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El Paso, Elsewhere is a game that is unique on its own, although at first glance, it’s easy to see some glaring similarities. It got on my radar because it had bullet time and diving - the trailer looks just like Max Payne. When the tutorial introduces popping pills to heal, wow, just like Max Payne. My first hour or two, however, led to a feeling of dissidence. I really wanted to like this game, but I was trying to play it like Max Payne and it just wasn’t working. I kept pushing on, worked hard to get past the baggage I brought along into the experience, and take it for its own unique game. El Paso, Elsewhere is an enjoyable and succinct game that doesn’t overstay its welcome.
I can’t stress the Max Payne similarities of the opening few hours. You find a radio/TV with worldbuilding skits right out of the gate. The way the camera sits over the shoulder of the player character tickles something just right. The beginning level is a drab motel. Something about the level design immediately clashes though, and I just couldn’t figure out how I was supposed to dive and shoot around this environment. I kept diving into the walls, diving down these one way skinny corridors in the only direction I could - it didn’t feel great.
It was a lot of diving in these very narrow hallways that don’t necessarily allow for diving that led me to slow down and unpack this thing. What is it actually trying to do? How am I supposed to play this? Clicking on heads with your dual pistols didn’t result in the best success rate. It became clear quickly though that while in bullet time, head shots are one shot kills. It’s quite easy to line up the kills in slo-mo - most of the baddies you meet just run at you in a straight line. Eventually the field diversifies: there are some biblically accurate angels raining down on you, warping witch-y brides that channel a big orb of something and shoot you with it. But for the most part, lots of cannon fodder zombies running at you in a straight line.
The level design takes some very clear inspirations from the original DOOM games. Right off the bat, there are no ceilings. You’re picking up coloured keys to open coloured doors. When you grab said key, enemies pop in and respawn. The maps do a good job of disorienting you; the world after all is ending and you’re taking an elevator down towards the source of the trouble. With the lack of ceilings, big pillars of light shine above the ground floor indicating objectives, letting you get lost in maze-like hallways, but you have a beacon in the sky to follow. It was a nice balance of pushing ahead in a disoriented manner, guided by a huge pillar of light.
A couple of different environments help keep the world feeling fresh. You’ll be in a motel, next level you’ll be in an Egyptian inspired level à la Serious Sam, there is a nice dank rainy graveyard mausoleum type thing too. Very cool Quake 1 type castle levels with awesome stained glass to break. The story lends itself to this, the player character is slowly losing his mind as he progresses to his goal of stopping the process causing all these rifts.
The story is presented in stellar acted cutscenes at the start of each 15-20 minute level. The story is good, a tale of overcoming toxic relationships and knowing your worth. The player character can deliver some crappy and edgelord-esque diatribes. I took it with a grain of salt as it is a bit of an edgy game, you’re on your way to stop your ex who also happens to be Dracula. It was just kind of extra right off the bat.
The game looks great, it’s got that pseudo PS2 look going on, and they do some neat tricks with the lighting. Casting some big shadows down some long hallways. The music is a mixed bag - all the instrumentals slap with a good variety of electronica and breakbeats and various neo-gothy vibes. However the other half is absolutely ass rapping - it’s like someone who’s inspiration is modern Eminem. The opening of the game kicks off with a cool hip-hop beat, but they pull this switcheroo with this absolutely ass rapper. Wish there was a menu toggle to keep it mostly instrumental because it does become a distraction.
El Paso, Elsewhere is a very good weekend romp. I wanted a palette cleanser between some bigger games, and this was around 7 hours with not much replay value aside from some difficulty sliders. Know what you’re getting into, cringe at the crappy raps and crappy diatribe, have a blast popping into a room, slowing everything down, and clicking on some heads.
https://wojtekjanda.neocities.org/posts/2024-12-19-El-Paso-Elsewhere-Review