By A Million Ways To Die In The West, Seth MacFarlane’s upcoming Western comedy movie, now has an 8-bit videogame counterpart online at Adult Swim. Perhaps capitalizing on the nostalgically easy-to-die-in games of the 80’s 8-bit era, the A Million Ways To Die In The West game makes you die about a million times.
I played the A Million Ways To Die In The West game until I got my sheep to a town named “Old Stump,” and the game made me feel about the same as watching a Macfarlane movie. Which is to say it made me feel bad, even a bit nauseated, though I can see how people would think it was fun. In general, like a lot of MacFarlane’s work, the style and polish is admirable, but the message of the work is … off.
The part I hated the most was that the game forces you to stop along the trail and hunt for food and money but I felt irreparably sick from the first moment I had to pull the trigger of an 8-bit gun to shoot an 8-bit buffalo. I did have the option of playing as the 8-bit version of a Charlize Theron cowgirl, so at least the game has that going for it, especially considering how much MacFarlane has upset feminist groups in the past.
A Million Ways To Die In The West will break into theaters May 30, 2014. Click this link here if you would like to play the 8-bit game on Adult Swim for yourself.