The American West has long been a captivating setting for stories and games alike. It's not just the desert locale filled with wild brush and golden steppes, nor is it the strum of the banjo in a western score that alone stirs the imagination. The West - in reality and in our games - was and is a place of unparalleled freedom and danger. Any person can become a legend... or another tombstone with a glib and rhyming epitaph.
Colt Canyon is a far cry from the most famous game set in the west, 2018's Red Dead Redemption 2. Rockstar's title, along with its predecessor, carved out an area of the genre: one of realism and stoicism. Colt Canyon's differences are immediately noticeable. It's a 2D pixel shooter, the dialogue is brief, and the game can be completed in an afternoon. But it's distinct from RDR2 in another way. Instead of embracing the slow-paced meandering of everyday cowboy life, Colt Canyon embraces the absurdity.
The plot to Retrific Game Studio's top-down shooter is simple. The player's partner has been captured by a gang and it's up to them to save their friend. The player is armed with a six-shooter and some useful abilities like being able to dodge bullets with a quick roll. This simple structure is expanded upon almost immediately, as the player discovers how to stealth-kill enemies, break chests to find new weapons and ammo, and wield explosive dynamite. Colt Canyon is a playground of pixelated cowboy shootouts, a fast-paced blast-to-the past.
Players navigate short, randomly-generated levels filled with cacti, grass, and bandits galore. As they swing their mouse (or joystick) around, they'll take aim at enemies and have to act fast to eliminate the oncoming hordes. Colt Canyon is difficult, nothing like the leisurely time on horseback in RDR2. Players will have to manage cooldowns of weapon reloads, conserve ammo, and discover when fleeing is smarter than fighting. Even with an AI companion, the tide of a battle can change - for the worse - in an instant.
As a roguelike game, Colt Canyon is different every time the player hops into its sepia-toned and blood-splattered world. Permadeath and a low-health pool combine to make those playthroughs short but satisfying. As the player's skill improves, they'll find themselves inching forward slowly towards the finish line. In that way, Colt Canyon actually hits on something similar to Red Dead: the futility of the Wild West.
The major change? Colt Canyon's gameplay is quick and precise. Dodging around approaching enemies and lining up a shot with a rifle or throwing a well-timed stick of dynamite is gratifying (far more so than eating a can of beans). Rescuing hostages allows the player to select from several upgrades: quicker reload, faster movement speed, etc. This helps benefit a particular play-style that the player fancies, because there's no right or wrong way to be a gunslinger.
There's enough variety in Colt Canyon to keep fans of the genre engaged, but its high skill-cap may prevent others from exploring further. Boss Fights are particularity challenging, with armies of bad guys rushing forward and a massive bullet-sponge of a human barreling around the confined map. Even with AI-controlled companions (one of the hostage-rescuing "upgrades"), a player is unlikely to survive much past the first few levels on their initial playthrough - and that can be discouraging.
Sticking with Colt Canyon is rewarding. There are numerous characters to unlock and replay the game with, each with different stats (speed, strength, etc.) and starting weapons. A bountiful number of achievements can also provide silly and sometimes compelling side objectives, encouraging stealth or creative play. Hopping back into the pixelated desert with a friend via co-op pushes Colt Canyon over the (canyon) edge with just enough content to make its price-point justifiable.
Colt Canyon is a different kind of Western video game. There's no time to take in the scenery or contemplation of "right or wrong." Quick-thinking and fast-shooting are the only way to survive. It won't be easy, and it sure as hell won't be boring.
Colt Canyon is available on Steam, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch for $14.99. Screen Rant was provided a Steam copy for the purpose of this review.