El Paso, Elsewhere

“I'm a big fan of this game. It's just £15.99 and puts up more content, style, and attitude than some big-budget titles. I highly recommended it if you ever enjoyed Max Payne, just don't expect too much variety, it is after all, essentially a circular wave shooter with a badass gritty storyline.”

“Strange Scaffold's shooter is like a drunken boxer in a bar brawl: lacking consistency, but the blows that connect are knockouts.”

“El Paso, Elsewhere may seem a mimicry of multiple games and ideas. But its impeccable writing and vibrant soundtrack carve a path through evolving chapters of demon hunting and introspection, leaving the player thirsty for more.”

“El Paso, Elsewhere is a fun throwback to a simpler time in video games. All we needed was dual pistols, a slow-motion dive and some gruff narration and this game checks all those boxes. While I was not blown away by the PS1-esque graphics; I am sure that there will be those that will enjoy them. But it’s the story that folks should come for, the tale between these two lovers is something worthy of a sad opera. Despite its shortcomings El Paso, Elsewhere surprised me quite a bit and could end up being quite the sleeper of 2023.”

“El Paso, Elsewhere is undeniably rough around the edges, but with some additional development time, it has the potential for greatness. In its current state, it feels like a preliminary draft—an approximation of the developer’s vision. Given more time for polish and refinement, El Paso, Elsewhere could indeed evolve into a worthy successor to Max Payne.”

“El Paso, Elsewhere does nothing new as a videogame - the whole point of it, in fact, is to do everything old. Despite revolving around the nucleus of a Max Payne homage and flatly refusing to flesh out the mechanics of a game from 2001, El Paso manages to transcend its skeletal concept thanks to an arresting presentation and brilliant story. Incredibly written with themes that speak to me on a deeply personal level, it compensates for its weaknesses as a game by simply being a brilliant piece of media.”

“El Paso, Elsewhere wears its influences on its sleeves, and while it doesn't reach the same highs set by Max Payne all those years ago, it more than makes up for it in its story and presentation.”

“El Paso, Elsewhere combines simple yet delicately balanced action with an engrossing story about vampires, love, and the end of the world.”

“That El Paso, Elsewhere works at all as a drama is a huge achievement. It tackles weighty topics with a maturity that’s rare in gaming, and which is all the more impressive given that it does so within the framework of a shooter that suggests a Halloween attraction as curated by John Woo. It’s emblematic of the game as a whole—a bizarre amalgamation of parts that shouldn’t work yet manages to form something cohesive, soulful, weird, and deeply personal.”

“No genuinely good game has ever been hurt by being too easy, though. With El Paso, Elsewhere Strange Scaffold has given us one of 2023’s great games—one that’s in constant conversation with the medium’s past, while simultaneously brushing against the emotional and intellectual boundaries of games. And it does it all with one hell of a sense of a style. El Paso, Elsewhere’s greatness lies not in the excellence of any one of its single components, but in the consistently high level of quality found across all of them. It does everything it tries to do exceedingly well, with sound, image, story, and interaction combining into a uniformly great package. Game designers can learn a lot from El Paso, Elsewhere, and perhaps even act on that knowledge, if their publishers let them.”

“El Paso, Elsewhere is a fun throwback that tells an interesting story, but the shooting and diving gameplay just doesn't hold its own.”

“El Paso, Elsewhere takes a solid shooter foundation and elevates it with a compelling and raw look at humanity as told through a story of monsters and mythology. Outstanding performances, sharp writing, and some kick-arse combat collide to make a unique and memorable experience.”

“Once you understand what the game’s chilling, intimate story is saying and how it’s reinforced by gameplay and aesthetics, you’ll have a hard time putting it down. El Paso, Elsewhere is one of the most captivating indies of the year. It might make you uncomfortable, but that’s very much the point.”

“Demake visuals are the perfect match for a game that's both direct and gloriously weird.”

“The actual gameplay of El Paso, Elsewhere didn’t really impress me. It’s an interesting twist on Max Payne, but it falls short in a lot of ways. Its story, though? Hoo, gosh. I’m going to be chewing on this for a while.”

“El Paso, Elsewhere is an excellent nod to the days of Max Payne, but thanks to its impressive story, surreal world and unforgettable soundtrack, it still manages to stand on its own as a top-notch shooter. With smooth, slick combat that perfectly feels like a classic action games with a modern feel, this is one terrific blast of adrenaline that anyone should check out. The Void may mess with you quite a bit, but the trip through it is definitely worth taking.”

“While El Paso, Elsewhere is an entertaining game, it doesn't bring anything new or revolutionary to the table. That being said, it's a game worth playing at the end of the day.”