Far Far West from Evil Raptor and Fireshine Games is one of this year's indie surprises. It has already sold more than 500,000 copies in Early Access. This is hardly surprising, given that the gameplay is excellent, the game is highly polished, and the co-op action is outstanding.
Far Far West is a cooperative shooter for up to four players, blending the Wild West with magic, monsters, sci-fi weapons and a healthy dose of humour. Rather than classic gunslingers, players take on the role of robot cowboys who hunt bounties on behalf of the sheriff. They chase skeletons, ghosts and monsters while a boss battle awaits at the end of each map, after which they leave via a flying train. The game is most comparable to Helldivers 2, John Carpenter's Toxic Commando, or even Deep Rock Galactic.
But first things first. The game begins in a hub base that resembles a Wild West town. Here, players can customise their robot character, equip them and upgrade their weapons, perks, spells and character stats (provided they have the necessary resources), before accepting a mission on the train. Players can then choose from several biomes, missions, and difficulty levels.
Far Far West © Evil Raptor & Fireshine Games
That's where the mission proper begins. Although the mission follows a simple, linear structure — reach the objective, defeat the boss and extract — what players do along the way is entirely up to them. Therefore, the missions are more open-ended than initially expected, much like in Helldivers 2. The maps feature both visible and hidden events, points of interest, puzzles, collectibles, gold mining and surprises. For an Early Access game, there’s a lot of content, though some elements can become repetitive with frequent play. As well as the obligatory marauder camps and enemy-spawning haunted houses, there are also memory games on gravestones, races on robotic horses, skill puzzles with floor circles and even a driving licence test where players must answer 15 questions about (weird) traffic rules for the robotic horse. There are also plenty of firefights with all sorts of enemies, which are pretty easy on the lowest difficulty setting. However, the higher the setting, the more numerous, stronger and varied the enemy types become, and some events are reserved for higher difficulty levels.
Many enemy encounters are designed as timed events where players must defend certain areas for a set period of time, and if necessary, activate switches or repair systems during the attack. When playing as a team, players can split up and support one another, which works quite well even though the game doesn't have classes. Instead, players can coordinate their loadouts with different spells, weapons, and perks beforehand. Once players have decided to attack the boss, they must defeat it and then head to the extraction point while enemies continue to spawn. By this point, players should have completed everything they wanted to on the map. At the end of the mission, they must wait for a pickup (a flying train) while more enemies spawn, before heading back to base — ideally with plenty of gold and blueprint parts for new weapons. Using weapons, spells and so on grants experience, which unlocks new levels and upgrades for the respective weapon or spell.
Far Far West © Evil Raptor & Fireshine Games
The most important thing, aside from teamwork during missions, is the interplay between classic gunplay and magical abilities. As well as using weapons such as revolvers and shotguns, players can cast spells from five categories, including acid, fire (ranging from fireballs to fire tornadoes), lightning fields, and cactus mines. These are just the starting abilities. Firearms and spells have cooldown periods and are most effective when used in combination, which makes battles dynamic and allows for different playstyles. Some spells also interact with each other, such as fire and acid. In addition, there are upgrades, perks, and customisation options designed to help players further specialise their bounty hunter. In terms of customisation, there is also a perk system with wildcards. During a run, players can find or select various cards that alter their abilities or grant passive bonuses, ensuring that each round plays out differently. The more experience gained with weapons and the character, the more permanent perk slots are unlocked, in addition to the in-run perks — initially very weak or silly ones, but later powerful ones. The progression system is clever and great — rather than fixed classes, players can choose their own role by combining weapons, perks, spells and more.
Despite being in Early Access, the game is in a very good state. The gunplay is excellent, the combat is fast-paced, the spells are powerful, exploring the map is worthwhile, the progression is rewarding and the game feels well-polished — especially in co-op mode, which is wild, chaotic and genuinely fun. The setting's appeal lies in its blend of dusty frontier flair and over-the-top fantasy chaos, giving the game a unique identity while maintaining a sense of humour — especially since atomic bombs and gigantic laser weapons are also present.
Far Far West © Evil Raptor & Fireshine Games
The developers currently expect the Early Access phase to last around 12 months. "We are aiming for the full release to feature more content, replayability systems, long-term progression, enemies, game modes, cosmetics, and weapons. During its early access period, we plan to expand on the existing content, providing more player options and customisability. Releasing into Early Access also allows us to improve the game by making balance changes and modifying the difficulty. Early access will contain the full core loop of the game, as well as multiplayer, character customisation, side missions and more," say Evil Raptor and Fireshine Games.
The game is being developed by Evil Raptor. This Lyon-based studio was founded in 2020 and consists of eight people. They are best known for Pumpkin Jack, which was published by Headup Games, and Akimbot, which was published by Plaion. Far Far West's publisher is Fireshine Games, a global publisher of digital and physical video games based in London, England. Originally established in 2014 as Sold Out Sales & Marketing, Fireshine Games has built a portfolio of digital titles including Core Keeper, Shadows of Doubt, Len's Island and Popucom. The company has also partnered with major studios to bring digital hits to physical release including Atomfall from Rebellion, Balatro from Playstack and Jurassic World Evolution 3 from Frontier Developments. Fireshine Games is part of the EG7 group of companies (Enad Global 7 AB), a Swedish video game holding company based in Stockholm.
Far West was released on Steam for PC on 28 April 2026, priced at £15.99/€19.99/$19.99.
Far West is a highly entertaining and motivating co-op shooter. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and even in Early Access, it offers plenty of content and progression systems.
