Hard West

Hard West is a turn-based tactical strategy game that transports players to the "Weird West," a dark fantasy interpretation of the American frontier filled with demons, cultists, and the undead. You follow the tragic story of Warren, a man seeking revenge against the Devil himself after a series of horrific misfortunes. The game blends XCOM-style combat with a grim narrative structure divided into several scenarios, mixing tactical gunfights with a text-based overworld map where resource management and difficult choices determine your survival.

The title gained popularity among strategy enthusiasts for introducing unique mechanics to the genre, specifically the "Luck" system, which serves as a shield that depletes as characters avoid damage, ensuring that no unit remains invincible forever. Players also utilize environment interaction, such as ricocheting bullets off metal objects to kill enemies behind cover and spotting shadows to reveal locations. While strictly a single-player experience without a competitive scene, Hard West is praised for its atmospheric storytelling and its innovative poker-card ability system which allows for deep character customization.

Released in 2015 on the Unity engine, Hard West is not particularly demanding on modern hardware and is highly optimized for a wide range of systems. It runs smoothly on older dual-core CPUs and entry-level dedicated graphics cards from a decade ago. For benchmark purposes, this title is excellent for testing low-end or budget laptop configurations. Most modern integrated graphics can handle the game at 1080p, though a dedicated GPU is recommended to maximize shadow quality and lighting effects, which are crucial for the game's dark aesthetic.