Wild Bastards Is an ‘Acid Trippy’ Roguelite Western and a Strong Contender for 2024 Awards

Each year, there’s usually an indie game that I become obsessed with. Five years ago, that game was Blue Manchu’s roguelite strategy-shooter, Void Bastards. Now, Blue Manchu has returned with Wild Bastards, a spiritual successor that maintains the sci-fi theme of its predecessor while adding a western twist and enhancing the game’s systems. Additionally, the procedurally generated characters from Void Bastards have been replaced with a “Dirty Dozen” of voiced characters, each with unique personalities and relationships.

With the full game set to launch later this year, I had the chance to speak with Blue Manchu’s creative director, Ben Lee, about the development of Wild Bastards. We discussed how the team decided to create another game in the “Bastards” series, what they learned from Void Bastards that influenced Wild Bastards, and what the future holds for the studio.

GameSpot: Wild Bastards shares a lot of DNA with Void Bastards, but it’s not a direct sequel. How did this game evolve over the years since Void Bastards, and when did the team decide to develop another game in the same genre?

Lee: We began pre-production about three months after Void Bastards was released. Initially, we had a broad concept, and the game took a long time to take shape. Wild Bastards focuses on playing distinct characters with unique playstyles, visuals, and fully-voiced dialogue throughout the narrative campaign. We’ve also made combat encounters more complex, with varied environments and strategic elements, and the enemy variety and behaviors are significantly more nuanced than in Void Bastards.

Were there successes from Void Bastards that you knew would carry over to Wild Bastards, and were there any lessons that led you to rework or remove certain elements? We carried over a lot from Void Bastards, particularly on the technical and production side. However, we didn’t think of Wild Bastards as a variant or sequel. We wanted it to be its own game. Initially, Wild Bastards had a huge planetary map exploration, but we shifted back to a strategy hybrid approach as development progressed.

In the densely populated roguelite/roguelike space, how do you see Wild Bastards standing out? There isn’t an oversaturation of strategy-shooter hybrid roguelikes yet. We believe there’s still room for different takes in this genre. Void Bastards drew inspiration from BioShock and System Shock 2. What are the main inspirations for Wild Bastards?

The thematic influences for Wild Bastards come from a mix of sci-fi and westerns, inspired by the Sergio Leone Dollars trilogy, The Magnificent Seven, Battle Beyond the Stars, MTV’s Liquid Television, Muse’s Knights of Cydonia music video, Suspiria, and Mandy. Does Blue Manchu aspire to create larger games, or will you continue to focus on games like Void Bastards and Wild Bastards?

As long as we can make games, we will. If we have more resources in the future, we’d be open to making larger games. Is there a potential third Bastards game in the works, and if so, what narrative genre might it explore?

Yes, but it’s a secret for now. Wild Bastards has a lighter tone despite intense gameplay. Why do you think this works for these games? Initially, Void Bastards had a serious tone, but we shifted to a more comedic approach midway through development, influenced by Douglas Adams, Terry Gilliam, and Red Dwarf. For Wild Bastards, writer Jerry Holkin’s humor naturally fit into the game’s fiction and dialogue. Did you ever consider changing the comic-book art style for Wild Bastards?

While the conceptual designs are by the same person, Wild Bastards is less comic book-like than Void Bastards. It’s more of a traditional animation style with an acid-trippy feel. However, I’d be interested in returning to a more intricate comic book/graphic novel look for a future game.

Wild Bastards’ systems are intricate and layered. How do you avoid overcomplicating the game? Our games often become too complicated at some point, but through playtesting and user feedback, we trim and refine to create the right depth. Sometimes, removing elements has a bigger positive impact than adding more. The game features 13 playable gunslingers. How did you decide which characters made the cut, and do you have any favorites?

We based our decisions on how fun the characters were to play and their place in the overall meta. Initially, I had favorites, but by the time we had them all playable and voiced, I loved them all equally. Playtesters have varied opinions on the most effective or favorite character, which is what we wanted to see. Do you have any post-launch plans for Wild Bastards? Right now, we’re focused on getting the game ready to ship. Check back with us post-launch for more information on future plans.

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