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West of Loathing
West of Loathing
Developer(s)	Asymmetric Publications
Publisher(s)	Asymmetric Publications
Director(s)	Zack Johnson
Designer(s)	Riff Connor
Programmer(s)	Victor Thompson; Chris Moyer
Artist(s)	Wes Cleveland
Composer(s)	Ryan Ike
Series	Kingdom of Loathing
Engine	Unity
Platform(s)	Linux, macOS, Windows, Nintendo Switch, Stadia, iOS
Release	Linux, macOS, Windows; August 10, 2017; Nintendo Switch; May 31, 2018; Stadia; July 1, 2020; iOS; TBA;
Genre(s)	Role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player

West of Loathing is a comedy adventure role-playing video game developed and released by Asymmetric Publications on August 10, 2017.

The game is set in the universe of Kingdom of Loathing, an earlier video game in the series. The game was well-received by critics, with Rolling Stone magazine describing it as "one of the year's best games."^[2] A standalone sequel, Shadows Over Loathing, was released in 2022.

Gameplay

West of Loathing is a single-player role-playing video game with turn-based combat. The setting is a fantasy Western rendered in monochrome stick figure art style.^[3]

Story

What happens in the game is generally decided by the player, such as the class and dialogue choices, but the story remains generally the same. First, you leave your family farm and making your way to a town known as Boring Springs. After obtaining a horse, you then head to a town called Dirtwater, solving problems for the Manifest Destiny Railroad Company to eventually get to the city of Frisco, where they speak to a man named Emperor Norton. If they give him a crown he lets them build the railroad into Frisco, but if they don't, Norton gives the player an "Ant-Eye" virus (a reference to the Norton AntiVirus) and steals the train, forcing the player to fight him. After this, the player settles down in a very narrow house.

In the DLC, Reckonin' at Gun Manor, the player heads to Gun Manor, a house owned by Terri Gun (the supposed creator of the gun), and teams up with Flo, a ghost exterminator, to destroy the ghosts in the house. The player can either kill the ghosts or solve their problems peacefully, both revealing in the Terri is, in fact, a ghost herself.

Development and release

West of Loathing was developed by Asymmetric Publications.^[4] The game was announced in May 2016 as a follow-up to the browser-based multiplayer online role-playing game Kingdom of Loathing (2003).^[3]^[5] West of Loathing was submitted to the Greenlight community voting system on digital distribution service Steam.^[5]

West of Loathing was released for Linux, macOS, and Windows on August 10, 2017.^[6] An iOS version once was scheduled for a 2017 release.^[4] A Nintendo Switch version was released for download on May 31, 2018. It was released for Stadia on July 1, 2020.^[7]

The DLC expansion pack, Reckonin' at Gun Manor was released on February 8, 2019, for the PC version of the game.^[8] It was released on the Nintendo Switch on January 21, 2020.

Reception

Aggregate score
Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	87/100^[9]

Review scores
Publication	Score
Destructoid	9/10^[10]
GameSpot	8/10^[11]
Nintendo Life	(NS) ^[12]
Nintendo World Report	(NS) 8/10^[13]
PC Gamer (UK)	88/100^[14]
Polygon	9/10^[15]

West of Loathing received "generally favourable" reviews from professional critics according to review aggregator website Metacritic.^[9]

Writing for Polygon Noah Caldwell-Gervais lauded West of Loathing's humorous writing, music, and its underlying "surprising intricacy of design," while PC Gamer reviewer Christopher Livingston called the game a "delightfully written RPG absolutely packed with humor,"^[14] but criticized its relatively simple combat system. In a review for Rock, Paper, Shotgun, Alec Meer recommended the game and praised its warm and welcoming tone.^[16]

West of Loathing was awarded Best Comedy Game and nominated for Best Open World Game in PC Gamer's 2017 Game of the Year Awards,^[17]^[18] and was ranked #16 on Polygon's "50 Best Games of 2017."^[19] It was also nominated for "PC Game of the Year" at the Golden Joystick Awards,^[20] for "Gamer's Voice (Video Game)" at the SXSW Gaming Gamer's Voice Awards,^[21]^[22] and for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize at the Independent Games Festival Competition Awards.^[23]^[24]

Soundtrack

The music of West of Loathing was composed by Ryan Ike and gained praise as a "pitch-perfect Spaghetti Western soundtrack."^[25] The 20-track soundtrack was licensed and released by video game music label Materia Collective.^[26]

References

^ "West of Loathing for Nintendo Switch – Nintendo Game Details". Nintendo of America. Archived from the original on March 21, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
^ Wright, Steven T. (September 8, 2017). "How Stick Figures and Absurdism Power One of the Year's Best Games". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 17, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
^ ^a ^b Livingston, Christopher (July 26, 2017). "West of Loathing preview: the RPG adventure is a six-shooter loaded with comedy bullets". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
^ ^a ^b Nelson, Jared (August 10, 2017). "'West of Loathing' Launches on Steam Today, iOS Version "2 or 3 Months" Away (Hopefully)". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
^ ^a ^b Donnelly, Joe (May 21, 2016). "Stick 'Em Up: Kingdom Of Loathing Goes West". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
^ O'Connor, Alice (August 10, 2017). "Cowboys and clowns ride out with West of Loathing". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
^ Li, Abner (July 1, 2020). "Google adds four Stadia Pro games for July 2020". 9 to 5 Google. Archived from the original on October 5, 2020. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
^ Moran, Miguel. "West of Loathing gets new Reckonin' at Gun Manor DLC". Nintendo Enthusiast. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "West of Loathing for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
^ Merser, Kevin (September 20, 2017). "Review: West of Loathing". Destructoid. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
^ Tran, Edmond (June 8, 2018). "West Of Loathing Review: Wild, Wild West". GameSpot. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
^ Olney, Alex (July 19, 2018). "West of Loathing Review (Switch eShop)". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on September 3, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
^ Ronaghan, Neal (May 31, 2018). "West of Loathing Review – Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
^ ^a ^b Livingston, Christopher (August 10, 2017). "West of Loathing review". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on August 23, 2017. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
^ Caldwell-Gervais, Noah (August 10, 2017). "West of Loathing review". Polygon. Archived from the original on August 25, 2017. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
^ Meer, Alec (August 11, 2017). "Wot I Think: West of Loathing". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
^ PC Gamer staff (December 20, 2017). "Best Comedy Game 2017: West of Loathing". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
^ PC Gamer staff (December 8, 2017). "Games of the Year 2017: The nominees". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on January 6, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
^ Polygon Staff (December 18, 2017). "The 50 best games of 2017". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
^ Gaito, Eri (November 13, 2017). "Golden Joystick Awards 2017 Nominees". Best in Slot. Archived from the original on January 10, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
^ McNeill, Andrew (January 23, 2018). "Announcing the 2018 SXSW Gaming Gamer's Voice Award Nominees". SXSW. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
^ Harrison, Will (March 17, 2018). "'PUBG' and 'Legend of Zelda' take top prizes at 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on March 19, 2018. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
^ Faller, Patrick (January 5, 2018). "Independent Games Festival Awards Nominees Announced". GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
^ Whitney, Kayla (March 22, 2018). "Complete list of 2018 Independent Games Festival Awards Winners". AXS. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
^ Trand, Edmond (August 10, 2017). "West Of Loathing Review: Wild, Wild West". GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
^ Farrell, Reilly (June 7, 2018). "West of Loathing (Original Game Soundtrack)". Video Game Music Online. Retrieved September 7, 2020.