REVIEW : Deadwater Saloon (PC)
Welcome to Deadwater Saloon, your very own Wild West tavern. Creative Storm Entertainment created the game. Have you ever wondered what it was like to run a saloon when cowboys were still around? And how they were able to attract customers. Don’t look any further.
Gameplay
Deadwater Saloon begins with a character creation screen. You can define your character’s various traits, as well as their name, gender, and skills, in this section. You can also customise your character’s appearance using portraits. You can also change the economy and other important statistics to alter the difficulty.
When you press the play button, the game gently introduces you to the world of running a saloon. First, you are instructed to purchase various items such as a bar and a stove. To find new employees to use these objects.
The game will continue once you have completed the tutorial. There were no customers on the first day. But as the days pass, they begin to visit your tavern and order drinks. However, before you can serve drinks and food, you must first learn the recipes for the meals and drinks. This is accomplished through a simple menu interface where you can select the recipe to learn. Although you can only learn one at a time, the early game recipes are unlocked quickly.
Finally, you will require stock. The Trapper citizen enters the area very early in the game. Early-game food and drink can be purchased from the Trapper. Which your chefs and bartenders can use to please your customers.
With more customers, new structures begin to spring up next to your tavern. Some bring new citizens, while others bring more items to help you live a better life.
Relationships
Your character has a limited number of actions per day, starting with three. This can be increased by purchasing items from newly opened stores. These actions can be applied in three ways:
- Socialising with the locals
- Reducing your stress
- Hiring Staff
The first action will allow you to establish a relationship with the community and turn locals into regular customers. However, there is another option. You can befriend and eventually marry the opposite gender. This has advantages such as lowering your stress.
Though not every action you can take is morally correct. You can persuade citizens to become addicted to various vices for them to spend more time at your Salon. You have the ability to duel those who have wronged you. And even murder citizens you dislike. As long as you have the necessary skills. These actions were initially avoided but became more useful as time passed.
Game Over
The tutorial instructs you from the start of your Deadwater Saloon adventure that if your health reaches zero or your stress levels reach 100, it is game over. The failure to select a conversation option is the most significant contributor to increased stress. Each option has a certain percentage of success. The likelihood is determined by your character’s traits at the start of the game. As a result, it is prudent to spread the points out.
As you progress through the game, you’ll start to receive notifications that bandits are approaching. Then you have two choices: either:
- Give up some loot to pacify them.
- Or fight back with your bouncers.
You can either arm yourself with a weapon or hire bouncers. In either case, it raises your costs and, potentially, your stress. However, failure to do either may result in an early game over.
Presentation
On a small-screen laptop, the UI font is difficult to read. However, it is much easier to read on a larger screen (22in). It would have been a fantastic feature if you could change the font. Because the font is appropriate for the era.
The graphics themselves are functional. You have a bird’s-eye view of the town and can zoom in on your Saloon. The character models are very basic, but for a simulation game, they are more than adequate. I would have liked to see more detailed character models as well as the ability to fully customise your character. The music is very Western-esque and fits the period perfectly. This creates the atmosphere of owning a saloon back then. So I can’t find anything wrong with it.
