Wild Bastards isn't quite the game I expected. This rogue-like FPS by Blue Manchu is notionally a follow-up to 2019's Void Bastards, but it differs from the studio's comic sci-fi shooter in some fundamental ways. Where Void Bastards was a System Shock-style shooter that featured boardgame-like space exploration, Wild Bastards is a planet-plundering boardgame that features arena-style gunslinging.
It's a significant change of emphasis, and at first, I hated it. Not only did Wild Bastards seem to take away the thing I liked most about Void Bastards – exploring derelict spaceships filled with weird enemies and chaotic potential – it didn't seem to replace it with much at all. But this proved a premature reaction. Wild Bastards' change of emphasis reflects new ideas it wants to pursue, and while I'm still sceptical about some of these, there are others that I'm very excited by.
