El Paso, Elsewhere snuck up on me and quickly became one of my new favorite titles. It’s not hard to see why: Vampires, occultism, pill-popping vigilantes and reality-bending horror dimensions litter this personality-packed little title and elevate it into something that truly stands out from other shooters on the market. To top it all off, phenomenal writing fills the silence between gunshots in an action-packed noir you’re not soon to forget.
Going into El Paso, Elsewhere, you’re immediately given a small flavor of what’s to come ahead. A brief tutorial and an emotional cutscene set the stage for both the gameplay and story phenomenally. You are a former paranormal investigator, addicted to pills and with some serious chips on your shoulder, throwing away your safety and sobriety to go after your ex, Draculae. The vampire has taken over a small hotel in El Paso, Texas, and innocent lives are threatened. With two pistols, some stakes, a solemn inner monologue and a lot of pills, you set out to save them.
El Paso, Elsewhere features gameplay that would make any cheesy action movie proud, in all of the best ways. Using a variety of weapons, you blast your way through the endless halls of the hotel, mowing down vampires as you rescue hostages from your evil ex. Bullets aren’t enough, however, and you’ll have to jump and slide across the floor, sometimes in slow motion, to slay these ghoulies with style. You also have the ability to kick down furniture to collect stakes, which you can shove through the heart of your vampiric foes for an especially deadly attack.
You pop painkillers to heal, an action that is thematically important and fitting for the sort of gritty action movie badass our protagonist is made out to be. The game’s writing reminds of something out of Taxi Driver or Sin City and I absolutely adore every second of it. The game is certainly packed with dark content and depressing dialogue, but it isn’t what I’d call edgy for edginess’ sake. It’s exactly the kind of story I adore.
You’ll get to really experience the writing both as you slay the army of the night and in your breaks between. Most of the game’s story is delivered through the protagonist’s internal dialogue, as he reflects on the past and decisions that led him to this moment, including the fact that a Leprechaun has chewed on his leg. To my surprise, the game also features a ton of cutscenes that you’ll get to see between every few levels, telling a deep and engaging story about the tragic love affair that led you to this twisted place.
El Paso, Elsewhere has a pretty simple yet engaging gameplay loop that carries between levels. The beginning of a stage sees you clearing out a floor of the inter-dimensional hotel and rescuing the hostages trapped there. Navigating toward each hostage is a maze in of itself, as the hotel has long since broken past the bounds of our reality and straightforward paths are never an option. After rescuing all the hostages, you then have to backtrack to the elevator, often through a different path, and proceed to the next level.
El Paso’s gunplay is as high-octane and gritty as its story. Enemies come at you in groups, and will tear you down fast if you let them. Your arsenal of weapons will soak enemies with lead, but if you’re not careful you’ll quickly find yourself running low on ammo around your spongey enemies. You have to keep moving, diving, shooting, staking and popping pills to keep alive, at least long enough to make this one way trip.
The gameplay of El Paso, Elsewhere isn’t exactly what I’d call hard, but the difficulty can be there. Like I said, if you’re not careful, you’ll go down fast. Resources are scarce enough to keep you wanting, sort of like a higher-octane Resident Evil or more obviously like Max Payne. Occasionally, you’ll find yourself in a death-loop, as the game will respawn you in a bad position without much hope of escaping. To get around this you can just restart the level, and levels aren’t so long that doing so feels like punishment.
The entire game has a sort of PlayStation 1 art style, which isn’t super obvious until you see the protagonist’s face. To say the style works is an understatement, but I actually hadn’t noticed just how low res everything was outside of the moments where it was super obvious. The game just looks fantastic and goes to show that you don’t have to pursue realism to make your game look good.
Even with an expressionless face, you can feel the character in protagonist James and everyone else written into El Paso, Elsewhere’s story. The tale of scorned lovers is captivating and made all the better by the richness of the characters. El Paso, Elsewhere in my opinion is a masterclass in dialogue writing, and I want to see more to come of these characters and the world beyond the game.
Lastly, one of El Paso, Elsewhere’s biggest standout features is its soundtrack. This high-energy hip-hop score features intense beats and fantastic lyrics that really get you into the mood for vampire slaying. I was taken aback when the first vocal track came on and simply drowned in the vibe, quickly realizing that this game had an energy few others are capable or willing to achieve.
The Final Word
El Paso, Elsewhere is a rare gem that I think everyone should have in their libraries. Fans of shooters and the supernatural share common ground in this phenomenal title, filled to the brim with rich writing, a unique world, and gameplay and presentation absolutely packed with personality. El Paso, Elsewhere is sure to be one of the most memorable gaming experiences you’ll have this year, perhaps ever.
10
Try Hard Guides was provided with a PC review copy of this game. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles in the Game Reviews section of our website! El Paso, Elsewhere is available on Steam and Xbox.