Far Far West Review & Living Dead Outbreak Demo — Steam Next Fest 2026

Steam Next Fest is always a shouting match. Hundreds of demos claw for your attention, most of them promising the moon and delivering a lukewarm sandwich. But February 2026 brought two projects that didn’t just grab attention – they reframed what we expect from indie shooters altogether. Far Far West and Living Dead Outbreak are polar opposites in mood and approach, and that’s precisely why they form such a perfect pair.

Far Far West: When Deep Rock Galactic Meets the Supernatural Wild West

👥 1–4 Players Co-op · Developer: Evil Raptor Games (6 devs) · Publisher: Fireshine · EA 2026

Six developers at Evil Raptor Games pulled off something rare: they took the co-op horde-shooter formula and actually figured out how to make it feel fresh. The setting is a supernatural Wild West where you play as a combat robot-cowboy – and this isn’t just cosmetic. The mechanics grew from the setting itself.

Spells – fireballs, lightning chains, acid pools – aren’t thrown in for variety. They’re the core of the combat system. Elemental combos create real tactical depth: lightning on wet enemies arcs through entire groups; fire on an oil slick turns a corridor into a crematorium. This isn’t “shoot and loot” – it’s a constant search for synergies.

Shooting feels right: reloads have weight, aiming responds instantly, weapon recoil is earned rather than arcade-y. Movement is equally solid – dash, slide, and vault over crates feel organic, not like cosmetic options bolted on late in development.

⚙ Combat System Schema

• Gunplay: Snappy aiming, weighted reloads, earned recoil
• Spells: Fireball (AoE), Lightning (chain), Acid (slow)
• Elemental combos: Lightning + Wet → chain arc; Fire + Oil → area burn; Acid + Any → slow + DoT

Solo, the game holds your attention. In co-op (up to 4 players) it fully opens up. The role system – healer, sniper, tank, spellcaster – isn’t imposed but emerges naturally from the upgrade tree. Each player decides where to take their character, and it’s fascinating to watch a team organically distribute functions without being told to. The bounty system (complete the Sheriff’s contracts, earn resources, upgrade) gives progression a tangible purpose even within the demo.

Where it falls short: Some enemy archetypes feel formulaic – the standard “big boss that teleports behind you” appears twice in the demo alone. Acceptable for Early Access, but the team should diversify enemy design before full release.

99% positive from 3,600+ ratings. That’s not a marketing trick – it’s a game that makes the right promises and keeps them.

Practical Guide: How Not to Be a Burden on Your Team

Role	Key Upgrades	Tactics	Kill Potential
🔥 Spellcaster	Fire/Lightning Amp, AoE Radius	Mid-range crowd melt; combo with acid for slows; save mana for bosses	50+ kills/min
🎯 Sniper	Crit Chance, Reload Speed	Flank priority targets; use horse for mobility	Boss Melter
🛡️ Tank-Healer	Lifesteal, Regen Aura	Body-block, revive teammates; melee finishers save ammo	Infinite Uptime
⚖️ All-Rounder	Balanced Guns/Spells	Guns for singles, spells for packs – adapt constantly	30–40 kills, flexible

Golden Rule: Don’t greed the final chest solo. Victory is a team sport.

Living Dead Outbreak: Where Every Bullet Counts

☠️ Solo · Developer: Fernando Tittz / Games From The Abyss · 90s FPS Survival

If Far Far West is the party, Living Dead Outbreak is what happens when the party ends and you step into a dark alley. Solo. Quiet. Unforgiving.

Fernando Tittz at Games From The Abyss built the game around one clear idea: a classic zombie shooter in the spirit of the 90s, where resources are finite and every decision matters. Seven firearms, five melee weapons, equipment degradation, stamina drain, ammo scarcity. Nothing superfluous.

📊 Survival Pressure Curve

• Horde density increases each wave
• Your resources decrease
• Adaptation = survival

The demo is a five-minute gauntlet after a car crash – but those five minutes are packed to the ceiling. Zombies produce unique sounds, and this isn’t flavor: it’s gameplay information. You learn to distinguish regular undead from elite enemies by ear alone. The atmosphere evokes early Resident Evil not through visual style but through the logic of survival itself: you cannot play aggressively, because the resources simply run out.

Where the game truly wins is the feeling of mastery. Your first run is pure panic and seventeen deaths (the author’s personal record). But by your fifth attempt you’re reading the waves, funneling enemies into bottlenecks, and deciding when to spend a grenade versus when to endure. That’s a rare thing – genuine learning through play, not through a tutorial.

Where it could improve: The demo campaign is short, leaving much of the system’s potential unexplored. More varied survival scenarios would let the mechanics breathe. Wishlists doubling from 1,000 to 2,000 during the Fest suggests the audience felt that same hunger for more.

🎮 Weapon Decision Flowchart

START - Enemy approaching?
├── Group (3+) → Shotgun doorway / grenade if clumped
│   └── Ammo low? → Pipe/machete + funnel into chokepoint
├── Single at range → Pistol headshots only
│   └── Elite moan heard? → Keep distance, kite, save shotgun
└── Boss incoming → Grenade first, kite and shoot, melee finisher
    └── Stamina low? → Stop. Breathe. Let it come to you.
  

Practical Guide: Improvise or Die

Weapon	Best Use	Resource Hack	vs. Zombies
🔫 Shotgun	Doorway chokepoints	Save for elite targets	Close-range blobs
🔹 Pistol	Fallback / peekaboo	Headshots only – never spray	Ranged stragglers
🔧 Pipe / Machete	Ammo conservation	Stamina bursts only	Shielded / armoured
💣 Grenade	Panic or dense groups	One per wave max	Incoming clumps

Golden Rule: Listen to the moan. Funnel into a bottleneck. Explore every room – one extra magazine can decide an entire wave.

Side-by-Side: Which Game Is For You?

🤠 Far Far West

• Co-op 1–4 players
• High energy, chaotic fun
• Elemental spell combos
• Progression & upgrades
• Adjustable difficulty
• Bounty / contract system

Best for: friend groups, party sessions, Deep Rock fans

☠️ Living Dead Outbreak

• Solo experience
• Tense, methodical survival
• Weapon & ammo scarcity
• Skill-based mastery curve
• 90s FPS atmosphere
• Audio-based enemy telegraphs

Best for: solo players, RE fans, challenge-seekers

Other Demos Worth Your Time

Far Far West and Living Dead Outbreak set the pace, but Next Fest (until March 2) has more to offer. UnderTaker brings gothic graveyard gunfights; Paperhead is a retro pixel shooter dripping with personality; Starship Troopers scratches the co-op bug-stomp itch. All free. All available now.

Verdict

Far Far West is a co-op shooter that knows exactly what it is and executes its promise flawlessly. Living Dead Outbreak is a solo experience where every decision carries weight. They don’t compete – they complement each other, and if you miss both, you’ve missed the best indie shooters have shown this season.

Far Far West

9/10

−1 for repetitive boss design; patch pre-EA and this is a 10

Living Dead Outbreak

9/10

−1 for limited demo scope; full campaign could easily push this higher

Wishlist. Now. Before Next Fest ends.