Watch the Review in 3 Minutes for El Paso, Elsewhere, a neo noir 3rd-person shooter developed and published by Strange Scaffold.
El Paso, Elsewhere Review Transcript
El Paso, Elsewhere is a neo noir 3rd person shooter developed and published by Strange Scaffold. You step into the shoes of James Savage, a gun toting, pill popping badass. His mission? To thwart the sinister plans of Draculae, the vampire lord, who is on the verge of unleashing a world-ending ritual. The twist? Draculae happens to be James’ ex-girlfriend, and their past is far from ordinary. As you embark on this journey, you’ll make your way to a motel in El Paso and magically descend 46 stories – killing monsters, werewolves and much more.
The game may evoke memories of Max Payne with its slow-motion dives and PS2-era aesthetics; however, its gameplay takes a different route. It leans more towards the frenetic action of Hotline Miami, with maze-like levels. As you advance, you gain an arsenal of weapons, including a shotgun, an assault rifle, and molotovs, each performing as expected, allowing seamless gunplay transitions. Running low on ammo? Well, stakes provide instant enemy takedowns. You’re always well-stocked with healing items, ammo, and stakes, ensuring you’re never left in a tight spot.
However, this is where the gameplay might lose some of its appeal for me. After 4 to 5 hours, the action falls a bit flat due to some repetition and less challenging difficulty. While it’s true that you can tweak modifiers to your liking, it doesn’t fully address the issue when there’s an abundance of ammo, healing items, and predictable AI foes. Another aspect that didn’t quite hit the mark for me was the slow-motion feature. While it certainly adds some flair to the game, it often feels unnecessary. Dispatching enemies with regular speed and employing dodge rolls often proves more efficient than relying on the slow-motion mechanic altogether.
Fortunately, I found the plot to be a real highlight of the game, thanks in large part to James’ introspective monologues. It’s a dark and cryptic narrative that gradually reveals its authenticity. Initially, I was skeptical of these moments, finding them somewhat cheesy and forced. However, as I played on, the execution grew on me. These intermissions between levels provided a welcome change of pace, especially when the gameplay started to feel a bit repetitive. These monologues not only injected narrative depth but also offered a glimpse into the complex dynamics of the former lovers’ relationship, which I thoroughly appreciated.
While the gameplay can become repetitive, I must commend the game’s visuals and level design. The levels maintain a consistent layout, transitioning from simplicity to complexity seamlessly without causing any confusion. As you descend further, the levels evolve into edgier and more interesting environments, which adds significant value to the overall experience.
While exploring El Paso, Elsewhere, I had mixed feelings about the soundtrack. On one hand, I appreciated the instrumental tracks, which effectively contributed to the mood and theme of each floor. However, I couldn’t quite get on board with most of the original songs featuring rap vocals. They felt out of place and disrupted my sense of immersion, often bordering on cringe-worthy. Eventually, I resorted to muting the audio to regain my focus and fully immerse myself in the gameplay.
Outside of the plot, El Paso, Elsewhere falls short of making a significant impact. The AI and its accompanying modifiers are underwhelming, making the slow-motion feature seem somewhat redundant. The gameplay gets repetitive and dull, and the less said about that original soundtrack, the better.
El Paso, Elsewhere is available now on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC for $19.99.
