El Paso Elsewhere PS5 Review. If I was to pitch you a game where you played as John McLean, Max Payne and Blade all at the same time would I have your attention? Well that’s exactly what Strange Scaffold serves up in their supernatural neo-noir third-person shooter – El Paso Elsewhere. Originally released on PC in 2023, the critically acclaimed title has finally made its way over to consoles.
El Paso Elsewhere (PS5) – A Kick Ass Trip To Hell
Die Good, Die Hard
One of El Paso Elsewhere’s big influences is clear to see as you first load up the game. Die Hard Trilogy on PS1 is one of my favourite games from the maiden PlayStation console and it is the first game in this trilogy that sets the stage here.
I spent countless hours back in the day wandering around the many floors of Nakatomi Plaza searching for hostages to free and hunting down Hans Gruber. While you’re not bare foot here like John McLean, you are immediately hit with a wham of nostalgia with the ceiling-less design of the levels.
Turning the assent up the floors of the iconic skyscraper on its head, you are on a descent in an elevator into the depths of hell, where you embark on reality altering journey below a Motel in El Paso Texas to try to prevent your ex-girlfriend from destroying the world. She’s no ordinary ex either; she’s lord of the vampires, Draculae.
While this may sound a bit far fetched, the writing here and the delivery of the narrative are absolutely incredible. You are immediately captivated by the voiceover of protagonist James Savage, which is reminiscent of seminal PS2 title Max Payne. So brilliantly delivered it has its hooks in you before you’ve even fired a single shot from your guns.
Hellish Loop
Descending into hell you face off against vampires, werewolves and other fiendish monsters. At your disposal from the get-go are a pair of trusty dual wield pistols that quickly become a fallback weapon as you unlock the more powerful toys with which to dispatch your foes. Using moments of respite to ensure all weapons in your arsenal are reloaded is an absolute must for success.
Also at your fingertips you have wooden steaks, handy in a bind of close quarters combat. Using them is so satisfying; something I’ve not had with a tight range melee weapon since offing careless fools in Modern Warfare 2 on PS3.
When the hoards of attacks get too intense you can utilise some bullet time slow-mo to give you the edge. It’s a timed combat bonus that can be activated as long as your meter has some juice. Said meter is topped up by defeating enemies and can be deactivated to save the remaining charge for when most needed. When you die, which you will, you are quickly back into the action trying to better plan and implement your approach.
The gameplay loop is quite simple, yet challenging at times and endlessly addictive. Leave the elevator, defeat monsters, grab ammo, unlock doors, find/free hostages and when all is said and done make your way back to the elevator to further descend into the bowels of the netherworld.
Exploration and backtracking is rewarded with pickups to be found. At one point I was down to my final morsel of health and some meticulous wandering the halls paid off with some pills to replenish my health. A moment of panic turned into a euphoric push forward to tackle more monsters.
As you progress it is clear how perfectly balanced of an experience it all is. The development team has managed to craft something special and quite unique here.
Deadly Beats
The music throughout is bloody superb. It perfectly accompanies the gameplay and is an absolute triumph. It gives a unique vibe to the action and personifies the weird, reality altering journey. The rap beats drive a methodical process to the killing spree.
The sound effects too are great, with animations that fit the bill. Each discipline on the dev team has come together in a cohesive unit to nail each element. The care and passion with which this game has been forged literally dives out of the screen.
Modern Old School Looks
On the visual side of things there is great use of lighting to deliver atmosphere and mood. The look of everything gives a nostalgic feel of the PS2 era but with the benefit of modern technique. The cinematics are very well implemented, doing a notable job of advancing the story line.
The game runs excellently well even when the hordes of monsters get out of control. I did experience some minor game crashes but my progress was always kept intact. If El Paso Elsewhere is a game that is not on your radar, it certainly should be. Don’t let this one pass you by.
El Paso Elsewhere is out now on PS5.
Review code kindly provided by PR.