[EARLY ACCESS] Far Far West – Co-Op Shooter I Didn’t Expect to Love This Much

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• DEVELOPER: Evil Raptor
• PUBLISHER: Fireshine Games
• PLATFORMS: PC
• GENRE: FPS / Co-Op
• RELEASE DATE: April 28, 2026
• STARTING PRICE: 19,99€
• REVIEWED VERSION: PC

There is a reason why Far Far West is currently sitting at overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam and has already sold over a million copies. It takes familiar ideas from games like Helldivers 2 and Deep Rock Galactic, then throws them into a magical Wild West setting filled with elemental powers, chaotic firefights, and co-op mayhem. The result is a 1-to-4-player PvE shooter that feels surprisingly fresh.

What immediately stood out to me is how much this game respects your time. Unlike most extraction shooters, there are no harsh time limits forcing you to rush through objectives. You can head straight for the boss if you want, or spend 30 minutes exploring the map, collecting loot, completing side activities, and simply enjoying the world at your own pace. That freedom makes every run feel relaxed rather than stressful.

I already knew I was going to enjoy Far Far West back when I played it during Steam Next Fest, but even then I wasn’t expecting it to be this polished. The core gameplay loop is simple but extremely effective. You select a mission, enter one of the available maps, complete objectives, tackle side activities, fight waves of enemies, and eventually summon a boss encounter. Once the boss falls, you have one final defensive stand while waiting for the extraction train before heading back and starting another run.

Smooth Traversal Meets Explosive PvE Chaos

The game’s movement plays a huge role in making everything feel smooth. Traversing the world is fast thanks to your horse, which can be summoned almost instantly and carries you across the map at impressive speeds. Combined with the game’s excellent pacing, you’re constantly moving between fights, objectives, and exploration without ever feeling bogged down by unnecessary downtime.

Combat is where Far Far West truly shines. Gunplay feels responsive and satisfying, but what really separates it from other shooters is its elemental magic system. Alongside your firearms, you gain access to spells like fire, poison, electricity, voodoo magic, living tornadoes, cactus mines, and other chaotic abilities. The game fully embraces its fantasy setting, creating battles filled with explosions, lightning strikes, walls of fire, and magical effects flying everywhere. It’s ridiculous in the best possible way.

Progression is also handled surprisingly well. You start with basic weapons and spells, but everything levels up through use. The more you use a weapon or ability, the more experience it gains, unlocking upgrades such as increased damage, faster reload speeds, improved fire rates, or stronger spell variations. Since progression is tied directly to gameplay, you can make meaningful progress during a single mission without feeling like you’re endlessly grinding.

Minigames, Bosses, and Loot Keep the Action Varied

Blueprints add another layer of progression. Defeating bosses rewards blueprints that unlock new weapons and utility items, such as armor upgrades or health support tools. While unlocking new equipment requires collecting multiple blueprint pieces, the process never feels overly slow, and new rewards arrive frequently enough to keep you motivated.

The game also does a good job of keeping runs varied. Objectives often include short minigames such as memory challenges, matching puzzles, or even herding robotic cows into pens. Completing these activities rewards currencies like gold and souls, which can then be used to improve character stats, upgrade gear, or unlock modifiers that add variety to future runs.

Health and ammunition refills are also generously placed throughout the world, which helps maintain the game’s fast pace and keeps the focus on having fun rather than constantly managing resources. For an Early Access title, there’s already a respectable amount of content here. You can easily spend 15 to 20 hours unlocking gear, experimenting with builds, and completing missions before seeing most of what the current version has to offer.

The final verdict

Far Far West understands exactly what it wants to be: a casual, accessible, and highly entertaining PvE shooter that values player freedom over frustration. Between the satisfying gunplay, creative magic system, strong progression mechanics, excellent soundtrack, and constant sense of adventure, it’s easy to see why so many players have fallen in love with it.

At the end of the day, Far Far West feels like one of those games that’s simply hard not to enjoy with friends. It combines familiar ideas into something that feels unique, respects your time, and constantly rewards you for playing. Even in Early Access, it already offers a surprisingly good experience, and if the developers continue building on this foundation, it has the potential to become something really special.

Review copy provided by the publisher