Red Dead meets Stalker in this retro stealth horror from New Blood Interactive, PERFECT for the Xbox Ally with Xbox Play Anywhere

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As a horror fan, I think the Wild West desert is a *perfect* setting for a scary game. Seriously, those huge, empty landscapes with the dark skies and all that sand just create this feeling of total isolation. There’s nowhere to hide! You’re completely exposed, and these creepy creatures just seem to drift across the land like… well, like tumbleweeds. It’s genuinely unsettling!

Blood West, a new stealth-focused first-person shooter from Hyperstrange and New Blood Interactive, perfectly captures the harsh and unforgiving atmosphere of the Old West. These developers clearly have a knack for making that era feel truly desolate and inhospitable.

In Blood West, you play as an Undead Gunslinger who has been brought back to life by a curse. A Shaman tried to give him a proper burial, but failed to prevent his resurrection. Now, the Gunslinger must lift the curse by cleansing the desert he’s trapped in, hoping to finally find peace.

A nostalgic low-res art style and unsightly horrors

Blood West uses a deliberately grainy, old-school art style to create a genuinely unsettling atmosphere. As you explore the vast canyons, swamps, and mountains, the game’s emptiness and wide-open spaces can be disorienting. This sense of isolation makes discovering a distant fort or town feel particularly satisfying.

Every place you go as the Undead Gunslinger is filled with unique characters – both the living and the ghostly. Seeing a town in the distance might give you hope, and spotting a vaguely human shape can be equally arresting. While some people will simply hire you to hunt monsters while they’re intoxicated, many other cursed creatures are just as likely to attack you on sight.

You’ll encounter flying warriors with guns, and a mysterious woman in vintage clothing who might offer a quest – or become a dangerous enemy if her mask is removed. Beware of zombies dragging their coffins as shields, and spectral beings haunting the Gunslinger as he tries to lift a curse.

Guns blazing or quick and quiet

Blood West blends first-person shooting with stealth and RPG elements. Though you can fight directly, the game encourages a more subtle approach. Most enemies have specific weaknesses, but often a simple sneak attack – like a knife in the back or an arrow to the head – will do the trick. Eliminating foes from a distance lets you avoid alerting others, but it demands careful planning and using distractions.

As you get close to enemies, a meter shows whether they can see or hear you. If the meter fills, they’ll start chasing you! But if you sneak up unnoticed, you can usually take them down quickly and quietly. Defeating enemies and finishing quests rewards you with skill points, which you can use to improve your abilities – like aiming more accurately or using less stamina in combat.

Blood West offers a huge variety of weapons, letting you fight the terrifying creatures in any way you like. You can charge in with guns like rifles and shotguns, or get up close with knives, axes, or bows. And if things get really tough, explosives are always an option! The game is designed to be played your way – you can customize the difficulty and choose perks and upgrades to create a uniquely challenging and rewarding experience.

Blood West is now available to play on Xbox Series X|S and on PC. Thanks to Xbox Play Anywhere, buying the game once lets you enjoy it on all your Xbox devices. The standard version includes the complete story across three scenarios. If you want even more, you can also purchase the ‘Dead Man’s Promise’ DLC, which adds a new chapter to the story. This DLC is available on its own or as part of the ‘Blood West: Dead Man’s Edition’ bundle.

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2025-11-01 18:09