Wild West Dynasty

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Wild West Dynasty review
Howie Howard

Review

Howdy Pardner..

The early version versus the final version?


Wild West Dynasty is an interesting open world role-playing sim adventure with a western setting. It takes place in 19th century old west. The game by developer Moon Punch Studio and Toplitz Productions first appeared in early access form back in early 2023. Unfortunately, the game lacked a solid western story line and it was filled with bugs. The poor reviews didn't help matters, so a revamped development team was selected and they set to work. As a result of their efforts a totally new and quite solid product that focuses on a western themed story line is the final result. After fixing the games initial problems, a year and a half later it is finally ready for prime time.

Since I didn't play the initial early access version of the game I can't speak much to that other than to say it consisted of a story line that didn't feel western like while focusing mainly on the main characters lost mother. The new opening theme is now very much western looking and it is about a young man that is in the process of migrating west on a small wagon train. The wagon train is attacked by outlaws and our hero is left by himself with the difficult task of finding his five brothers while attempting to build a thriving life in the old west!

Open world western adventure


After an opening sequence that actually looks very good visually, as the main character, you find yourself in a broken down ghost town that is badly in need of repair and indeed, rebuilding. The minor rebuilding processes upon beginning the game act as a pseudo tutorial that requires resource gathering, doing activities like chopping down trees and making logs into planks so that it all can be used for repair. You will also craft items and uncover clues as to what your next steps will need to be in order to accomplish your final task - that being the building of a western dynasty within a 40 year time limit. The dynasty building consists of constructing personal dwellings such as a working ranch. It also includes the development of various towns along with setting up trade routs between towns while attracting and supporting people so they will join your effort.



Wild West Dynasty is an open world adventure that assigns basic and advanced missions that need to be accomplished. Basic missions are simple and generally consist of doing things such as gathering sticks and stones in order to craft a stone axe. Of course you will need to learn the recipe first and this is accomplished by finding objects and examining them. Talking to NPCs is another method of discovering these crafting recipes. Items can then be used or sold. Most if not all items will eventually wear out and trying to find new ones instead of simply crafting them is not the optimal way of doing things. In addition, crafting and building will provide experience points that can be used to improve a characters proficiency in the various skills. The advanced missions are what moves the story line along.

Wandering the plains


Since there isn't a set sequence as far as to the order in which basic missions need to be completed it allows you to wander around the map and enjoy the western atmosphere. While working on the various basic requirements you can also strive to advance the story line. As an example, one of the early advanced missions after completing the opening sequence is to find the outlaw that has plans to a warehouse. To complete this you will need to find the tent city and talk to an NPC there. He directs you to the farmer that isn't far away and the farmer indicates where the outlaw is located. The outlaw tells you what will need to be done in order for him to give you the plans. Everything is laid out in text conversation boxes which makes it fun going from place to place. However, you can take your time while enjoying the process. Along the way you will discover new items that will help in your survival in the various environs present in this open world. Don't forget to drink and eat or your adventure will come to an abrupt end.

I have always been a fan of old west adventures, both in print and in video form. When this game came available for review I was quite excited to be able to check it out. When first starting Wild West Dynasty I thought to myself that the graphics looked similar to Red Dead Redemption. However, once I really started to get in to Wild West Dynasty I discovered that even though the two games resembled each other visually, they were completely different in game play. Red Dead Redemption has a fully scripted story line with chapters that need to be completed in a sequential manner. Wild West Dynasty is all about building a life and surviving by learning how to build and manage things instead of killing them.

What western life is all about


In addition to playing this final release version of the game I also investigated it's progression through early access. I looked at reviews from people that had played the early access version and was surprised to see that the game had received a lot of very negative reviews. People were complaining about the lack of a western theme, that the characters movement came with an annoying clomp, clomp walking sound and that the game was pretty much unplayable because of numerous and game ending bugs. I even watched a couple of play through videos about the early access game and while doing so I said to myself, "Thankfully, this isn't the same game that I am playing right now".

With the above said, I can say that the developers definitely did take to heart what the early access playing folks were telling them about the first version of the game. They then essentially threw out the entire early version and came up with a new and much improved version 1.0 which is what the final release is now.

Is it still buggy?


No, it isn't as buggy as it apparently was in early access but you may be wondering if there are any bugs still present in the game. There were a few but they weren't fatal game ending flaws like were present in early access. Sometimes when entering a building while in third person mode the character can't be seen because the roof obscures the view. A couple of doors in buildings, such as the farmers house, didn't open fully so I had a hard time getting out. One other aspect that I thought could be fixed was the ability to enter a building that contained certain interactive items. As an example, I could look through a buildings window in the beginning town and use the crafting table, but I could not enter the building to retrieve the item I had crafted!

The above are minor issues that the developers will undoubtedly fix because they seem to be constantly releasing updates. After saying that, I will say that I enjoy games where there is a varied way that the ultimate goal can be achieved. In Wild West Dynasty you can be a rancher, a farmer, you can be a miner and dig for gold and you can be sheriff or mayor of your town and chase bandits away. Generally when new games like this are released time is needed for the game to mature. During this time inconstancy's and bugs are fixed with new and improved content being added. I see the same with Wild West Dynasty and I say that because the developers really seem to be dedicated to their game. The fact that they actually took consumers feedback to heart and essentially restarted their project from scratch means a lot. Thus, I see a winner in the new and improved 1.0 version and beyond of Wild West Dynasty!


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8.4

fun score

Pros

A wide open world concept that is true to the old west theme while being full of adventurous things to do!

Cons

A few inconsistencies and minor bugs remain but they are being identified and fixed on a daily basis by the developers.