Of course tragedy strikes in the early moments of Ostrich Banditos’ homage to Spaghetti Westerns. You don’t start off a gritty tale of revenge with the best birthday party ever.
Originally released as an Adult Swim browser game back in 2013, Westerado was far too good of a game to be embedded in a website. Now the 2014 Independent Games Festival Student Showcase award winner has put on its fanciest hat and moseyed on over to a PC release on Steam as Westerado: Double Barreled. The music is more vibrant, the graphics are much larger and the five people who developed the game are two years older.
Here’s what the game says about itself on its Steam page:
Westerado: Double Barreled is Ostrich Banditos’ homage to Spaghetti Westerns about dirty pasts, consequences and taking a hold of your future. When your family is murdered by a mysterious desperado, you set out into the world to take revenge. Take control of your own fate and that of others, all using your trusty shooting iron. If words aren’t enough to persuade a character, draw your revolver and see what happens. You can shoot whomever, whenever you like. Be an outlaw or a saint, explore the open world, meet a varied cast of characters and decide how you want your revenge story to unfold.
Remember kids, gun violence isn’t the answer. It’s just a different way of saying hello. Now I’m going to count to five, and then I’m coming out shooting.
Oh, and before I forget: Red Dead Redemption. It’s illegal to write about Western-themed video games without mentioning it at least once.
The First Five is the first five minutes of a game with light commentary. Once the five minutes are up, so are we.