66) West of Loathing (2017)

Launched in Febuary of 2003, Kingdom of Loathing is a browser based adventure game notable for its hand-drawn assets and surrealist humor. In it, the player explores a satirical fantasy land primarily through text while engaging in PvE combat. There are PvP options available, as well as a chat feature, the ability to join clans, and a surprisingly robust option to sell items to other players that has been the focus of academic study. While the visuals are simple, the character customization features are fairly rich with class based abilities and a ton of equipment options. The writing is exceedingly tongue in cheek, using pop culture references and puns to great effect. The game is still available to play, for free, and the site has remained free of ads and subscription fees, being supported by donations and merch sales.

West of Loathing, the first console installment of the property, takes the familiar elements of the original and slaps a fresh coat of cowboy paint on it. We begin by choosing our class, the physical based Cow Puncher, the magic adept Bean Slinger, or the moxie based Snake Oiler. After choosing our class, we say goodbye to our Ma, Pa, and younger brother as we set out westward in search of fame and fortune. Between the westward expansion and the horrors wrought when the cows came home, there's no shortage of rustlin' that needs done. We make our way to the town of Boring Springs, which serves as our tutorial area and allows us to choose an ally to take with us for the rest of our journey, in addition to one of an interesting array of horses.

The gameplay loop consists of visiting new areas, talking to the eccentric residents and accepting quests, and interacting with objects for either fun loot or just some humorous text. Exploration is primarily puzzle solving with turn based combat sprinkled in. The puzzles are generally straightforward, though there are a few that are frustratingly obtuse. Likewise, combat is pretty simple overall, though you can easily find yourself in over your head if you aren't careful. Each of your possible companions bring a different specialty to combat and unlock certain areas and quests depending on their own goals.

The writing is where the game shines the brightest, though I admit that the sense of humor is certainly an acquired taste. As with Kingdom of Loathing, it relies on surrealist humor, pop culture references, puns, and a great subversion of expectations. Most of the jokes aren't really funny on their own, and I wouldn't fault anyone for not being a fan of this particular type of humor. As it aligns with my comedic preferences, most of the jokes were able to either elicit a laugh or playful roll of the eyes.

That more or less sums up the experience as a whole. The underlying mechanics are rather rudimentary, but do an excellent job of satirizing the genre. Combat is, on the whole, pretty shallow, and the reward for exploration generally boils down to either humor or throwaway loot that is another joke unto itself. The game and narrative never take itself too seriously, and the writing itself calls attention to the dumber aspects of itself. For me, there's a lot to love on display with plenty of absurd and stupid jokes that appeal to the idiot child inside me. Despite the on the nose nature of its meta commentary, if you're looking for something a bit more cerebral, you're better off looking somewhere else.