Hard West 2 - Gameplay Trailer

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As long as it is a "real" game this time with an over-arcing story and progression and not an episodic adventure again, I am all in. From what I saw so far it looks good.
 
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As long as it is a "real" game this time with an over-arcing story and progression and not an episodic adventure again, I am all in. From what I saw so far it looks good.

Ah, I was trying to remember what had made me stop playing the game and you hit the nail on the head.
If it's not like this in this one, then I'll have a look.
 
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You can request access to the playtest, I tried and got access immediately. It's a 8-GB download (requires more on the disk).

I have doubts about the card feature, I hope it's only a mini-game and not a deck-based RPG.
 
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I have doubts about the card feature, I hope it's only a mini-game and not a deck-based RPG.

It looks like selecting different poker hands give different abilities depending on what you have equiped.

Certainly a bit wierd and I'm not sure what the point of it is? Better hands unlock more powerful abilities? I dunno and I am also unconvinced.
 
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Quick impressions after one hour.

Meh, I have mixed feelings. I don't know if that's the tutorial taking over, limiting actions or just an awkward interface but I have the feeling of only partially controlling the game. Since the tutorial blocks many features until they're "learned", it doesn't help. It's possible to skip the tutorial but I guess it's not advised the first time.

The combat is turn-based with AP, alternating the whole party then all the enemies. The abilities are very different and each character has special abilities, which makes the combat tactics interesting. Luck, cover and other elements determine the outcome of the action. Something new to me when attacking a train, the background keeps moving by but it's turn-based, which gives a funny feeling.

Indeed cards can be found and held by characters to give them extra advantages like speed or luck. It probably doesn't make it very easy to select those advantages vs more representative icons, but we've seen a similar system in other games like STALKER, Encased or Dishonored.

Exploration works with a world map and locations, some are real locations and others are vignettes. Again this lack of freedom though: I arrived at a location which directly lead to a combat, and once it was finished I found myself directly back on the world map, unable to enter the location again to check the place or get loot (I think it's automatic - I couldn't check since I didn't have access to the inventory yet).

Most dialogues are spoken, but not all (which I prefer), it seems more or less random. The voice acting is well made, very Hollywood/Western-style.

Graphics are fine, the western / dark fantasy theme which is well rendered. The camera controls are not perfect and sometimes there are glitches or the action is not entirely visible, but overall it's OK. It's made with Unity, so I tuned down a few graphics options, but overall it's not as problematic as some other games; it should run normally on most cards.

It's definitely interesting and has potential but really needs to be made less confusing. I hope it's only the tutorial that gives that impression of being on a rail track and having the controls snatched from me on a regular basis.
 
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I liked the first one, and @Darkheart; it does have a real story. All the characters are in the last episode, and the farther you progress the more the various characters come together. I do find it far more a tactics game in the spirit of Shadow Tactics or Desparados than an rpg. It sounds like @Redglyph; that the mechanics are pretty much the same as in the first game. The cards are like magic rings or talismans in a fantasy rpg. The highlight of the first one was the story telling and atmophere. Each scenario is basically sort of a puzzle map. Your party will die outright in an open assault, so you have to create a path to your goal by picking off enemies one at a time, et. I think if go into thinking its a classic rpg you wil be disappointed.
 
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It doesn't feel much like a classic RPG, as @forgottenlor; said.

I've played a little more, now I'm free of this tutorial at last. It seems like the local areas are only for combat, so far I've not been able to be in a local area for anything else.

There are a few side fetch quests, sometimes it's only finding another location, going through a dialogue, then going back to the original location. Everything may only be vignettes and not actual locations since they seem reserved for combat. It's also possible to camp, discuss with the other characters of the party to get to know them better and get their trust, or to regain health if you have provisions.

I can see the interest and there's certainly a special atmosphere, but I'm afraid this game is not for me, I find it too limiting.
 
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Looks interesting, I like the battles with moving backgrounds. It's a simple trick but it does catch the eyes.

Hope it's fun and relatively free of glitches.
 
already wishlisted for some time, looking foward to it
 
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It's been over six years since I last played the first Hard West, and I keep meaning to do a replay of that game! I'm still going to try and make that happen before the sequel is fully unleashed.
 
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I liked the first Hard West 2 and I now played through the demo version of this one, and I like it as well.

Looks great, appears very polished already. I also love the setting.

It is first and foremost a tactics game. Like King Arthur Knights Tale for example. So the focus is combat. But it is embedded in a lot of story and some exploration on the world map at least.

I also like the combat mechanics which are somewhat unconventional.
One core mechanic is to do the killing blow with the right character at the right time, as that refreshes your AP. Another one is to use surrounding for reflections.
And even though it's an ability of only one of your character, this ability also has a huge impact on the tactics part: Switching positions with enemies over large distances.

So far I am very positive about the game and looking forward to the release version
 
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I also like the combat mechanics which are somewhat unconventional.
One core mechanic is to do the killing blow with the right character at the right time, as that refreshes your AP.

Yes, the choice can make a huge difference!

I found that Laughing Deer was very weak at first, but on the 3rd fight or so, he could finish off many opponents when they were close to one another. A real war machine, almost exaggerated.

It's only beta so they are probably still tuning all that. Someone who likes tactical combat and the settings should enjoy this game for sure.
 
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The first game didn't really grab me, but maybe I'll check this out since the Beta is free to play.
 
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I also just did a Preview of the game, which consists for the first battle, the last battle, and some stuff in between to explain all the mechanics:
 
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