Tombwater Review – My Favorite Wild West Nightmare

Tombwater Review

Tombwater is a lot of things and it does all of them well. This is one 2D horror action-RPG you won’t want to miss, especially if you’re yearning for good and grueling Soulslike action. Action inspired by Bloodborne.

It’s a Soulslike. It’s a Metroidvania. And it’s even a Zelda-like, all without compromising on its bleak wild west atmosphere. In short, it’s a blast.

In the game’s opening, a botched train robbery leaves a young gunman stranded in the desert. He reunites with his gang’s leader, only to be left behind. 9 years later, he gets a letter from the man, now a sheriff, inviting him to the town of Tombwater.

However, the kid arrives to a town in ruins, haunted by monsters and crazed townsfolk. Few retain their senses and the story they tell is unsettling. Plague, a cult, and worse talk these streets. Something terrible has happened in Tombwater, and if he wants to find the sheriff, he’ll have to wade into its darkness.

The West Goes Eldritch

Tombwater started life as a Bloodborne demake, but its wild west theme gives it a feel of its own. The game’s atmosphere is always thick despite, and sometimes because of, its simple pixel graphics.

You know what both the western and the Soulslike have in common? Long, tense stretches of wandering the empty streets and desolate wilderness searching for some sign of life. These two genres mix so well that I’m shocked there aren’t more wild west Soulslikes.

For some reason, I had no music or sound effects playing at all at first. Once I got the sound working, I found it delightfully atmospheric. The combination of its stark imagery, simple visuals, and subtle sound design make for a delightfully eerie experience.

The game also features some gloriously grisly boss designs for its 20+ bosses. Every time a cute little pixelized guy burst into tentacles, I grinned.

As you progress, you’ll find mysterious pools of blood that show you visions from the town’s past. Life during the actual wild west period was hard for settlers and Indigenous peoples alike. So you can imagine how much worse it gets for everyone when the land is cursed and spawns monsters. And that’s before the zombie plague and broken mystical seal come in.

Tombwater is One of My Favorite Soulslikes Ever

Tombwater offers seven possible character classes. Six specialize in different stats and tactics, while the last one is a particularly weak character for players seeking challenge.

Like any good Soulslike, you’ll be doing a lot of running, dodging attacks, and swiping at foes. Unlike most Soulslikes, you have a gun. Ranged attacks require you to aim carefully. Melee attacks can be done faster and reload your bullets, but expose you to counterattacks. Every encounter is a tense dance of timing and resource management.

A variety of items, charms, and healing consumables can make battle much easier or much harder. And you can cast spells by collecting eyes, but those risk causing madness.

Advancing through the game unlocks new abilities and movement options. These range from a dash charm to a wraith bullet that can burn down thornbushes and possess corpses.

Most of the game is non-linear: you can explore its 20 biomes at your own pace. However, there are some really tense semi-scripted moments. Boss fights often sneak up on in a way that sticks in your memory. And chase scenes can really get the blood pumping.

A Grueling Journey into Darkness

Tombwater is difficult, frustrating, and really hard to navigate. I only have a problem with that last one. Not only are the town’s streets a winding maze, it can be very hard to find the next plot location. Even if you know what it’s called, that doesn’t mean you can find it on the map before it’s labeled.

Navigating Tombwater can be very frustrating even when you know where you’re going. In true Soulslike fashion, any enemy can be a threat. Walking into a crowd of foes or a miniboss while you’re trying to get somewhere is a huge pain. Also, I wish locked gates were marked on the map by default.

Standing near a shade from a previous death slowly restores health. This means you can cheat a tough boss fight by dying once and then using the shade to heal.

Finally, I noticed that NPCs tend to get ‘caught’ on stairs. This sometimes makes encounters easier and sometimes makes them even worse.

All in all, Tombwater is one of my favorite Soulslikes, if not one of my favorite games, period. I’m not usually a fan of Zelda-likes, but I could barely put this one down. And only part of that was because I kept getting lost and wandering into a new miniboss arena.

***Steam code provided by the publisher***