On its surface, a bald-faced Max Payne homage with little to offer iteratively. El Paso, Elsewhere is, however, much more than just a Max Payne homage, but a love letter to all of Remedy’s games.
“Love letter” is not my ideal turn of phrase here. I’ve heard so many reviewers toss around “love letter” that it makes my stomach churn. Love letter this, spiritual successor that; “is every boomer shooter a love letter to Quake?” I hear you ask. Maybe every first person shooter is a love letter to Quake, my friend…
You can dive and shoot enemies in slow-motion, therefore it’s a Max Payne-like title – this isn’t the first Max Payne-like, but certainly the most publicized one in a long while. El Paso, Elsewhere had already piqued my interest long before its release, so you can imagine how excited I was after playing through Max Payne (twice) and Max Payne 2 (twice) and realized that another Max Payne – a surreal, supernatural Max Payne – was about to explode onto the indie scene.
And then, it came out, and it started making Top 10s. Like, Game of the Year Top 10s. Seriously? It’s that good?!
El Paso, Nightmare would temper my expectations going in. From a holistic perspective, Nightmare’s greatest success (as an unsavory “appetizer,”) is that Elsewhere appears much more stylish, more refined, and much more bold in comparison.
Hot off the heels of the original Max Payne titles, the greatest compliment I can give Elsewhere is that it’s nothing if not a faithful recreation of the archetype. It is a smidge floatier, although I’d argue this elevates the experience if anything.
Additionally, although it only appears to imitate Max Payne at a glance, Remedy superfans will notice the many flourishes of El Paso, Elsewhere which have roots beyond the immediately obvious.
There’s a dream sequence in Max Payne 2 where the ceiling vanishes, revealing a bloodred canopy sky; naturally, the ceiling also appears to have vanished in El Paso, Elsewhere, allowing players to peer into the undulating void beyond. This works on two levels: first as a stylistic choice inherited from the Max Payne series, and also mechanically, as our overhead view is no longer obstructed by low ceilings, allowing a wider perspective and letting environments feel a lot less claustrophobic overall.
There’s also some more obvious garnishes: the Pill Cop radio shows, the pistols akimbo, the big ol' title cards for each chapter. I drew parallels between the Force Beyond and Thomas Zane in the original Alan Wake, and the Void’s geometry containing elements of the Oldest House from Control.
Remedy games have a lot of character thanks to Sam Lake’s textural metanarratives and thematic undertones, although what El Paso, Elsewhere lacks in Remedy’s two decades worth of interconnected storytelling, it makes up for with Xalavier Nelson Jr.’s triple threat powerhouse performance as game director, singer-songwriter, and vocal talent of protagonist James Savage.
I won’t lie though, for every needle drop that works, there’s at least one other needle drop that doesn’t. Human Sundae is a little too goofy for the grotesque viscerafest it’s describing, and At the End just doesn’t gel with the otherworldly visuals of the level it’s built for.
That’s not to say there aren’t some prime cuts here: In the Hole, Break Shit, Blood Pressure, and Monster Club are all noisy, chaotic tracks that perfectly compliment their respective chapters. My favorite track is Interview 38. I love how it starts like an audio log and slowly morphs into I see that it’s inside you I see that it’s inside you I see that it’s inside you I see that it’s inside you
However, Xalavier Nelson Jr.’s performance as James Savage always hits the mark. A medley of grim, surly, wry, analytical, and insecure – a character as fun and interesting as any Max Payne could be.
El Paso, Elsewhere’s biggest downfall – and I’m sorry that I’ve waited until now to reveal this – is that it’s simply not built with bullet time in mind.
I’ve said this previously about Max Payne 3. That game is steadfastly a cover shooter first and a Max Payne sequel second. El Paso, Elsewhere is more like an arena shooter first and a Max Payne-like second. Most of El Paso, Elsewhere could work as a first person shooter without bullet time, and that’s a problem.
The bullet time doesn’t just feel superfluous, it is superfluous. Closer to Max Payne 2 in terms of overpowered, but in the sense that the game was not meant for it. This issue is exacerbated by the enemies, which do not engage players in such a way to reinforce the game’s central mechanics – they don’t necessitate bullet time, but it does make them significantly easier to kill.
There’s the rub, really. Enemies like the mummified vampires or leaping werewolves could’ve worked in the context of an arena shooter. In a Max Payne-like, though? What’s the point? Some enemies shoot projectiles but they’re so easy to dodge, and bullet time only trivializes these projectiles further.
Minor spoilers, but there’s two main “boss fights,” and the first one was really good. I died a few times trying to learn the tells, but once I did, I was like, whoa! This is sick. I was rolling out of enemy attacks like I was playing Dark Souls and going Max Payne mode and it was awesome.
The second (and final) boss? Basically the same boss, but way more jank for some reason. Their character model kept getting stuck in the floor I think. Also their second phase is just their first phase but faster maybe? I don’t know. Didn’t really leave an impression on me. A little sad it never really evolved beyond “roll out of an enemy’s attack”. I also didn’t use bullet time for the final boss at all.
The more I think about it, the more I realize that, yeah, nothing in this game feels like it was made for bullet time. The levels are mostly flat with very little verticality. The enemies are mostly close-range, or can be killed safely at a distance.
It’s still fun though haha. Bullet time blasting vampires and werewolves doesn’t get old. I guess you can retrofit bullet time onto anything and it’s automatically betterunless you’re Max Payne 3!
This won’t be on my GOTY list but it’s still fun and you have to support indie devs otherwise I get you
“Love letter” is not my ideal turn of phrase here. I’ve heard so many reviewers toss around “love letter” that it makes my stomach churn. Love letter this, spiritual successor that; “is every boomer shooter a love letter to Quake?” I hear you ask. Maybe every first person shooter is a love letter to Quake, my friend…
You can dive and shoot enemies in slow-motion, therefore it’s a Max Payne-like title – this isn’t the first Max Payne-like, but certainly the most publicized one in a long while. El Paso, Elsewhere had already piqued my interest long before its release, so you can imagine how excited I was after playing through Max Payne (twice) and Max Payne 2 (twice) and realized that another Max Payne – a surreal, supernatural Max Payne – was about to explode onto the indie scene.
And then, it came out, and it started making Top 10s. Like, Game of the Year Top 10s. Seriously? It’s that good?!
El Paso, Nightmare would temper my expectations going in. From a holistic perspective, Nightmare’s greatest success (as an unsavory “appetizer,”) is that Elsewhere appears much more stylish, more refined, and much more bold in comparison.
Hot off the heels of the original Max Payne titles, the greatest compliment I can give Elsewhere is that it’s nothing if not a faithful recreation of the archetype. It is a smidge floatier, although I’d argue this elevates the experience if anything.
Additionally, although it only appears to imitate Max Payne at a glance, Remedy superfans will notice the many flourishes of El Paso, Elsewhere which have roots beyond the immediately obvious.
There’s a dream sequence in Max Payne 2 where the ceiling vanishes, revealing a bloodred canopy sky; naturally, the ceiling also appears to have vanished in El Paso, Elsewhere, allowing players to peer into the undulating void beyond. This works on two levels: first as a stylistic choice inherited from the Max Payne series, and also mechanically, as our overhead view is no longer obstructed by low ceilings, allowing a wider perspective and letting environments feel a lot less claustrophobic overall.
There’s also some more obvious garnishes: the Pill Cop radio shows, the pistols akimbo, the big ol' title cards for each chapter. I drew parallels between the Force Beyond and Thomas Zane in the original Alan Wake, and the Void’s geometry containing elements of the Oldest House from Control.
Remedy games have a lot of character thanks to Sam Lake’s textural metanarratives and thematic undertones, although what El Paso, Elsewhere lacks in Remedy’s two decades worth of interconnected storytelling, it makes up for with Xalavier Nelson Jr.’s triple threat powerhouse performance as game director, singer-songwriter, and vocal talent of protagonist James Savage.
I won’t lie though, for every needle drop that works, there’s at least one other needle drop that doesn’t. Human Sundae is a little too goofy for the grotesque viscerafest it’s describing, and At the End just doesn’t gel with the otherworldly visuals of the level it’s built for.
That’s not to say there aren’t some prime cuts here: In the Hole, Break Shit, Blood Pressure, and Monster Club are all noisy, chaotic tracks that perfectly compliment their respective chapters. My favorite track is Interview 38. I love how it starts like an audio log and slowly morphs into I see that it’s inside you I see that it’s inside you I see that it’s inside you I see that it’s inside you
However, Xalavier Nelson Jr.’s performance as James Savage always hits the mark. A medley of grim, surly, wry, analytical, and insecure – a character as fun and interesting as any Max Payne could be.
El Paso, Elsewhere’s biggest downfall – and I’m sorry that I’ve waited until now to reveal this – is that it’s simply not built with bullet time in mind.
I’ve said this previously about Max Payne 3. That game is steadfastly a cover shooter first and a Max Payne sequel second. El Paso, Elsewhere is more like an arena shooter first and a Max Payne-like second. Most of El Paso, Elsewhere could work as a first person shooter without bullet time, and that’s a problem.
The bullet time doesn’t just feel superfluous, it is superfluous. Closer to Max Payne 2 in terms of overpowered, but in the sense that the game was not meant for it. This issue is exacerbated by the enemies, which do not engage players in such a way to reinforce the game’s central mechanics – they don’t necessitate bullet time, but it does make them significantly easier to kill.
There’s the rub, really. Enemies like the mummified vampires or leaping werewolves could’ve worked in the context of an arena shooter. In a Max Payne-like, though? What’s the point? Some enemies shoot projectiles but they’re so easy to dodge, and bullet time only trivializes these projectiles further.
Minor spoilers, but there’s two main “boss fights,” and the first one was really good. I died a few times trying to learn the tells, but once I did, I was like, whoa! This is sick. I was rolling out of enemy attacks like I was playing Dark Souls and going Max Payne mode and it was awesome.
The second (and final) boss? Basically the same boss, but way more jank for some reason. Their character model kept getting stuck in the floor I think. Also their second phase is just their first phase but faster maybe? I don’t know. Didn’t really leave an impression on me. A little sad it never really evolved beyond “roll out of an enemy’s attack”. I also didn’t use bullet time for the final boss at all.
The more I think about it, the more I realize that, yeah, nothing in this game feels like it was made for bullet time. The levels are mostly flat with very little verticality. The enemies are mostly close-range, or can be killed safely at a distance.
It’s still fun though haha. Bullet time blasting vampires and werewolves doesn’t get old. I guess you can retrofit bullet time onto anything and it’s automatically better
This won’t be on my GOTY list but it’s still fun and you have to support indie devs otherwise I get you