Review: Colt Canyon

Howdy reader, this Western themed video game from Retrific is one of the most fun roguelike games on Xbox! Lately the Xbox Store is running over with this type of games and honestly I don’t always enjoy them, but this is really something else. Cowboys say “If you haven’t fallen off a horse…then you haven’t been ridin long enough” and with Colt Canyon you will definitely fall of that horse A LOT. Meaning dying. Killed by gangsters, killed a million times by a boss, killed by exploding barrels or getting killed by that stupid dog that you seemed to have missed in the corner of your eye, damnid! Let’s get this introduction over with and get to the review details!

What we liked!

• Interesting art-style: Visually the game is set-up to make enemies and the player stand out, they are all plain white and that helps tremendously with quickly getting rid of dangers. Writing a weird sentence now but the somewhat dull color schemes make it a visually really interesting experience. Why? It took me a long time to realise but it is the impressive blood splatter that makes the Colt Canyon look complete. Everything is randomized too so not one playthrough is the same!
• Co-op perfectly possible! At first I wouldn’t have thought that this was a game with local co-op, but trust me.. it is addictive! Communication is key here, knowing when your partner attacks is extremely important and surviving an ambush together for the first couple if times is really emotionally rewarding.
• Who knew? Cowboys have limited ammo! (gameplay) What I really love about the gameplay is that the best approach is killing enemies silently. Hiding in high grass, rolling and striking for that instant kill is really satisfying, if you don’t end up conserving bullets for ambushes or bosses than it is near impossible to complete the game. It takes a few minutes to get used to the swing analoge shooting but that’s also part of the charm from Colt Canyon. There is no wrong or right way how you play with your character, if you manage to rescue hostages you can choose for upgrades or to take them with you as a AI partner. I personally switched between two fight styles, a fast ninja with really fast movement so I could outrun enemies or simply hide. Or bringing along as much as companions as possible. The choice is completely yours and a lot of playstyles are supported, it starts by selecting your playable range of character, who all have different stats or abilities.

Somewhere between

• Discouraging: We can’t leave the massive horse (elephant) in the desert unsaid, Colt Canyon is challenging, gratifying challenging but Colt Canyon requires skill and can be very frustrating for those who dislike permadeath games. It took me a couple times before I managed to get past the first boss, after a while things get better but you still need to pay attention at all times.

What we disliked

• You don’t like cowboys? What’s wrong with you?

Cowboys need nothin’ more than a hat, horse, and the will to ride, oh and Colt Canyon on Xbox! This roguelite game is surprisingly addictive and found the sweet spot between fun and hair-pulling difficult.