Hard West 2
Hard West 2
Game
Game2015
Hard West
Developer CreativeForge Games
Hard West is a turn-based tactical game developed by CreativeForge Games and published by Gambitious Digital Entertainment. It was released digitally on November 18, 2015, for Microsoft Windows, OS X and Linux, and was released for the Nintendo Switch on March 7, 2019. A sequel, Hard West 2, was released in August 2022. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
215 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
52
Mixed
94 positive · 88 negative
95% range 44–59%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 94 | 88 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 7 | 1 | 21 |
| Mastodon * | 2 | 1 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
2,001 of 2,737 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
51% recommend · 93 yes, 88 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 181 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (3,690 of 4,940 positive).
Players praise the unique Weird West setting and supernatural elements. [1][2][3] Many reviewers complain about game-breaking bugs that persist years after release. [4][5][6] Some players find the combat enjoyable but note it is not a true XCOM clone. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [15]
Currently there is a glitch that sometimes a person (occasionally happens to the enemy also but not nearly as often as to your characters) that they wont finish moving into the last square. They just shift back and forth in the square and there is no way around it. I tried quick saving but that doesn't work in mission and the only way to get out of that loop is to restart or exit to menu (which is just like …
- [5]
game breaking bug of Game get stuck at "Enemy Turn" that was reported in 2015 and still there https://steamcommunity.com/app/307670/discussions/0/451848855004756626/?ctp=2 https://forums.snapshotgames.com/t/constantly-getting-stuck-on-enemy-turns/4107 https://www.reddit.com/r/Wasteland/comments/inj6i6/enemy_turn_stuck_bug/ https://steamcommunity.com/app/307670/discussions/0/1742232339930371200/?l=spanish&ctp=2 No …
- [1]
Xcomlike in the old west with monsters and other spooky shenanigans. The DLC campaign even has a monster building from component parts you find which is pretty rad. It's quite solid entry in the genre with its own relatively unique setting and it goes for a pair of bucks on sales so... I recommend it if you like what you read so far.
- [14]
It's not as polished as the new XCOMs, but Hard West is an enjoyable Turn-Based-Tactics game with an interesting setting, decent stories, and multiple bite-sized campaigns. Worth checking out for fans of the genre!
- [2]
An interesting and different take on the Old West. Several campaigns with different base mechanics add variety and the campaigns are liberally sprinkled with supernatural elements. Frickin' zombie outlaw revenge FTW.
Summarised from 34 of the 213 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 9, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
51% of the 181 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Hard West. The complaint that keeps coming up: game-breaking bugs like characters stuck on tiles. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Aggregate review website Metacritic assigned it a score of 73/100 based on 42 critic reviews. Vince Ingenito from IGN awarded it a score of 7.3/10, saying "Hard West trades some tactical grit for a touch of mystical fun, and a flair for the supernatural." Tyler Wilde of PC Gamer awarded it a score of 6.1/10, saying "The presentation is aced, but Hard West's turn-based combat is too rote to be engrossing." Zack Fumiss from Destructoid awarded it a score of 5/10, saying "What I'd really like to see is a tabletop game in this setting, because it honestly feels like it might be better suited in that realm. Either way, I hope there'll be a reason to come back. Brett Todd of GameSpot awarded it…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 215 · most liked first---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☑ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☐ Kids ☑ Teens ☐ Adults ☐ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☑ Potato ☐ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer ---{…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Xcomlike in the old west with monsters and other spooky shenanigans. The DLC campaign even has a monster building from component parts you find which is pretty rad. It's quite solid entry in the genre with its own relatively unique setting and it goes for a pair of bucks on sales so... I recommend it if you like what you read so far.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Currently there is a glitch that sometimes a person (occasionally happens to the enemy also but not nearly as often as to your characters) that they wont finish moving into the last square. They just shift back and forth in the square and there is no way around it. I tried quick saving but that doesn't work in mission and the only way to get out of that loop is to restart or exit to menu (which is just like restarting due to the game not saving in the middle of a mission and you cant quick…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Original and creative take on the Weird West genre. The most important thing to know: This isn't XCOM despite the press saying so based on game featuring turn based combat. This isn't role playing game either. There are different main characters in different chapters of game. Game has several scenarios, most of them with different main character. Over course of scenario there are characters that can be recruited to main characters crew called posse in game. Turn based tactical combat is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ran into a game breaking bug where the screen goes black and you save is corrupted (same fight causes the same problem every time). It has been a problem since before 2018 so no chances of it ever getting fixed so there is no way i can recommend a broken game regardless if it was fun up to this point or not. (game time inflated as i had it in the background a lot, only got through 4 scenarios of 8) Devs were even aware of it being a problem and promised to fix it to calm people that were…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →game breaking bug of Game get stuck at "Enemy Turn" that was reported in 2015 and still there https://steamcommunity.com/app/307670/discussions/0/451848855004756626/?ctp=2 https://forums.snapshotgames.com/t/constantly-getting-stuck-on-enemy-turns/4107 https://www.reddit.com/r/Wasteland/comments/inj6i6/enemy_turn_stuck_bug/ https://steamcommunity.com/app/307670/discussions/0/1742232339930371200/?l=spanish&ctp=2 No fix for it. Shame, game seemed fun :(
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Meh... All the difficulty boils down to the HP and power of weapons. And since there are skills which help you with HP of enemies, it all boils down to get them before final fight. Other than that- 1 shot per round (with like 3-4 weapons allowing 2 WOW) and not being able to use "Overwatch", like X-COM-games, all the tactics in the battle you need is "run around from cover to cover and try to flank your enemies". Even in battles where you're defending some house. So... they took X-COM, made…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Seriously F this game. Over 10 years, they couldn't fix the problem where the game freeze in a state after the character moved, and you need to restart the whole mission. I've tried every workaround, turned the v-sync on and such, but as soon as I started liking the game boom, freeze when only 1 enemy remained.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →4/10. Sat in my library for ages and finally played it. Great presentation, all the characters are wretched villains or outright demons, the campaign is dark and macabre. Unfortunately it's a nearly 10 year old stale X-com clone (and combat-wise one of the weakest clones), I forced myself to finish the main game to see the story end but went limp on the DLC, it's all so tiresome
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hard West is a Weird Western (Old West story + supernatural horror/dark fantasy) and it uses the genre very well. It has fantastic storytelling and lore, great narration, gorgeous hand-drawn art, and fun turn-based tactical combat, with interesting mechanics like the Luck and poker-card ability systems. Unfortunately, I can't recommend it because of the bugs. By the second campaign, characters were getting stuck walking back and forth on a single tile, and battles kept freezing during enemy…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am STUNNED at all the negative reviews. I'm not talking about people who might have experienced game breaking bugs, which I haven't personally. In fact, I haven't encountered a single noticeable bug! But reading many of them referring to this game constantly as "XCOM clone" just proves how ignorant these people are, and of what mindset they come to write a negative review for a game that does not deserve it! Hard West stands on its on solid feet as an immersive exciting turn-based game.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Happy to see that Hard West 2 is making the leap from PC to Xbox and PlayStation! I had a great time writing this game with Rafał Sadowski and working with the rest of the crew at Ice Code Games and Good Shepherd Entertainment. Go check it out! youtu.be/DFdpMoQ3b8c?...
positive · AI labelView post →Video gamers! My friends at Ice Code Games (I co-wrote Hard West 2 with them) just launched their latest game into Early Access on Steam. Go check out Nightmare Frontier! store.steampowered.com/app/3310950/...
neutral · AI labelView post →game breaking bugs suck. enemies that you cant even see get stuck on ♥♥♥♥ and the only fix is to restart mission. happens so often it would be a chore to complete this game. dont buy this garbage
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An amazeballs tactical RPG that clutched me and didn't let go until I concluded it. This is exactly what was absent in XCOM: a cohesive spiel with unpredicted twists, enthralling personas, flexibility in gear dispersal and skill acquisition, engrossing mechanics and varied scenarios... and yes, even options with consequences. 🧠The game perfectly captures the aerosphere of the Wild West, cynical and grimly pragmatical. The devs took an uncommon step, they weren't afraid to embody mysticism…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am enjoying the game but sadly there are so many bugs and the game just locks up without the ability to save and reload the options to solve it make it even more limited. I'm 75% into the second act and got a game ending map screen bug where my map marker is no longer on the map to move from point of interest to point of interest. Forced to start over or just give up. I've got too many games competing for my time to just start this over so I'm giving up. Can't believe they haven't fixed this…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The combat is very entertaining, the best part imo. Couldn't really get into the story myself but it feels like there isn't really much differentiation between scenarios. It kinda felt like I was just going through the motions when navigating the map. click here, click here, click here, battle, repeat. The game reached a point of no further movement during my run on the last scenario for the girl. With nothing fixing movement and after trying everything other than starting over, i'll call it.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Given the game suffers from a bug that can and in my case did give an in-game black screen of death, causing you to lose all progress and also given that this bug has been documented as being in play for some years and has not been fixed - this is probably one of my easier 'not recommending' reviews. An utter and complete waste of time.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →When this game first came out it was fantastic. I bought the 2nd on sale in anticipation of beating this and then getting to that. Unfortunately, it takes me literally years to finish games because I A. Have hundreds of them, and B. Don't have a whole lot of time. So when I finally got back to this gem of a game, I was saddened to find out that you can't even play it anymore. As a couple other reviews have said, when players move they will just get locked in place quickly flipping back and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wanted to like this game. I really did. But I can only handle so much of having to constantly restart every single mission due to characters repeatedly getting stuck on geometry while moving and locking the mission on that character's turn. Between this and other gamebreaking bugs that have apparently been around for years and never fixed, it's hard to recommend this game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's not as polished as the new XCOMs, but Hard West is an enjoyable Turn-Based-Tactics game with an interesting setting, decent stories, and multiple bite-sized campaigns. Worth checking out for fans of the genre!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The short of it. GREAT game. But ONE BUG makes it un-playable! player does a move, NPC gets stuck in place and NPC's turn does not end... making the game not playable You spend literally 30 min or many times MUCH more getting to a point where all enemies are killed off, and you're safe to do whatever TASK required to complete the "mission" "stage" and you cannot move on due to this HUGE BUG. You have to RESTART and do everything all over again after HOURS of time wasted. (added to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game didn't get me hard at all!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I couldn't get into this game either as a strategy game or as an RPG. The cover and luck mechanics create some incredibly dull scenarios. Prepare to forever shuffle back and forth between full cover, trying to bait enemies into leaving their position. In many missions you will only have one or two guys with very limited interesting options for flanking and positioning, so you are forever turtling behind cover in deeply boring skirmishes of endless attrition. Your turn takes 30 seconds as you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Cap Refresh Rate to 60hz or 120hz and game works. Characters no longer get stuck. This took me to long to figure out. Game fun though.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hard West 2 was an enormous success with very positive reviews & around 42k - 134.5k units sold. Unlike its predecessor, in Hard West 2 the experience shifts from the methodical, luck-based encounters of the first game to a faster, more aggressive puzzle-like combat system. #gamedev #indiegamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →I would really like to love this game - the narration, story and setting are great, the gameplay can be a bit clunky, but has several interesting ideas and, overall, is enjoyable enough to not drop the game, BUT there are several game breaking bugs. Even though usually there are some kind of fixes and workarounds, the game does not have manual saves, so in order to fix some of them, you need to replay last 1-2 hours (sometimes several times, if the first fix does not work). I had 3 or 4…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There are a lot of enemies, and they all move very slowly, without any way to speed them up. As a result, you play for 2 minutes, then spend 10 minutes watching how the enemies walk. It’s ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ interesting
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm unable to play this game due to the incredibly terrible pathing AI. Characters are constantly getting stuck moving back and forth in place. It doesn't matter if the character is against an object or not. I have to constantly restart missions, it's absolutely awful and downright unacceptable. The game had a great premise, but it's unplayable for me :(
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Kinda like a bad XCOM. I know that's what inspired this, but this is implemented poorly. Also buggy. I got soft locked in the tutorial twice. Had to restart. Also some mechanics are just not explained, such as reaction shots.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good game with some interesting systems, like turn based gunplay with no random dice rolls. Nice atmosphere too, very grimdark.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An interesting and different take on the Old West. Several campaigns with different base mechanics add variety and the campaigns are liberally sprinkled with supernatural elements. Frickin' zombie outlaw revenge FTW.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →peanut would love some pets and treats :) 🌸＞ フ | _ _ l ／` ミ＿xノ / | / ヽ ﾉ │ | | | ／￣| | | | | (￣ヽ＿_ヽ_)__) ＼二つ
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really want to like this game, most of it feels really solid... then a round will happen where one of the pieces can't get the exact pathing right to their next spot, so they sort of vibrate over their destination while refusing to end their turn. Then I have to back out to the menu and start the fight over. Again. I literally can't finish the game, so I'm putting this down as a no. Maybe it's just a problem with my computer and things will work out better for you. Good luck.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was not a fan of this one. Played about half the campaign contents but I found the gameplay very repetitive, and as other reviewers have noted, the RPG choices are not very interesting and often force you to act/play in a certain way anyway. The poker hand concept was brilliant, but some of the execution was not great, like some of the best poker hands giving a dull bonus (a bit more HP) whereas ironically some of the lower poker hands produce more interesting benefits.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Short "review": I played this almost 7 years ago and stopped for reasons that elude me today. Since Hard West 2 is on sale now I wanted to revisit this one to make the decision easier, maybe get into the mood even more. After a few hours I "quit to menu" and after that no loading of a savefile or continue was possible. Read online that it should save when quitting from the world map like I did. So I tried it - rushed through the prologue, quit like before aaaaand - there was the possibility…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →even ignoring all the unworkable bugs, and the jarring design decisions, its just a bunch of different systems that don't quite come together and ended up making up a mediocre game. I lost interest after only a few stages
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →full of bug's... on starting every thing is Ok then 1000 restart maybe it's solve the issues... any way it's remove from my sys.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →bad bug, you get stuck in a loop that you cant get out of ( movement ) very frustrating , have to restart
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Interesting story line that slowly brings various threads together as you progress. Fun turn based combat with a creative use of "luck" as a combat resource. Has a very strong "Deadlands TTRPG" feel to it, which I loved.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game *Was* amazing, but now it's unplayable due to a bug. Often when a character moves to a position, they'll walk back and forth to find the right spot. Normally just a small delay, but if it goes just wrong, the character will flicker back and forth and will never settle. Currently the only way to get out of it is to restart and lose all progress.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's not horrible. It's also just not good. Not when there's too many other far better turn-based strategy games. The UI / controls are especially subpar. The story is nothing impressive. I would definitely not buy it now if I knew what it was like.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →DO NOT BUY THIS GAME. There is a game-breaking bug where you cannot move on the map. You can't do anything to resolve the problem other than restart the scenario, and even then, you can still encounter the bug again. The only way to avoid this bug is to play each scenario from start to finish in one sitting.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Summary: A pretty solid tactics game with a very interesting way of handling RNG. Don't be fooled by the hit chances, you can always know when you are going to get hit in this game. Had some serious stuttering and lag all the time, probably a memory or engine leak in this game. A little buggy. Story is okay, setting is cool. Music is excellent. I would only get this on sale, and luckily it goes on sale pretty cheap. If you are a tactics lover, you should get it regardless. The luck system…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is THE-TRUTH-OF-WHAT-IS-HAPPENING-WITHIN/AGAINST-UKRAINE: “We will return this territory, and build the Great Khazaria – the jewish state –on these fertile lands the same way as, 50 years ago, we created israel.” -mashiach, menachem mendel schneerson, circa 1994. The rebbe and living-mashiach of chabad-mafia was the leader of the jewish people from 1951-1994; he is considered to be the most influential jewish figure in the past centuries. schneerson considered more than Jerusalem and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I bought this game and played the first hour without any problems. The gamplay is really fun and the story is interesting, but I just can't continue because of a game breaking bug. During combat the enemies sometimes are stuck in their running animation and don't finish it ever. I tried so many things to fix it and nothing worked. Luckily it was only 1€ and I didn't waste a lot of money on it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Getting Stuck multiple times at 1 spot is pretty annoying. Love the Art and Game itself but this bug makes it Impossible to play.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It is a really fun game with good turn-based tactical combat. I mostly enjoy the narrative though, and some twists and turns that I did not expect. The ability to adjust the challenge to what you'd like is also appreciated. Some mechanics are not well explained, but the curious can google those.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →its not a bad game, it isnt good either. the aesthetics are fine, why i bough the game, but the gameplay is boring and repetitive. its not a cohesive story, just a bunch of jumbled arcs that feel too short, i cant invest in anything to who im playing or their story. i like the supernatural aspect, it just feels like an empty game in the end
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TL;DR: An atmospheric adventure game with a sprinkle of tactical combat. What you expect: XCom in the Wild West What you get: A surprisingly atmospheric supernatural adventure story with added XCom lite combat encounters. Most of the game is narrative and choices of questionable impact, but the scenarios are short and there are no take-backs except when you start a scenario over, so choices still feel impactful. Most of this, I suspect, is illusion by the game. I'm on the more defensive and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →On the surface Hard West should be my cup of tea (or whiskey) with its western theme and turn-based strategy gameplay. But I just couldn't get excited about it. The whole user experience is unwieldy, the RPG-elements are uninteresting and the story-choices irrelevant e.g. there are "choices" where either you stab someone in the back or leave and don't progress the game in any way whatsoever until you come back and "choose" to backstab. Eh. The strategy gameplay is basic, but nothing that would…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →No options while in game, can't even adjust the audio levels. Silly.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Horror westerns are too rare, so this is fun.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →not fun to play
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very original. Good story. Nice charecters. My only complain is that it's too short.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a solid Turn-based Strategy game with an intriguing premise. I found it to be a rather puzzling endeavor sometimes. Pros: The base game is divided into chapters and you play different characters in each chapter - this is a pro AND a con. There's a decent variety of guns and consumables to use. The writing and voice-over are very atmospheric but a bit thin in places. The cards/hands system is a lot of fun. You can spend a good amount of time weighing how to distribute your cards…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a fan of XCom & turn based strategy games, I, for some reason, just couldn't get into Hard West. After 5 hours of play, I gave up, sadly.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played a bit of Invisible, Inc. A tactics style game (XCOM, Hard West) but focused on espionage. Stealth.
neutral · AI labelView post →i would like a city builder sim, but in the universe of Hard West. I wanna build up the perfect ghost town to attract the devil, demons, and other dark forces. i suppose there could be a game mode where you fight them, but what fun is that?
positive · AI labelView post →It is a dark, tactical strategy game that blends cowboy shootouts with supernatural horror in a really unique way. The core gameplay is turn-based and heavily inspired by games like XCOM. You control a small squad, take cover, and plan every move carefully, where positioning and smart decisions matter more than speed . What really makes it stand out is the setting. It takes the Wild West and twists it with demons, curses, and strange occult elements, creating a “weird west” atmosphere that…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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