Today, I review at demo version of Moth Atlas’ Tombwater (2025). With name like that, I expect good time and nothing else.
What a peaceful view of train in wild west. But there must be trouble afoot otherwise it’s called tranquil west instead of wild west, right?
Hello, not Clint Eastwood. Right of the bat, the game starts with train robbery. The guy near the safe named Nickel manages to open it only to find it’s empty. This is a trap! My guy is that guy with black sideburns. As far as I know, he’s nameless. I will call him Bashburn in honor of one of muscular guy armed with sledgehammer that I killed in Kagero.
My crime partners have left me behind, toward left passenger car. I have to follow up them. So, I can use D-pad to move around. Holding L2 (which is Left Trigger) and right joystick to aim my gun. Pressing R2 (which is Right Trigger) to shoot. I don’t usually use controller to play PC game. I prefer using keyboard. It feels not right not to use W,A,S,D and mouse. But screenshot proofs that I used controller back then. Maybe because I need to use controller in order for my headset to work so I might as well as use the controller for this game. The headset can no longer work when I connect it directly from my laptop. But again, I always use controller when playing Rogue Legacy and I have better gameplay experience when I use controller in Curse of The Dead Gods. So, whatever.
I can catch up with Nickel on next passenger car but we’re blocked by those gunmen. However, Nickel quickly runs for the open door on the south and I should follow him.
I jump out of the train
safely. I don’t see Nickel around, strangely. But I find the first bonfire!
There’s message “Sit at campfire to heal and replenish your refillable item.
Most enemies will also return to life.” This is another Soulslike, huh?
Pressing circle button to dash that consumes stamina. Yep. Definitely Soulslike.
I can or rather must use dash to jump over the chasm. But in the other side of the chasm is group of enemies waiting to ambush me! Engineer_negativevocalization01.wav
Through Ghost Town and I end up in cemetery where I meet Flintwood West. He suffers heavy injury though he can still walk out of here. Flintwood tells me to split up and lay low. Harsh life of desperadoes.
Ok. Why there’s ghost lady with bright light as head as soon as Flintwood leaves? I like to shoot at her but Bashburn refuses to fire the hog leg.
Approaching the scary entity, starts the class choice with various stats and starting equipment. Soldier seems closest to warrior class. Gunslinger should be must-pick up because of the wild west setting. There’s class with lowest stats and worst starting equipment called Nameless, which is similar to Drifter in Hellsign. In the end, I choose Spellblade because I’m weird like that. Also, spellblade is my favorite class in Rogue Legacy.
After choosing my class. The game skips to this place called “Presidio Alto”. The message says that this place is the midway of the game. It’s very rare demo game that gives the player a taste on 50% in the game. The only example of demo did that kind of thing is Doom 2: Hell on Earth, which gives demo on Map 27 Monster Condo. That’s what I remember.
I get trinket not far from the entrance. Now, I need merchant to sell this thing.
Oh! There you are. Once again, I find the merchant not far from entrance. Bonfire also there too. I don’t find hostile yet. Or Nickel.
The merchant sells guns, shovel, and eyeballs? Oookay?
Then I got hit by bunch of arrow slits because I want to get something shiny there. The karma of me playing Kagero and Deception 3 and liking them. Turns out it was just Bandit Aster. Stupid flower!
Now I can level up in bonfire.
There are only 3 stats that I can level up. Life is health point. Endurance is
stamina. Lastly, Lucidity is resistance to madness. That’s vaguely useful.
Then I die by this massive Freddy Kruger. The bastard attacks me relentlessly as he saw me on the courtyard ahead and he’s not even in my dream.
So, I left something behind when I die. Definitely Dark Soul thing. I didn’t notice that my remain can heal me. I always destroy/pick/whatever my remain to regain my money and experience to fill my level up bar.
I learn my lesson not to take the courtyard north of bonfire and get inside the building where I got shot by array of arrow slits. However, I died by bunch of possessed bandits. I must be more careful fighting them. Shooting my gun requires bullets. Attacking enemy with sword refill ammo reserve but it costs stamina. I still need to get used to this unique gameplay.
This time, it goes well. I just need to be more stealth and not trigger all of the enemies. Aha! I notice some enemies explode when die. Cheeky gits!
Speaking of cheeky gits, look at those mugs waiting to ambush me and one of them man a cannon. Thank God, this game has Top-down view otherwise I can’t see this blasted ambush. I take care of them and I can fire the cannon. Although I don’t see the benefit doing that.
I operate this lever to reveal a shortcut! Typical Dark Soul like game.
Suddenly I trap in big room with bunch of bandits and the blasted Freddy Kruger. I die! This room is blocked with vines that sprout suddenly. So, the only way out is to kill all the enemies first and the vines vanish.
Maybe I need to buy something from the merchant. There’s ivory handgun that can freeze enemy. Then there’s this fire shotgun which reminds me of Burnastikk in Warhammer 40K Shootas, Blood & Teef. The goods here are worth my money.
Hey! WHAT THE FREAK! This is safe place. You can’t attack me here! This is serious violation to safety standard in video game!
I bought the shotgun but also shovel because I’m not wise. The shovel is heavy and lacks of range and attack power compared to sword. Ok. I figure out that I can use shovel to dig ground and throw it forward with R1 (Right bumper). Then this strange bar appears and filled. I see. That bar is madness bar. It will fill whenever I use ability. So, instead of using mana or MP cost, ability will fill madness bar. If the madness bar is fully filled, I can’t use any ability anymore until I rest at bonfire.
It doesn’t make sense that using shovel to dig fill madness bar instead of -you know- depletes stamina bar. So, I imagine Bashburn isn’t exhausted when using shovel to dig. Instead, he goes mad/angry when does that because he wants to smack someone with shovel instead of digging for God’s sake!
I can defeat the Freddie Kruger easier with the fire shotgun although it costs 2 bullets per shoot. What the heck? Sniper’s laser pointer in wild west era? Now, that’s the real madness! Also, I notice there’s Sadako on lower ground on the west. Soon or later, I have to deal with her *sigh*.
I find the sniper. He can’t shoot me from there. But I can’t climb up to his place yet. Stalemate! Spy_autodejectedtie01.wav
Not every enemy is hostile. There are a bunch of enemies who do nothing other than covering their ear in fear or disturbed. You can still kill them for experience and money though.
I return to the merchant again to buy charm which can only be equipped on the bonfire. There’s this charm that allow you to deflect bullet with melee weapon? What’s this John Woo’s rubbish?
Eventually, I’m on same ground as the Sadako and we fight. This is the second time I fight Sadako in wild west era besides in Dark Adelita. I don’t know why bandits over there become wild and destroy the barrels. Maybe they’re excited with our fight.
I arrive at platforming section. Moreover, there’s some platforms that fall when stepped. There’s no button to jump. What should I do? Oh, I can dash through pit.
Finally, I acquire climbing gear. Now, I can climb on rocky wall like the one on the most right and also near that damn sniper.
Now, I know why the merchant
sells scary eyeballs. I can cultivate eyeball on bonfire to acquire magic
spell! How dumb of me weird that I know about magic spell just now when
I already have 1 spell because my class is Spellblade. Magic spell and use item
the same slot, so you can only do either casting magic or using item, excluding
healing item which is healing flask on slot that’s activated with triangle
button. Using magic spell or combat item is done by pressing square button. Be
sure to equip it properly on main menu.
The spellblade already has grave finger magic which summons undead hands from ground. Reminds me of Jedah Dohma’s super Finale Rosso from Vampire Savior and Tsuchi Jogo magic in Kuon.
After long venturing…
I’m trapped in cell with conquistador ghost but I have this magic called “Fusillade” that summons ghost gunman to fire their ghost gun. Engineer_sf13_influx_big01.wav
Defeating this ghost rewards me with Spanish Fort key which is mandatory key item to progress.
The fort leads to this dark mine. Don’t mind that Ctulhu head statue. I find this ember that said to make me stronger! Heavy_sf13_influx_big04.wav
The mine filled with shadow demon and this flying maggot. I miss the outside.
Then there’s this puzzle where I need to put the correct symbol as seen on pillar on previous screenshot. Simple yet likeable puzzle.
Eventually, I meet the first boss: Kansas Stilton himself. He’s just big guy swinging pickaxe and does Naruto run really hard. Compared to conquistador ghost, Kansas is less eldritch or even interesting looking even though he can throw black magic every now and then.
It takes several attempts to defeat him. You can spare or kill him. I choose to spare him because he’s not that interesting to kill. Anyway, the witch named Adelaide is probably responsible for this madness. Look, guys! He says the title “Tombwater”. Clap! Clap!
Because I spare his life, Kansas gives me key to storage room that hopefully contains useful provisions.
As I move beyond the boss area and hopefully find the storage room, I encounter Max the developer. He says that this is the end of demo. This is the second times I meet representation of Developer that tell me the demo is over, besides in Clockwork Ambrosia. I’m not upset. It’s just felt bizarre. By the way.....WHERE'S NICKEL? DAMMIT!
Anyway, let’s end this.
Moth Atlas’ Tombwater (2025) is my first experience with Soulslike with top-down perspective. I know there’s another Soulslike with Wild West setting besides this game, which is Blood West but in First person perspective. Maybe I will review it someday after I reinstall it. Anyway, Tombwater is pretty good game. It mixes gun shooting and melee pretty well. There’s no logic reason why melee attack refill bullets other than for gameplay context. The game is partially top-down shooter and that’s solid reason for me to give it A grade recommendation. In addition to weapon there’s trinket, item, and magic spell. They all mix well into the combat. The combat challenges feel various and not boring. Ranging from Freddy Krueger, Sadako, and sniper. One thing that I hate from the combat is some bandits that explode when die. Feels cheap and bad. I like to mention there’s barrel of explosive that can help you both in combat or to unlock shortcut. The music kind of nonexistence from what I remember except in dark mine with horror atmospheric music. The sound effect is fairly good.
Summary: It gets pass on my wishlist
I know that the game already has full version of it but the current financial situation doesn’t permit me to buy it. So, it remains on my wishlist. Anyway, you should give it a go!
