I’d be lying if I said that I was a big fan of Metroidvanias or soulslikes; they’re both gameplay genres that frustrate me pretty quickly. However, I definitely recognize that, even if a genre isn’t necessarily for me, that doesn’t mean that every single game that falls within it is going to be a bad time for me.
Eldritch Western “Tombwater” is a perfect example. While still being faithful to both genres, it includes sliders for damage dealt and damage taken that made it so much more fun for me to play. That alone, alongside the overall design and truly apparent passion put into it, has all but been molded and perfected. The team of two behind developer Moth Atlas has created what has become my favorite indie release of the year, if not one of the best soulslikes.
The open-world 2D top-down Eldritch Western gave me all the blood-curdling horror and difficulty I could have wanted without making me want to throw the controller down. Following a protagonist known only as the Kid ( a “Blood Meridian” reference, perhaps?), you’ll travel through each of the burrows of the mining town of Tombwater, discovering ancient horrors and uncovering its secrets with your knife and gun at your side.
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To aid this concept, every area on the map is open for you to explore, so long as you have the appropriate item needed to get through, whether that be a hookshot, a special key, or an apothecary item. Considering that, I spent most of my experience wandering through different biomes and areas, marking my map to remind me where to go back to whenever I found what I needed.
Coming across dilapidated and burnt homes, a church with hellish creatures polluting the inside, dogs whose heads open like vertical mouths, or townsfolk with odd grins like this quickly reminded me of another franchise that I deeply adore: “The Dark Tower” by Stephen King. I felt like I was protagonist Roland Deschain, a gunslinger with a single goal, traveling across an unforgiving world that’s already squeezed everything out of the people living within it, leaving them only with stories to tell about how the town once was.
A lot of the story also lies within the environment, speaking with the townsfolk and listening in on memories of the town sheriff and his relationship to the Kid. Some folks will give you optional side quests to complete as well, which just make wandering through Tombwater and rediscovering new paths or what key items are actually used for so much more fun. I quickly found myself sinking in hours at a time as I dashed from area to area, slowly realizing the use of certain items I’d had in my inventory since the beginning and finding a balance between my melee weapon and my gun.
Smooth and reactive combat was also key to how much I enjoyed the game. There are so many combinations of weapons, charms, and spells to choose from that it really comes down to your preferred playstyle.
Speaking of weapons, the damage slider was one of the biggest game-changers of all for me. Soulslikes already tend to be difficult for me, and with the difficulty comes the lessening of motivation to run around finding items and using them as you do in a Metroidvania. So, I turned the damage taken all the way down and the damage dealt all the way up. Personally, I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much without this option, but that’s what makes its addition so great.
I felt that I was able to experience the “Tombwater” at my own pace while also being exposed to the game the exact way that it was intended to be. Even then, it isn’t without challenge, just in ways that happen to be a bit different than being defeated by Eldritch creatures, like not focusing on your health and getting swarmed by baddies or failing to explore everything you could in an area, making you miss a key item.
I was also incredibly impressed with the music, which features haunting steel strings and aesthetics synonymous with the Western genre. What’s even cooler about the soundtrack is that it was composed by Max Mraz and Jake Wagner, the two behind the development of “Tombwater.” It was one of the fastest purchases I’d ever made concerning a video game soundtrack.
Overall, by the end of “Tombwater,” I knew that I had just played one of my favorite soulslikes of all time. Even at zero enemy disadvantage, I still found things such as thorough exploration and discovering the use case for items to be challenging. It’s incredibly designed with a strong color palette and superb music composition, quickly making me a fan long before I really got into it. “Tombwater” made me realize how much I wanted something like it, and I can only hope that there is a future where more installments become available.
The game key used for this review was provided by a PR representative.
