the Cryptic Saloon, which…is exactly what it says on the tin. It is, quite literally, a dilapidated saloon possessed by an aggravated spirit and now causes chaos by unleashing torrents of spiritual energy through laser beams and hurricanes. It made my jaw drop in shock and amusement the first time I saw it in the demo, and I’m glad to be facing it again in the Early Access build. I think it’s even stronger this time around…
The Cryptic Vulture and Cryptic Train are also formidable bosses in their own rights, and it surprises me how the developers’ creativity led them to create such interesting bosses with unique mechanics. Not one boss plays exactly the same as the other, with skills tailored to their forms. True to its name, the Cryptic Vulture flies up and down in rapid succession to send out damaging shockwaves, which must be dodged through timed jumps. The Cryptic Train attacks by ramming itself into a targeted player, dealing devastating damage.
Their creativity seems to have no bounds, and I’m definitely looking forward to meeting more of their bosses across the different maps that have yet to be unlocked. I’ll definitely be heading to Area 41 after this.
Audiovisuals Elevate The Experience Even More
It not only plays good, but it looks and sounds good too. Visuals are smooth and pleasing to the eyes, with a cartoony flair that’s more charming than silly. Against the backdrop of grey dust and brown sand, the choice of vibrant, almost neon colors for most of the UI and for most of the game’s collectibles is an interesting contrast. Most likely they were chosen for ease of access and clarity, but they don’t feel ugly or out of place.
Audio is weighty and meaningful, with each bullet from the gun or the clack of your mount’s hooves against the ground making it more immersive and appealing. The music tracks that play when completing objectives are also a big plus, especially the ones that play during boss battles—it adds to the hype and excitement of it all amidst the mix of fun and panic you feel trying to survive the onslaught.
With all of that said, the game is well-optimized, which is practically a requirement for a first-person shooter. No stutters, no lags, even when the horde gets too big. It’s a smooth experience through and through, allowing for a more satisfying overall playthrough.
It’s Best To Bring A Friend To The Wild West
When a game says it’s playable for 1-4 players, it’s usually just a suggestion. Well, for Far Far West, it might as well be the optimal way to play. While the game is playable solo, I highly recommend dragging some friends along or at least dipping your toes into the public matchmaking lobbies. I know, a high order for most, especially for people like me who love single-player games. But I kid you not, the Wild West is better dealt with in a squad.
Solo is definitely doable, but it’s evidently tailored to a co-op experience, so even the "normal" difficulty becomes hard when playing solo. The game stays the same whether you’re playing alone or with others—the hordes don’t lessen to accommodate the lack of players, puzzles and quests are twice as tedious when done alone, and there is simply no handicap for solo players. Of course, unless you like the challenge.
It’s not a negative point at all, but I felt I should point it out for those players who might be hesitant to play in a squad. Not only do things get much easier to deal with while still having that nice dash of challenge, but also the game is generally much more entertaining when there’s two, three, or four of you shooting down hordes of hostile enemies.
Cactus Side Quest Is Way Too Tedious
I have one major complaint though—the cactus family quest is quite laborious, so much so that I gave up on completing it even after I found all the baby cacti. The cactus family side quest (or quests—there are several of them) tasks you with reuniting a mama or papa cactus with their missing child. They have been separated for a number of reasons, with most of them dealing with an overly eager and curious child wanting to explore the Wild West. It’s your job to take these baby cacti back to where they belong.
Finding them is easy—both parent and child cacti glow a neon purple, which is striking against the dusty fog of the desert. It’s the trek to and fro that’s exhausting as hell. You can’t ride your mount while holding onto a baby cactus and are instead forced to walk all the way back to wherever the parent cactus is. These plants sure have legs of steel, because they’re not just conveniently nearby—they can be as far as over 500, 600 meters away from each other. This guy in particular with the flowery head was at the directly opposite side of the map to its papa.
Feels short, I know, but when your normal walking speed is not as fast as it should be while holding a prickly cactus…it’s more daunting than anything. Far Far West also does not have the option to sprint, with player characters only able to dash momentarily, like a dodge. And the world doesn’t stop for a bounty hunter doing some goodwill for some cacti—you will, inevitably, run into those random enemies scattered across the map and will need to defeat them first before moving on.
It just feels like way too much work for a mini quest, and it feels extra slow in comparison to the heated, adrenaline-pumping action of the rest of the game, which drags down the whole experience. Perhaps what added to its dullness was the fact that I was doing it all alone, but even with other players around perhaps as bodyguards or some sort, like a convoy...it still feels a bit slower than the rest of the game.
Not sure if this is a limited-time event as part of Cactus Day, but if it sets the precedent for future events, then I’m not too thrilled to be doing this kind of tedious back and forth trekking. I love myself a side quest, but this isn’t it, Chief—er, Sheriff.
Definitely Taking My Horse To The Old Town Road
Nevertheless, Far Far West is one addictive game even at Early Access, and the developers seem bent on making the experience even bigger, even better, as the months go by. Of course, there’s nowhere else to go but up as with any Early Access title, yet there’s something about a game that already has a really satisfying and memorable foundation that makes you want to look forward to it even more.
Smooth controls, a rewarding progression system, simple-to-understand but challenging-to-master gameplay mechanics, several maps to discover, tons of replayability—there’s not much in the way of major issues aside from the tedious cactus quest and the giant hurdle of difficult solo playing. Rest assured, I will be on my toes, armed with my trusty revolver, while waiting for what’s next to come for this title.
I’m going to have to contract a party of friends to traverse the Wild West with me as robot cowboys—I won’t be leaving here any time soon.
Game8 Reviews
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Far Far West Product Information
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| Title | Far Far West |
|---|---|
| Release Date | April 28, 2026 (Early Access) |
| Developer | Evil Raptor |
| Publisher | Fireshine Games |
| Supported Platforms | Steam |
| Genre | Action, Adventure, Indie |
| Number of Players | 1-4 |
| ESRB Rating | RP |
| Official Website | Far Far West Official Website |
