Another go at this classic antecedent to ‘serious’ gaming. Feels legitimately high stakes to decide whether to trade for food, or hold to your precious, gamebreaking bullets. Or how many days to rest, after a member of the party becomes sick before continuing on a grueling pace to the finish. The vistas often carry a painterly beauty, filled with strange visions of a propagandistic, idealized West with natives and settlers coexisting peacefully.

There are scenic, mechanics-driven set pieces (hunting and rafting) which pleasantly diversify the gameplay, and decision making feels extremely reactive and consequential. An essential play for people wanting to explore the history of immersive sims