Call of Juarez: Gunslinger Switch Review - Time to saddle up!

By Sam Coles:

The Western genre seems to be somewhat of a rarity in video games, but this is mostly due to Rockstar Games scaring everyone in the industry away from making them with their Red Dead games. However there is a underrated series made by Techland, yes that Techland who are more known for Dead Island and their latest franchise Dying Light. However I would say their more noteworthy titles were the Call of Juarez series, great first person shooters set in the old west. Recently I was gifted a Nintendo Switch via a sponsorship, as well as some game codes which happen to feature Call of Juarez: Gunslinger.

This game was originally released on the Xbox 360 and PS3 exclusively digital in 2013, which is probably the reason why it didn’t sell well that and it was released in the middle of the summer of that year. Anyway I am taking a look at the Nintendo Switch edition, which I was really surprised how well this game handles as I was worried how first person shooters would handle all together, but I am really impressed. Let’s get into more details.

The game starts off in the year 1910 where we see an old cowboy ride into town, where he is nearly hit by a car showing the civilised age taking over the old west. He stumbles into a Saloon as he is almost immediately recognised, as he is a legendary bounty hunter named Silas Greaves. The customers of the bar offer to buy him a drink in exchange for some of his tales as a bounty hunter, so each chapter is recollected by him. This is part of the narrative I like as it uses the unreliable narrator trope, this works really well as it bleeds into the gameplay where random objects suddenly appear, or he remembers the enemies differently. It makes for an entertaining plot because it never really breaks the flow of gameplay, and relies on environmental storytelling. 

The gameplay like the first two games is a first person shooter, and yes I said last two games as we don’t count The Cartel as that game is on par with being buried alive but I digress. Anyway it is a first person shooter that leans more towards arcade fun instead of scripted events, it feels more old school although it does use a regenerating health system. Each level is short and sweet and you are rewarded for gunning down enemies as quickly as you can, as your combo will build if you maintain your momentum. I like this as it keeps the pace fast, and honestly it never really breaks its pace.

The shooting feels fantastic in this game, the guns feel powerful where I almost have to hip thrust with every pull of the trigger especially the shotguns. Unlike the other Call of Juarez games Gunslinger plays like a competent shooter, the controls are snappy and tight as well as movement being fluid as you dash through each encounter. I was somewhat worried how first person shooters would handle on the Switch due to the tiny nubs that call themselves analogue sticks, but fortunately they feel great and go toe to toe with standard console controllers.

You earn skill points through out your adventure, these are split into three different skill trees which are tied to revolvers, rifles and shotguns. These are very useful from the practicality of reloading revolvers in a speedy fashion, to the more absurd of duel wielding sawn-off shotguns. They all cater to the playstyle that you want to take, if you want to have more of a methodical and sniper approach you can do that or in my case it was more chaotic as I ran around like a madman with two shotguns in my hands.

Visually this game holds up extremely well, this mostly stems from its cell shaded art style with its bright and colourful aesthetic. There are beautiful and wide open canyons and valleys you will traverse through, as you gun down anything that looks at you funny. The feedback visually from enemies is fantastic too, you get a real sense of weight as you gun down bandits as you see blood fly everywhere and paint the walls where it is coupled with a sickening squelching sound. Performance wise the game ran at a pretty consistent 30 frames per second, which it didn’t maintain its framerate in its initial release on the Xbox 360 which would stutter as soon as things would start exploding.

Overall Call of Juarez Gunslinger is a perfect fit for the Nintendo Switch, with its fast paced and bitesize action. If you are looking for a great FPS game on the go then this game is for you!