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The Legend of Cyber Cowboy Review

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Cyberpunk Meets Wild West

Another entry in Eastasiasoft’s attempt to take over the world via the medium of cheap video games has arrived on the scene. The Legend of Cyber Cowboy, is, you’ll not be surprised to learn, a somewhat retro styled shooter. And given that everything these days seems to be a subject for a touch of cyberpunk, is the Wild West a step too far, or has it been crying out for a bit of cyber augmentation? Well, grab your six shooters as we attempt to find out. 

The Legend of Cyber Cowboy Review 1
Prove yourself as the Cyber Cowboy

A Simple Story of Cybernetic Cowboys and Bandit Brawls

Story? Well, no. See, in The Legend of Cyber Cowboy, whilst there has been a bit of an attempt to flesh out why we are having to run around shooting things, it is rudimentary at best. We play a cybernetically enhanced cowboy, complete with a mechanical arm, and it is our job to stop the various bandits who are misusing the technology, using it to oppress the regular populace. And what better way to settle any differences than to shoot anything and everything that moves? Well, there doesn’t seem to be another option, so that’s what we will do. 

The Legend of Cyber Cowboy is very much retro in style, with a cute pixel art look to the enemies and backdrops. The game is a top-down, twin-stick shooter, and the enemies are all pretty much of a muchness; all seemingly pressed from a limited number of molds, but this is to be expected. The backdrops all look very similar too, running as a collection of rooms with bits of furniture in. Entering a room spawns some baddies and locks the door, whilst defeating them all unlocks the doors and allows you to move to the next. 

And as you may again expect to hear, the audio is somewhat muted, with various bangs and booms from the weapons; both those that we can find and equip, and the arsenal that the enemies aim in your general direction. Having killed all the baddies and explored the whole level, the last thing to do is kill a boss, and here The Legend of Cyber Cowboy changes tack, to more of a bullet hell shooter. All in all, there is nothing really to complain about. 

The Legend of Cyber Cowboy Review 2
Twin-stick to glory

Twin-Stick Troubles: Inaccurate Aiming Hampers the Gunplay

As anyone who has ever played a twin-stick shooter before will no doubt know, the controls are simplicity itself. The left stick moves your character, while the right stick aims the all-important weapon. RT fires it. And that is all there is to write about the controls! So, as you can doubtless work out, it is possible for the cowboy to run right while firing left, hence the “twin-stick shooter” epithet.

However, all is not well in the world with these controls, as the aiming is very haphazard, and feels extremely inaccurate. The best of these type of shooter games makes aiming and firing feel intuitive and effortless, but here the aiming feels off, with the bullets going in a direction that you would be prepared to swear you weren’t pushing on the stick. Quite often I found myself firing in a straight line and then trying to almost walk the bullets into the enemies by moving the character rather than aiming. This seemed to work better, to be honest. 

Upgrading Weapons and Replenishing Health

As we go through the game, there are a couple of rooms to be found with no foes to worry about. The first of these involves a man standing around, offering to sell us new weapons. We have a choice of two, and the different weapons offer different stats. These range from a shotgun that is strong at close range, to a flamethrower or a laser, with various others to pick from. The thing is, they have limited ammunition, whereas our default pistol has infinite ammo. However, should we run out, the second of the enemy-free rooms will come in handy, allowing the chance to buy ammo top ups, as well as to increase any health levels. Going in to face a level boss with a weedy pistol and half health is a recipe for disaster. Ask me how I know…

Obviously the things in these rooms have to be paid for, and the in-game currency of The Legend of Cyber Cowboy comes from defeated enemies, who drop a load of coins when they are sufficiently full of lead. Picking these coins up then leads to better weapons and so on, so while some rooms seem to have too many enemies in at first glance, they don’t half fill the coffers when you have taken them all out. 

The Legend of Cyber Cowboy Review 3
Very much ‘Okay’

A Middling Shootout with a Few Aiming Issues

I can’t help but feel that The Legend of Cyber Cowboy is very much the definition of “Okay”. It isn’t the worst game in the world, nor is it the best, instead landing very much in the middle of the road. There is a stiff challenge to be had, which is mostly down to the dodgy aiming, but the bosses add another layer of difficulty. If you like cyberpunk games, or twin-stick shooters, give it a go. But otherwise, you may well struggle to enjoy your time here. 


The Legend of Cyber Cowboy: A Rootin’ Tootin’ Roguelite with a Steampunk Twist – https://www.thexboxhub.com/the-legend-of-cyber-cowboy-a-rootin-tootin-roguelite-with-a-steampunk-twist/

Buy The Legend of Cyber Cowboy on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/the-legend-of-cyber-cowboy/9N00B1762FN5


SUMMARY

Pros:
  • Cute pixel art look
  • Bosses are challenging
  • New weapons add a bit of variety
Cons:
  • Aiming is wonky
  • Not the most polished game ever
Info:
  • Massive thanks for the free copy of the game, Eastasiasoft
  • Formats - Xbox Series X|S (review), Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Switch
  • Not Available on Game Pass Day One
  • Release date | Price - 1 January 2025 | £4.19
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<b>Pros:</b> <ul> <li>Cute pixel art look</li> <li>Bosses are challenging</li> <li>New weapons add a bit of variety</li> </ul> <b>Cons:</b> <ul> <li>Aiming is wonky</li> <li>Not the most polished game ever</li> </ul> <b>Info:</b> <ul> <li>Massive thanks for the free copy of the game, Eastasiasoft</li> <li>Formats - Xbox Series X|S (review), Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Switch <li>Not Available on Game Pass Day One <li>Release date | Price - 1 January 2025 | £4.19</li> </ul>The Legend of Cyber Cowboy Review
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