It starts out feeling like Blood and looking like Hexen II, but it’s neither. Blood West is its own strange beast — a stealthy, immersive sim set in a haunted Wild West. It has a full-fledged stealth system with visibility and noise meters (something I haven’t seen in ages), a proper inventory, merchants, money, XP, and skill upgrades. Enemies drop what they actually use — if someone shoots at you with a shotgun, you can expect to loot one after they’re dead.

It almost plays like Deus Ex, though I’ll admit I don’t clearly remember how Deus Ex plays anymore.

You can’t save freely. Enemies respawn (though I couldn’t figure out exactly when), and every death curses you, lowering your stats. Stack three curses, and you’ll need to complete a mini-quest to cleanse yourself — things like “land 5 headshots” or “stealth-kill 3 enemies.” It’s a clever, punishing mechanic that makes dying feel weighty but not hopeless.

The opening hours are rough until you get your hands on the lever-action rifle — the first weapon that can reliably deliver headshots and carry enough bullets to make a difference. Ammo is shared with the revolver, so it’s plentiful.

At one point, I stumbled upon a unique enemy, the VIP Daughter, tucked away in a cave. I was thrilled — until I discovered she was tied to a quest I had unknowingly ruined. And since there’s only one save slot… no rewards for me. Lesson learned.

One of my favorite quests involves talking to sentient cacti — a senorita cactus, a miner cactus, a sheriff cactus — all fully voiced. The catch? You can only speak to them while drunk. Naturally.

This quest rewards you with a bottomless flask, a perfect complement to the game’s “drunk build.” Earlier you can find a knife that deals bonus damage while drunk but drains health when sober. With the flask, that downside disappears. Later, there’s even a rifle that boosts damage when intoxicated. Truly, this game rewards your inner cowboy lush.

Wendigos are the game’s version of Deathclaws — terrifying but fair. They’ll chase you down, but can’t fit into tight tunnels, letting you snipe them safely. The real menace? Flying skulls. They phase through walls, soak up bullets, and refuse to leave you alone.

By the end of Chapter 1, though, you’re a walking arsenal. The gear and skill design really shine — a knife that restores HP on backstabs, a bow with infinite arrows that costs HP to fire (which you can regain with a Wendigo heart), and merchants who pay you in bullets for headshots.

And yes, the first boss fight fits perfectly in a stealth game: a massive, root-swinging tree that you can weaken by sneaking around and shooting its tendrils to force openings. Brutal but smartly designed.

The second episode shifts to the Louisiana swamps. The enemies here are a bit too tanky — many survive headshots, and the Butchers even wear helmets. Still, I love the addition of volcanic pistols (the kind with a tube instead of a cylinder). More Wild West games should remember those.

Curses return with a vengeance. Dying three times triggers new “curse quests,” like “kill five enemies with fire.” Sounds easy — until you realize fire barely kills anything, and Molotovs don’t stack in your inventory. Thankfully, there are purple “anti-curse” potions for that.

Cursed items also appear here — powerful trinkets with drawbacks. For example, one gives -20% shop prices but can’t be unequipped without dying or using a potion. It’s a smart way to make your gear choices matter.

Halfway through the act, a massive world boss appears — a roaming monstrosity you can see from far away. You can fight it, but you’re meant to sneak past until you weaken it through quests. It’s an unexpected, MMO-like twist that works surprisingly well.

One side quest tasks you with finding a cure for the plague, courted by both a priest and a madam. The cure is guarded by three gunslinging wraiths — nightmares in a shootout unless you find an amulet that makes them ignore you.

There are no traditional “gear sets” in Blood West, but certain combinations feel like it. My favorite: a pistol that grants $5 per headshot and a cowboy hat that restores 5 HP per headshot. Stack enough of those and every five consecutive headshots remove a curse. Satisfying doesn’t even begin to describe it.

The third act ups the ante again. Enemies are so tough that I had to buy the unique revolving buffalo rifle and a gunpowder horn that saves 40% of ammo costs. You descend into a glowing, “radioactive” canyon carved by a massive demon skeleton — no gas mask filters needed, just a crafted one-off mask.

One low point: raiding an indigenous village overrun with invisible enemies called Broken Screams. Sneaking was impossible, ammo ran low, and I had to rely on the chain revolver’s 28-round cylinder just to stay alive.

The Boo Hags, skinless women that can only be killed by fire or instant death, are a highlight — especially one who talks to you, asking for her skin back and muttering that “the night is endless.” Like much of the game’s story, it’s left hauntingly unexplained.

The final boss — a soul totem that turns into a dragon — looks great but feels a bit underwhelming. Its attacks are well-telegraphed, and I mostly just emptied my buffalo rifle until it dropped. Not bad, just less inventive than what came before.

Even with a vague story and occasional frustration, Blood West is one of the most original, satisfying games I’ve played in 2025. Its mix of stealth, immersive-sim design, supernatural western horror, and drunk gunslinger humor make it a rare gem.

A flawed masterpiece — but one that oozes atmosphere, creativity, and whiskey fumes.