When it comes to Western movies, there are numerous choices, as the genre was incredibly popular from A Fistful of Dollars to The Quick and the Dead. For video games, the Western game barrel is a little drier, and most modern players tend to consider both Red Dead Redemption games to be the end-all, be-all of the genre.
Is that true? Are Rockstar’s Westerns truly the best the genre has to offer, or are older games like Cowboy Kid and Wild Arms 3 more exciting? Let's find out by ranking these games based on their overall quality and how much they fit the spirit of Westerns.
Click or tap on the games that match the category
10 Cowboy Kid
A Top-Down Western
- Developer: Pixel
- Publisher: Romstar (NA)
- Released: January 1992 (NA)
- Platform: NES
Cowboy Kid is an NES game, known as Western Kids in Japan. From its graphical style to its gameplay, it’s pretty much a clone of the early Goemon games, which Western fans may associate with The Legend of the Mystical Ninja on the SNES. Homages aside, players will control a cowboy who can fight bandits in town or in dungeons, collecting money in the process.
Upgrades and items can be purchased in town, and for an NES, there’s a bit of open-world DNA to the mix to make it feel more ahead of its time. It still holds up today if players can somehow find a copy, as it is extremely obscure, but Cowboy Kid still rips as an absolute classic.
9 Gunple: Gunman’s Proof
Zelda + EarthBound
- Developer: Lenar
- Publisher: ASCII
- Platform: SNES
- Released: January 31, 1997
Gunple: Gunman’s Proof is a game that never came to North America, but there is a fan translation to enjoy online. The game looks a lot like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past in terms of its top-down world design, sprites, and in-game menu, but it has the humor of EarthBound.
Players can fight aliens and bandits in the overworld or in dungeons with guns they acquire through the campaign. It may not look like a lot today, but truthfully, this is a hidden gem among hidden gems on the SNES, which just so happens to also be a cool Western that holds up.
8 Darkwatch
From Dusk Till Dawn
Darkwatch
- Released
- August 16, 2005
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, Sexual Themes
- Developer(s)
- High Moon Studios
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 2, Xbox (Original)
Darkwatch is one of the few horror-inspired Westerns starring a vampire hunter who is a vampire himself, looking for the naive who turned him. Levels are linear, but beyond going through open corridors or canyon paths filled with skeletons and other creatures, there are some set pieces, like riding a horse and blasting enemies on rails to change up the pace.
The weapons all have a steampunk design, and there are some powers too, based on good and bad choices, like a blood shield. The only problem with this gothic western now is its unavailability.
7 Wild Arms 3
Turn-Based Horseplay
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Mild Violence
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Wild Arms 3 is the one game in the series that looks the most like a Western, complete with a fantasy desert planet, whistle and guitar-infused soundtrack, and four lone rangers looking for their own piece of the pie. Battles are turn-based, with each of the four heroes sporting a different gun that requires reloading between rounds.
There is magic, skills, and even summonable creatures, too, so there is a bit of mysticism in this Western RPG. Thanks to the PS4 emulated port, now PS5 players can at least enjoy it today.
6 West Of Loathing
Cowboy Stickmen And Women
West of Loathing literally looks like nothing else on the list because it is black and white and features crudely drawn maps, enemies, and allies, but that’s part of the charm. The combat system is very basic for a turn-based RPG, but this is a game that excels in humor and storytelling.
Even the combat can be spiced up thanks to the oddly designed enemies, including cactus goblins and pickle ghosts. Go to towns, talk to NPCs, get quests, and repeat. Despite the stick-figured look, West of Loathing is a fully customizable game from the hero to their class to the choices they can make on quests.
5 Desperados 3
Western Tactics
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Real-Time Strategy
Contrary to most Westerns, Desperados 3 is best played as a stealth game. In each mission, players are free to move their party around in real-time, but things will slow down during combat if caught. A well-executed plan involving sniping from a distance, backstabbing an enemy, or using voodoo powers can be satisfying to pull off, and if things don’t go well, players can always reload save states.
Even the environment can be used in this Western tale of revenge, like sabotaging a church bell. Desperados 3 is certainly different than most, but that’s also what makes it compelling, thanks to its rich characters and narrative.
4 Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
An Imaginative Bounty Hunting Game
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath is one of the few games in the Oddworld series that is not a puzzle platformer, and also one that infuses Western themes into the world and character designs. The titular Stranger is a bounty hunter armed with a crossbow that uses live ammo.
Watching the various critters writhe at the end of the crossbow brings some life to the game, along with seeing how each one affects enemies, from luring them over to capturing them in a net. Thanks to an HD version, this original Xbox action-adventure shooter is readily available to enjoy on several platforms.
3 SteamWorld Dig
Robots Running On Water
SteamWorld Dig is one of the most satisfying indie games to play from start to finish, with hours going by as if they were seconds. The premise finds a prospector robot, Rusty, coming into an Old West town looking to make a quick buck in the mines below.
Players will go into the mine, collect as many materials as possible before running out of water, and return to the surface. The gameplay loop is a constant hunt for more materials to get better upgrades to then explore further in the mines, and even though it lacks gunfights, SteamWorld Dig is an amazing steampunk Western and one of the best in the SteamWorld series, which is still easily accessible.
2 Call Of Juarez: Gunslinger
An Unreliably Good Time
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger is seemingly an ordinary first-person shooter set in the Old West, and a good one at that, complete with fancy gunplay and even old-school showdowns. What sets it apart from the pack is the narrator, Silas Greaves, who is a bounty hunter recounting his stories in a bar full of patrons.
As he tells his story, the levels can change when patrons challenge him on the accuracy. A canyon full of enemies may switch to something more manageable as Silas confesses he may have gotten some things wrong. In the golden age of storytelling, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger pays homage to the greater days of gunslingers, and it can be found on a number of consoles.
1 Red Dead Redemption 2
The Good, The Bad, And The Rockstar
Since 2020, Rockstar has dominated the Western space between Red Dead Redemption and its prequel. Both are great open-world games that could easily make the number one and number two spots, but for the sake of variety, only one will be chosen here, and it’s the prequel. Red Dead Redemption 2’s world gets everything right, from traveling between big plantations or small towns to discovering the thrill of the hunt between bounties and animals.
It captures the Western spirit perfectly, giving players control of a bandit, Arthur Morgan, on the cusp of turning over a new leaf. It’s the best of both worlds with daring set pieces atop moving trains and in town robbing banks, giving players the perfect simulator for how the Old West used to be.