Once upon a time, the Western was as ubiquitous as superhero movies are today. Across movies like “The Searchers,” “High Noon,” and “Rio Bravo,” and television series like “The Rifleman,” “Gunsmoke,” and “Wagon Train,” tales of the West dominated pop culture for decades.
In the realm of video games, however, things are different. By the time gaming started to really take off in the 1980s, the Western had already faded from popularity. Every once in a while, a Western game would pop up, but they seldom made significant waves. That all changed in 2010 with the release of “Red Dead Redemption.” A pseudo-sequel to 2004’s “Red Dead Revolver,” “Red Dead Redemption” was essentially Western “Grand Theft Auto.” The game was seen as something of a side project compared to the more mainstream “Grand Theft Auto IV,” but became a runaway sleeper hit, selling over 25 million units. Eight years later, the series returned with “Red Dead Redemption II,” a massive hit that has sold over 70 million copies to date.
Unfortunately, it’ll probably be a long time before we get a “Red Dead Redemption III.” “Grand Theft Auto VI” is due out in November 2026, a full 13 years after the debut of “Grand Theft Auto V.” At that rate, it’s entirely possible we might not see a “Red Dead Redemption III” until 2031. With that in mind, if you want to get your Western fix, try out these five games that will make you want to put spurs on your boots.
Neversoft was legendary for their work on the “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” and “Guitar Hero” series, but they had some wildcards in their portfolio, from the Bruce Willis-starring “Apocalypse” to 2000’s “Spider-Man” game that set the template for all superhero games to follow. But their wildest of cards came in 2005 with the release of “Gun.”
Despite its laconic name, “Gun” isn’t a simple shooter (we’ll get to one of those a bit later), but a story-driven action/adventure game set in a massive open world. Think of it like the “Mafia” games, or even “The Getaway,” which similarly use a story-driven approach within a large environment you can occasionally explore.
“Gun” distinguished itself with its Hollywood production values. The story was written by Randall Jahnson (“The Doors,” “The Mask of Zorro,” “Sunset Strip,”) and the voice cast includes Thomas Jane, Lance Henriksen, Ron Perlman, and Kris Kristofferson. But “Gun” isn’t an “all hat, no cattle” kind of cowboy game. The action is brutal and exciting, the story has twists and turns, and you’re constantly doing something new for the duration of the admittedly short 6-hour campaign. If you haven’t played this one, it’s on PS2, GameCube, Xbox, PC, and Xbox 360. It even got a version on PSP known as “Gun: Showdown,” which is shockingly complete despite the downgraded visuals, and even boasts additional content not present in any other port.
The Oregon Trail
If you’re of a certain age, you surely have fond memories of going to computer class during elementary school (do they even have computer class anymore?) and playing “The Oregon Trail.” Ostensibly a program dedicated to showing the harsh conditions of pioneer life outside of civilization, “The Oregon Trail” is also an excellent video game.
The original version was first published in 1971, making it easily the oldest title on this list. But it was also revised and reissued many times over the years, to the point where I, a child of the early 1990s, was playing this one in school. The premise is simple enough: you name a group of characters on a wagon headed west, managing resources and dealing with random encounters while trying to survive. The message of “The Oregon Trail” is how the deck is stacked against working-class pioneers, who will inevitably see their self-named characters die horribly, usually from dysentery.
The most recent version of “The Oregon Trail” was released in 2021 by Gameloft and is actually pretty faithful to the original, if expanded with higher production values and more story elements to characterize the cast. Overall, it’s a different kind of game than anything else in this story, but that’s what makes it so special and memorable.
Sunset Riders
Here’s another old-school throwback. Unlike “The Oregon Trail,” there’s nothing educational about “Sunset Riders,” a non-stop thrill ride that consists of little more than walking from left to right and shooting absolutely everyone in your way. Think of it like “Contra” but in the Old West. The pace is also a little bit slower, which makes it a great starting place for budding shoot-’em-up enthusiasts.
A genre-defining arcade game in 1991 with support for up to four players, the console ports to Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo in 1992 and 1993, respectively, limited multiplayer to just two players and had various content cuts and instances of censorship. Thankfully, the arcade original is available on modern platforms thanks to an “Arcade Archives” release in 2020.
With its colorful art style and fast action, “Sunset Riders” is easy to pick up and play, but also has a high skill ceiling thanks to a clever slide-dodge mechanic and a bit of strategy — do you pick the shotgun characters with a slower fire rate but greater bullet spread? Or do you pick the revolver guys with a faster fire rate but only a single projectile? (The answer: shotguns every time!)
Fallout: New Vegas
At a glance, “Fallout: New Vegas” might not seem like a Western, but look a little bit closer. It’s set in the Mojave Desert, the hero is a mysterious courier who is shot and left for dead, and the story involves various factions representing anarchy, order, and control fighting for domination over the wasteland. The weapons include lever-action repeater rifles, six-shooter revolvers, and sawn-off shotguns, and every other character wears either a leather duster or a cowboy hat.
Sure, there are parts of the game set in the casinos of the titular New Vegas, as well as a DLC that has a 1950s sci-fi B-movie vibe. All of this is to say that “Fallout: New Vegas” contains multitudes, but it’s firmly anchored in a post-apocalyptic version of the Old West.
“New Vegas” is too massive of a game to summarize in this space. It’s a sprawling epic where the player goes on an odyssey across a twisted Americana landscape. Even if a few missions are practically impossible to complete without a guide, “New Vegas” is still rightfully lauded as one of the greatest games of all time. When you’re out in the desert fighting off radioactive giant ants with sticks of TNT while listening to Marty Robbins on the in-game radio, there’s no doubt about it: “New Vegas” is a great many things, but chief among them, it is definitely a Western.
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
Before Techland became famous for revolutionizing the zombie game twice over with “Dead Island” and “Dying Light,” they cut their teeth on an underrated Wild West FPS series, “Call of Juarez.” The original game first released in 2006, with an Xbox 360 port following in 2007. The game was rough around the edges but offered a unique story. Fortunately, Techland were allowed to do what all game devs dream of doing: crafting a follow-up that improved on the original’s strengths and mitigated its weaknesses.
Released in 2009 across PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, “Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood” is a prequel that follows brothers Ray and Thomas McCall in a linear story as they desert the Confederate army near the end of the Civil War. They’re hot on the trail of the legendary Gold of Juarez with younger brother William, a pacifist priest, in tow. He tries to act as their conscience as they fall by quickening inches into bloodlust and greed. The gameplay features visceral first person shooting and fast-draw duels. “Bound in Blood” cuts out all the slow-paced stealth and ill-advised platforming from the original game to make for a prequel that hits hard and fast, like a barrage of bullets from a six-shooter.
Unfortunately, “Bound in Blood” was followed by a modern-day neo-Western sequel, “Call of Juarez: The Cartel,” which failed among both fans and critics. Even so, the series got one last chance with the excellent “Call of Juarez: Gunslinger,” a smaller game focusing on an unreliable narrator relaying his blood-soaked past to the enthralled patrons of his local tavern over a drink … Or maybe the whole bottle.
