In a seedy motel down in El Paso the lord of all vampires, Draculae, has opened a rift to Hell and is ushering in a ritual to end the world. A drug-addicted monster hunter, James Savage, ventures into the bowels of the motel to stop it, knowing that this adventure may be his last; but hey, he can’t let his ex-girlfriend destroy the world after all.
El Paso Elsewhere wears its influence from Remedy’s oeuvre on its sleeve. The opiate popping hardboiled detective soliloquizing in between shooting down enemies in John Woo slo-mo clearly hearkens to Max Payne and the motel’s hellish depths of dimensional shifting corridors filled with supernatural aberrations are akin to a fusion of Max Payne 1’s nightmare sequences and Control’s eldritch halls of The Oldest House. El Paso uses these elements as a springboard to make its own identity though.
Mechanically the game is similar to Max Payne though its focus on tighter corridors and mix of melee and ranged enemies does bring its own sense of hecticness that sets it apart from Max. You have a full arsenal of weapons here ranging from stakes, which you can only hold a limited amount and guarantee an instant melee kill on any basic enemy, shotguns, molotovs, and rifles. I was constantly switching between weapons throughout the whole game as they all have their uses; even the basic dual pistols stay viable throughout as they are fairly long-range, accurate, and good for getting critical hits off of headshots.
Narratively the game does an actually real good job being a supernatural neo-noir. Max Payne 1 and 2 were mainly just noir pastiche, purposely goofy in a way that didn’t give its cast much depth beyond archetypes. El Paso actually manages to be a quality character study of abusive relationships and addiction through a noir genre lens. James yearns for the past, that one perfect day of his relationship as he puts it; even though he knows nothing but pain and self-destruction awaits him down that road. Affection and care had devolved into abusive control and thinly-veiled threats of violence as true characters were revealed. But like the drug addict he is James still can’t stop trying to regain that impossible high. All of this is well portrayed through the quality voice-acting in between levels as James is transported to each floor through the dimensional elevator. The game also has some levity with its Remedy-esque easter eggs like the continuing adventures of Pill Cop that you find throughout the levels.
It does have its share of flaws and jank though. One thing is it takes some time for the game to actually start taking off, the game has fifty levels, and for around the first fifteen or so you’re basically just fighting basic vampires and werewolves where you're not going to really have to bother using slo-mo that much. The first boss is also a bit of spike and I think they probably could give you a bit more ammo for the strongest weapons for him. I still managed but just be sure to rebind the roll onto something where you can hit it faster and easier for that fight.
Despite any missteps El Paso Elsewhere is still a genuinely great game and I actually like it over most of Remedy’s games aside from Control. Definitely worth checking out.
El Paso Elsewhere wears its influence from Remedy’s oeuvre on its sleeve. The opiate popping hardboiled detective soliloquizing in between shooting down enemies in John Woo slo-mo clearly hearkens to Max Payne and the motel’s hellish depths of dimensional shifting corridors filled with supernatural aberrations are akin to a fusion of Max Payne 1’s nightmare sequences and Control’s eldritch halls of The Oldest House. El Paso uses these elements as a springboard to make its own identity though.
Mechanically the game is similar to Max Payne though its focus on tighter corridors and mix of melee and ranged enemies does bring its own sense of hecticness that sets it apart from Max. You have a full arsenal of weapons here ranging from stakes, which you can only hold a limited amount and guarantee an instant melee kill on any basic enemy, shotguns, molotovs, and rifles. I was constantly switching between weapons throughout the whole game as they all have their uses; even the basic dual pistols stay viable throughout as they are fairly long-range, accurate, and good for getting critical hits off of headshots.
Narratively the game does an actually real good job being a supernatural neo-noir. Max Payne 1 and 2 were mainly just noir pastiche, purposely goofy in a way that didn’t give its cast much depth beyond archetypes. El Paso actually manages to be a quality character study of abusive relationships and addiction through a noir genre lens. James yearns for the past, that one perfect day of his relationship as he puts it; even though he knows nothing but pain and self-destruction awaits him down that road. Affection and care had devolved into abusive control and thinly-veiled threats of violence as true characters were revealed. But like the drug addict he is James still can’t stop trying to regain that impossible high. All of this is well portrayed through the quality voice-acting in between levels as James is transported to each floor through the dimensional elevator. The game also has some levity with its Remedy-esque easter eggs like the continuing adventures of Pill Cop that you find throughout the levels.
It does have its share of flaws and jank though. One thing is it takes some time for the game to actually start taking off, the game has fifty levels, and for around the first fifteen or so you’re basically just fighting basic vampires and werewolves where you're not going to really have to bother using slo-mo that much. The first boss is also a bit of spike and I think they probably could give you a bit more ammo for the strongest weapons for him. I still managed but just be sure to rebind the roll onto something where you can hit it faster and easier for that fight.
Despite any missteps El Paso Elsewhere is still a genuinely great game and I actually like it over most of Remedy’s games aside from Control. Definitely worth checking out.