Wild Bastards Review: There's Room Enough for All Of Us Bastards
Space can be a brutal place filled with blood thirsty aliens, epic loot and…beans? Okay, count me in.
From the team behind Void Bastards and Card Hunter, Wild Bastards, by developer Blue Manchu, is a roguelike strategy game with first-person battles mixed in. You play as The Wild Bastards themselves, a group of outlaws that were once the most deadly gang in the galaxy; That is until Jebediah Chaste eliminated them one by one. At the start of the game you play as the two remaining outlaws who team up with the sentient spacecraft the Drifter in an attempt to find and resurrect the rest of their gang.
The Most Stylish Team in the Galaxy
From the very start Wild Bastards is eye-catching. With a comic book-like art style with neon accents and first person battles reminiscent of Borderlands, many of the moments in the game are cinematic and stunning. You’ll start out with only a couple of playable characters, unlocking more as you play through the game’s different levels. Difficulty ramps up as you progress and each location will be full to the brim with randomly generated enemies, loot, shops and more.
Each of the 13 outlaws has their own unique weapon, stunt, personality, and dialogue. One of the first characters you’ll meet is Casino, a shotgun-toting robot with a cowboy-like charm. You’ll also meet the alien Hopalong, a moody robot named The Judge, the flaming alien named Smoky and many more gorgeous characters that each have their own voice actors bringing the characters to life.
At the start of each run, players will see a map of the area separated into different levels each with their own loot and battles to take part in. At the end of each map is a level that contains a member of the Wild Bastards, but you’ll have to fight through the aforementioned sections of the map, collecting loot along the way, before you can get there and save your companion. After choosing which outlaws to take with you down to each planet, you’ll control them on a board game-like playing field. You’re able to see the entire map at one time so you can strategize your path ahead. Are you going to take as quick of a trip as possible, grabbing the loot and getting out of there, or will you try your luck against the variety of enemies that are just waiting to take you down? It’s up to you to decide how you want to play.
Another Day, Another McNeil
You’re only given a certain number of moves each round before the enemy is able to take their own turn. Spend too much time on one map and the powerful McNeil will show up with his posse to try and take you down. You can choose to stand your ground, but be faced with a very difficult battle, or flee and try to get out before McNeil can catch up with you. If each of your outlaws dies, you’ll be forced to go back to the very beginning, spawning a new randomly generated map to work your way through. At the end of each round, if you live and collect your new friend, you’ll bring them aboard the Drifter and hop to the next map to go for your next Wild Bastard.
Anytime you choose to battle, gameplay will change to a first person perspective where you’ll take control of the outlaws and gain their abilities as they take part in epic gunfights. As Casino, you’re equipped with a shotgun and his Roulette ability which explodes a random enemy on the map. If things aren’t working out for Casino or he’s taken down, you can switch to your next outlaw and take control of them instead in turn gaining their weapon and abilities. The number of enemies you need to eliminate is displayed on the screen along with your character health, items and your character's abilities. The more that you battle and explore the galaxy, the more abilities you’ll unlock for your outlaws. Mods are temporary abilities that can be equipped on most characters at any time when you’re not in the middle of battle. Aces are special abilities particular to certain characters that are permanently added to their arsenal. You’ll also pick up items like tonics which can be used to heal or resurrect fallen allies in between battles.
Friendship = Beans
Like any group of friends, there’s bound to be the occasional argument. When two of your outlaws have a falling out they’ll refuse to go into battle together. This makes it so you can’t choose those two outlaws when beaming down to a planet. Thankfully, like any argument, everything can be solved with a delicious can of beans. Collect or buy beans on your missions and share them between the two squabbling outlaws and they’ll be thick as thieves once again. Additionally, two outlaws can become pals and help each other out during battles by giving each other certain boosts. It will be in your best interest to keep your outlaws happy to make strategizing and fighting just a bit easier.
When you’ve collected all of your outlaws and gotten the Wild Bastards back together again, the game isn’t totally over. Wild Bastards features Challenge Mode which lets players take on a series of sectors that increase in difficulty as you progress. You can also use mutators to change the experience giving players nearly endless ways to play.
Wild Bastards is such a fun time. Even during moments when the difficulty ramps up, I found myself wanting to go back again and again. Each character feels entirely unique and well thought out. Blue Manchu have truly created what feels like a living, breathing world here full of crime, beans and epic battles.
Breakdown
Game: Wild Bastards
Developer: Blue Manchu
Publisher: Maximum Entertainment
Availability: PC, PS5, Xbox X/S, Nintendo Switch
Playtime: 15+ hours (main campaign & extras)
Pros:
Gorgeous neon comic-book like artstyle
13 characters to play as each with their own unique style, weapon, abilities
Item and enemy randomization keeps things interesting
Really great voice acting for each characters
BEANS
Cons:
Tutorial/gameplay explanation was a little thin, players not familiar with the genre may struggle to get the hang of things at first
Some planets are a bit sparse
Final Thoughts
Wild Bastards is a unique spin on the roguelike genre. Each character brings their own personality and fun to the game and the gameplay itself is incredibly addicting, refreshing and smooth. Fans of the roguelike genre as well as those that enjoy games like Borderlands or Overwatch, are sure to enjoy the fun times that Wild Bastards has to offer.
Review by Becca Smith