West of Loathing

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Overwhelmingly Positive

Total: 8.1 ThousandPositive: 7.95 ThousandNegative: 152
98%
2%
Steam review score: 9

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AI Review

West of Loathing scored 91.81 % rating
West of Loathing is a hilarious, single-player RPG adventure set in the wild west of the Kingdom of Loathing universe. With its quirky stick-figure graphics and slapstick humor, this indie gem offers a sprawling open world filled with danger, quests, and mysteries. Players can choose from unique classes like the silver-tongued Snake Oiler, the cosmic Beanslinger, or the brawling Cow Puncher, each offering distinct gameplay styles. The game boasts over 50 hats, disreputable saloons, and even a drunk horse, all wrapped in a charming black-and-white aesthetic. With an AI Community Rating of 93.03%, fans praise its witty writing, clever humor, and quirky charm. However, some note that combat can feel repetitive, and quest guidance may be too vague. Despite minor flaws, West of Loathing delivers a laugh-out-loud experience perfect for fans of comedy RPGs.
AdventureIndieRPG
Single-playerSteam AchievementsFull controller supportSteam Trading CardsSteam CloudRemote Play TogetherFamily Sharing

What the community wishes

We analysed the 7 most impactful community reviews and collected 20 ideas and suggestions on how the game could be better.
Combat lacks depth and variety
Combat is formulaic and lacks dynamic elements. Hard mode hat adds difficulty but cannot be removed, limiting flexibility. Suggestion: Introduce more varied combat mechanics and allow players to toggle difficulty settings mid-game.
Random encounters can be frustrating
Random encounters often feel unbalanced, with enemies having disproportionately high HP or damage. Surrendering sometimes counts as a loss, consuming buffs. Suggestion: Balance random encounters better and clarify surrender mechanics to avoid unfair penalties.
Quest guidance is too vague
Partner's quest reminders are often unclear, leading to confusion. Suggestion: Add a more detailed quest log or clearer hints to guide players without spoiling the experience.
Elemental damage resistance comes too late
Players encounter elemental damage enemies early but gain resistance abilities mid-game. Suggestion: Introduce elemental resistance options earlier or balance early-game enemies to match player progression.
Foraging and puzzles are unclear
Foraging mechanics and some puzzles are not intuitive, leading to confusion. Suggestion: Provide clearer tutorials or hints for foraging and puzzle-solving mechanics.
Hard mode hat is restrictive
Hard mode hat cannot be removed once equipped, limiting player choice. Suggestion: Allow players to toggle hard mode on and off to accommodate different playstyles.
Replayability diminishes after first playthrough
Replayability is limited after the first playthrough, with only minor changes like class choice or needle placement. Suggestion: Add more significant branching paths or outcomes to enhance replay value.
Some puzzles are overly convoluted
Certain puzzles and quests are too obscure, requiring random encounters or specific decisions. Suggestion: Streamline puzzle design to reduce reliance on obscure triggers or random events.
Lack of voiceover limits accessibility
The game relies entirely on written text, which may exclude players with visual impairments or those who prefer voiceovers. Suggestion: Add optional voiceover support or improve compatibility with screen readers.
Small text and icons on Steam Deck
Text and icons are too small for comfortable play on the Steam Deck. Suggestion: Optimize UI scaling for smaller screens to improve readability.
Buff loss on surrender is unfair
Surrendering to enemies consumes buffs, which feels punitive. Suggestion: Remove buff loss on surrender or provide a way to retain buffs after defeat.
Combat alternatives need more depth
While combat alternatives exist, they lack depth compared to traditional combat. Suggestion: Expand non-combat options with more varied and impactful mechanics.
Early-game difficulty spikes
Early-game encounters can feel unbalanced, with enemies dealing high damage or having excessive HP. Suggestion: Adjust early-game enemy stats to provide a smoother difficulty curve.
Quest decisions lock out content
Some quest decisions permanently lock players out of content, which can be frustrating. Suggestion: Allow players to revisit or undo certain decisions to explore missed content.
Hard mode needs more flexibility
Hard mode is all-or-nothing, with no middle ground for players seeking moderate challenge. Suggestion: Introduce multiple difficulty levels or customizable challenge settings.
Combat lacks elemental strategy
Elemental interactions in combat are underutilized, making battles feel repetitive. Suggestion: Add more elemental mechanics and strategies to diversify combat.
Quest reminders are inconsistent
Partner's quest reminders vary in clarity, sometimes leaving players unsure of next steps. Suggestion: Standardize quest reminders to provide consistent and helpful guidance.
Random encounters lack predictability
Random encounters often feel unpredictable, with no indication of enemy type or difficulty. Suggestion: Add visual or contextual cues to help players anticipate encounters.
Foraging mechanics need better explanation
Foraging is not well-explained, leading to confusion and missed opportunities. Suggestion: Provide clearer instructions or tutorials for foraging mechanics.
Quest outcomes lack transparency
Players are sometimes informed of better quest solutions after completing them, which feels unfair. Suggestion: Provide clearer feedback or hints during quests to avoid post-completion regrets.

Reviews

Toxicity trend

N-Grams

Most relevant voices from the community
full of charmwasted your moneyHIGHLY RECOMMEND Whengoofy game remembersuper fun supergreat experience sosame goofy shitrolling with laughtercomedic writing toplove this gamelighthearted entertainment yousilly game impossiblevery funny surprisinglyWorth every pennylaugh out loudgreat trip downgreatest RPG's timesmart without beingwonderfully warped gamegreat silly unique

Keywords

Top 15 keywords for sentiments
What the community loves
We collected 256 positive keywords.
funny
14
fun
13
humor
11
great
8
comedy
6
witty
5
writing
5
clever
4
quirky
4
charming
3
comedic
3
love
3
exploration
3
experience
3
enjoyed
3
Where the community is undecided
We collected 202 neutral keywords.
RPG
8
combat
6
simple
4
game
4
puzzles
4
modern
3
adventure
3
turn-based
3
devs
2
changes
2
play-through
2
cowboy
2
stats
2
experience
2
story
2
What the community dislikes
We collected 69 negative keywords.
combat
3
tedious
3
missing
2
grind
2
convoluted
2
boringly
1
bother
1
broken
1
confusing
1
costs
1
criticism
1
difficult
1
disappointed
1
disgusting
1
dynamic
1

In-depth analysis of most impactful community reviews

Positive

You have to read a lot. If you don't like that and skip most of the dialogues you have wasted your money. West of loathing is a story driven comedy rpg in a grimdark cowboy setting. A great, silly and unique game.

  • Sentiments

    • I feel that the game requires a lot of reading, which might not appeal to everyone, especially if they prefer to skip dialogues.
    • I believe that skipping most of the dialogues would make the game feel like a waste of money, as it is heavily story-driven.
    • I think the game is a story-driven comedy RPG, which makes it unique and engaging for those who enjoy narrative-heavy games.
    • I find the game's setting in a grimdark cowboy world to be intriguing and adds to its uniqueness.
    • I feel that the game is great, silly, and offers a unique experience, which makes it stand out from other RPGs.

Positive

Very funny, and surprisingly large amount of content, and a great trip down nostalgia lane if you grew up with Kingdom Of Loathing. But even if you didn't, I find that people still love the humor and gameplay.

  • Sentiments

    • I find the game very funny, which adds a lot of enjoyment to the experience.
    • I am pleasantly surprised by the large amount of content available in the game.
    • I feel a strong sense of nostalgia while playing, especially if I grew up with Kingdom Of Loathing.
    • I believe the humor and gameplay are universally appealing, even to those unfamiliar with Kingdom Of Loathing.

Positive

The most wonderfully warped game I have ever played. I have this game on Switch and have done just about everything you can do there in 200+hours of play, so to find this on PC was great. Happy to reward the devs with a second purchase. Super fun and super funny.

  • Sentiments

    • I find this game to be the most wonderfully warped game I have ever played, which gives me a strong sense of enjoyment and uniqueness.
    • I have spent over 200 hours playing this game on Switch, which shows my deep engagement and satisfaction with the game.
    • I was thrilled to find this game available on PC, as it allowed me to enjoy it on another platform.
    • I am happy to reward the developers with a second purchase, indicating my strong support and appreciation for their work.
    • I find the game to be super fun, which highlights my enjoyment and entertainment while playing.
    • I find the game to be super funny, which adds to my overall positive experience and enjoyment.

Positive

This is such a silly game. It's impossible to read the dialogue or your character's thoughts without chuckling. Hidden beneath all that whimsy and the stick figure graphics, however, is a surprisingly robust Western-themed RPG with a full assortment of options to customize your character as you advance the main narrative. You can play this casually and finish your campaign in under a dozen hours like I did if you want, or you can take a much deeper dive into the world. Ultimately, I was ready to move on, so I didn't complete every single quest, and I don't imagine coming back to hunt achievements or try out a tougher difficulty. But for lighthearted entertainment, you can do a lot worse.

  • Sentiments

    • I found the game to be quite silly and whimsical, which made it impossible to read the dialogue or character thoughts without chuckling.
    • Despite the stick figure graphics, I discovered a surprisingly robust Western-themed RPG with a lot of depth.
    • I appreciated the full assortment of options to customize my character as I advanced through the main narrative.
    • I enjoyed the flexibility to play the game casually and finish the campaign in under a dozen hours.
    • I felt the game offered the option for a much deeper dive into its world, though I chose not to explore it fully.
    • I was ready to move on after finishing the main campaign and did not complete every single quest.
    • I do not imagine coming back to hunt achievements or try out a tougher difficulty, as the game did not hold my interest for long-term replayability.
    • For lighthearted entertainment, I believe this game is a solid choice and you could do a lot worse.

Positive

Just enough art to tell the story it wants to tell, and boy does it deliver on the writing part. This game had me rolling with laughter, and also running face first into obstacles I had to plan my way around. The beautiful thing is -- everything has multiple solutions, and it carries weight. Enough content that you don't really have to grind (and even for the stuff you have to go out of your way for, it's by far not on the level I've seen other games do to artificially inflate their ingame time.) Smart without being snide, funny without being tone-deaf, challenging without being punishing, and immense replay-value without inflating its bulk or overstaying its welcome. I'd say play it til the cows come home, but...

  • Sentiments

    • I found the art style to be just enough to effectively tell the story, which I appreciated for its simplicity and focus.
    • The writing in the game was exceptional, delivering a story that had me laughing and thoroughly engaged.
    • I enjoyed the humor in the game, which was smart and well-executed without being tone-deaf.
    • The game presented challenges that required planning and problem-solving, which I found rewarding and engaging.
    • I appreciated that the game offered multiple solutions to problems, making the gameplay feel meaningful and impactful.
    • The game had enough content to keep me entertained without forcing me to grind, which I found refreshing.
    • I liked that the game avoided artificially inflating its playtime, making the experience feel more genuine and enjoyable.
    • The game struck a great balance between being challenging and not overly punishing, which I found to be a perfect mix.
    • I was impressed by the game's replay value, which felt substantial without making the game feel bloated or overstaying its welcome.
    • Overall, I would highly recommend playing this game extensively, as it offers a well-rounded and enjoyable experience.

Negative

Alright, I am not going to sugar coat anything here. The good part is the jokes, exploration and the combat is alright. The bad part is random encounters while exploring and vague quest reminder from your partner. These random encounters 50% of the time will be real bs, when I was playing for first 30 minutes I somehow encountered a cow that had 84 hp while I am dealing at maximum 7 damage. Considering that much hp has only when enemy has high stats meaning the enemy can two shot the player. Of course there is ability to surrender to the enemy and that sounds fine except it will still count as losing. In this game it is not possible to die, instead of dying player is transported back to his/her room and new day starts. Sounds pretty normal right? Not really because if you had used some buffs that last for day it all will be consumed. One time I surrendered to an enemy and I could continue journey and rest of times it was loss, i don't get it. Also, player has no idea what kind of damage will deal these random encounters, is it going to be melee, ranged, poison, fire, spooky or lightning? The bad part about elemental damage is that you only get resistances in mid game while you can encounter snakes that deal fire damage before getting to mid game. This game does not have quest log per say, instead you must interact with your chosen partner and ask about main quest or side quest, but unfortunately your partner most of the time will give vague description what you must do and it gets confusing.

  • Sentiments

    • I appreciate the jokes, exploration, and combat in the game, as they are enjoyable and well-executed.
    • I find the random encounters during exploration frustrating, especially when they feel unfair or unbalanced.
    • I dislike the vague quest reminders from my partner, as they often lead to confusion about what to do next.
    • I encountered a cow with 84 HP early in the game, which felt unfair since I could only deal 7 damage at most, making the encounter feel unbalanced.
    • I find the surrender mechanic problematic because it still counts as a loss, and it consumes buffs that last for the day, which feels punishing.
    • I am frustrated by the lack of clarity about the type of damage random enemies will deal, such as melee, ranged, or elemental, which makes preparation difficult.
    • I dislike that elemental resistances are only available in the mid-game, while enemies dealing elemental damage can be encountered earlier, making early gameplay feel unfair.
    • I find the absence of a proper quest log inconvenient, as it forces me to rely on vague descriptions from my partner, which often leads to confusion.
    • I appreciate the game's unique mechanic of not allowing the player to die, instead transporting them back to their room to start a new day, which feels refreshing.
    • I am confused by the inconsistency in the surrender mechanic, as sometimes I can continue my journey after surrendering, while other times it counts as a loss.

Negative

It's funny and quirky and everything, but it just isn't fun to play. There's no journal to keep track of what you're doing (and you typically have more than a few side quests brewing in the background), the puzzles are nothing but tedious obstacles in the way of the amusing parts, the combat is either boringly easy or you're dead in one round, you'll often have to grind for drops. Pretty disappointed.

  • Sentiments

    • I find the game funny and quirky, which adds a unique charm to the experience.
    • I feel that the game is not fun to play, which significantly impacts my overall enjoyment.
    • I am frustrated by the lack of a journal to keep track of side quests, making it hard to manage multiple tasks.
    • I find the puzzles to be tedious obstacles rather than enjoyable challenges, which detracts from the experience.
    • I feel that the combat is either too easy or unfairly difficult, leading to a lack of balance and engagement.
    • I am disappointed by the need to grind for drops, which feels like an unnecessary and time-consuming chore.
    • I appreciate the amusing parts of the game, which provide some entertainment despite other flaws.
    • I feel pretty disappointed overall with the game, as the negatives outweigh the positives for me.

Negative

I feel like a jerk for posting this review. This game is charming. It's witty, packed full of gags and parodies of the western setting. I like the simple stick-figure art style, but there's just not a compelling enough game here. It's just a bunch of basic fetch quests with an extremely simple combat system. There's one or two neat puzzles, but for all the humour there just wasn't enough meat to the game to keep me coming back.

  • Sentiments

    • I feel like a jerk for posting this review, but I want to be honest about my experience with the game.
    • I find the game charming, with its witty humor and parodies of the western setting.
    • I appreciate the simple stick-figure art style, as it adds a unique visual appeal to the game.
    • I feel that the game lacks a compelling core gameplay experience, as it mostly consists of basic fetch quests.
    • I find the combat system to be extremely simple, which detracts from the overall engagement of the game.
    • I enjoyed the one or two neat puzzles in the game, as they provided some variety and challenge.
    • I feel that despite the humor, the game lacks enough depth or substance to keep me interested and coming back.

Negative

It was really interesting for a while, but it gets to where some of the things you have to do (even to progress the main story) rely on random encounters or convoluted bad-point-and-click-style logic that is impossible to figure out without a walkthrough. There's a part where, apparently, you can get a helpful companion if you solve this particular puzzle--except it isn't a puzzle at all because there are no clues or any hints to guide you to the right outcome. It's pure trial and error, and you're only allowed to try a few times (with no clues forthcoming about if you're getting 'hot or cold') before that 'puzzle' and the helpful companion are locked out for the entire playthrough. It was just a growing amount of stuff like this that became frustrating and made me lose interest. I probably got a good 8 or so hours that were fun, but when I started having to use a walkthrough to tediously check things off that there was no way for me to figure out in the game, just to progress, I realized the fun was over.

  • Sentiments

    • I found the game really interesting for a while, which made the initial experience enjoyable and engaging.
    • I felt frustrated when the game relied on random encounters or convoluted logic to progress the main story, making it feel unfair and poorly designed.
    • I was disappointed by the lack of clues or hints in certain puzzles, which made them feel impossible to solve without external help like a walkthrough.
    • I found it annoying that some puzzles were based purely on trial and error, with no feedback on whether I was close to solving them or not.
    • I was upset when a helpful companion was locked out of the playthrough due to an unclear and poorly designed puzzle mechanic.
    • I enjoyed the first 8 hours of the game, which were fun and engaging, but my experience declined afterward.
    • I lost interest in the game when I had to rely on a walkthrough to tediously check off tasks that I couldn’t figure out on my own.
    • I realized the fun was over when the game became more about following a walkthrough than exploring and solving puzzles independently.

Negative

This game is way too simple. It feels like one of the flash games I played back in the 2000s except it costs $11. Its extremely linear and linear games need to have a compelling story to keep my interest, except this game doesn't take itself seriously at all. Its great if the jokes land for you, but if they don't, don't bother.

  • Sentiments

    • I feel that the game is way too simple, reminiscent of flash games from the 2000s, which makes it feel outdated and not worth the $11 price tag.
    • I find the game extremely linear, which is a negative aspect for me because linear games need a compelling story to hold my interest.
    • I think the game doesn't take itself seriously at all, which could be a positive if the humor works for you, but it doesn't for me.
    • I believe the game could be great if the jokes land for you, but since they don't for me, I wouldn't recommend it.

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