Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Summer Game Fest
  • New games for 2025
  • Upcoming Switch 2 games
  • Switch 2 stock
Recommended reading
Phantom Squad
Third Person Shooters The chaos of Hotline Miami meets the intricate planning of Payday in this hostage-saving Steam Next Fest demo that's absolutely riffing on Die Hard
Phantom Squad featuring in FGS Live from LA
Third Person Shooters Hotline Miami meets Payday in tactical top-down shooter Phantom Squad
Mage Tower Massacre
Third Person Shooters I carved through my first dangerously addictive Steam Next Fest demo with the power of 'shotgun magic' in this mystical twist on Hotline Miami
Escape from Duckov
Third Person Shooters This Steam Next Fest demo is exactly like Escape from Tarkov, except you're a duck and it only gets weirder from there
A screenshot from Secret Agent Wizard Boy, showing a castle hallway and schoolkids that wouldn't look out of place in the PS1 Harry Potters
Third Person Shooters This PS1 Harry Potter parody game just got its first major update, adding a scalable inventory for all those explosive barrels you want to hoard
Flick Shot Rogues in Future Games Show
Roguelike Games Line up the perfect shot to launch your hero spinning through their enemies in Flick Shot Rogues
A boss fight against a crocodile with a gattling gun in Mouse: P.I For Hire
Action Games Mouse: P.I for Hire just revealed some of its experimental new weapons, including a 'Self-Aware Attitude Changer' that could come in handy in real life
  1. Games
  2. Action

Secret Poncho tosses you into a frantic Wild West shootout

Features
By Hollander Cooper published 13 June 2013

This town ain't big enough for the both of us

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Feeling lucky, punk?

Feeling lucky, punk?

As we tumbled towards our enemies--a slob with a chaingun and a slender man with a whip--we wondered, "what are we fighting for?"

Nah, not really, we just whipped out our dual revolvers and kept shooting, blasting our foes and forcing them to hide behind cover, which we then rendered useless with the toss of a stick of dynamite. That's just the way of the west in Secret Ponchos, a top-down shooter with a focus on player-versus-player combat. Our time with the game was brief, but long enough to give us a good idea of the basic gameplay, which feels more akin to a third-person shooter than any other top-down game we've played.

Players will battle across five maps in a number of different game modes, choosing between a number of different interesting characters. Each has a weapon with two functions (like our revolver, which could be altered to shoot powerful close-range shots and fast long-range blasts) as well as a secondary item (like our dynamite), adding plenty of variety to the brawls. Visually it was nice, but didn't really feel like it needed the power of the PlayStation 4 to function--something the developers plan to address by adding cloth physics and ambient lighting inclusion for the next-gen version. There's also talk of adding new modes and characters post-launch, including a capture-point map with AI-controlled opponents, turning Secret Ponchos into League of Legends. Will it win the west? We don't know, but we're gunning to find out when it releases early next year.

Check out the following slides for additional images and more information.

Page 1 of 7
Page 1 of 7
There's a cover system and it works fairly well.

There's a cover system and it works fairly well.

Page 2 of 7
Page 2 of 7
Old west style shoot-outs are too infrequent in modern gaming, if you ask us.

Old west style shoot-outs are too infrequent in modern gaming, if you ask us.

Page 3 of 7
Page 3 of 7
One of the first images released for the game shows off a bunch of fun characters.

One of the first images released for the game shows off a bunch of fun characters.

Page 4 of 7
Page 4 of 7
This is the character we played as--he was super fun.

This is the character we played as--he was super fun.

Page 5 of 7
Page 5 of 7
...and here's what he looks like in-game.

...and here's what he looks like in-game.

Page 6 of 7
Page 6 of 7
This is "The Killer" and he, apparently, kills people.

This is "The Killer" and he, apparently, kills people.

Page 7 of 7
Page 7 of 7
CATEGORIES
PS4 Platforms PlayStation
Hollander Cooper
Hollander Cooper
Social Links Navigation

Hollander Cooper was the Lead Features Editor of GamesRadar+ between 2011 and 2014. After that lengthy stint managing GR's editorial calendar he moved behind the curtain and into the video game industry itself, working as social media manager for EA and as a communications lead at Riot Games. Hollander is currently stationed at Apple as an organic social lead for the App Store and Apple Arcade. 

See more Platform Features
Read more
Phantom Squad
The chaos of Hotline Miami meets the intricate planning of Payday in this hostage-saving Steam Next Fest demo that's absolutely riffing on Die Hard
Phantom Squad featuring in FGS Live from LA
Hotline Miami meets Payday in tactical top-down shooter Phantom Squad
Mage Tower Massacre
I carved through my first dangerously addictive Steam Next Fest demo with the power of 'shotgun magic' in this mystical twist on Hotline Miami
Escape from Duckov
This Steam Next Fest demo is exactly like Escape from Tarkov, except you're a duck and it only gets weirder from there
A screenshot from Secret Agent Wizard Boy, showing a castle hallway and schoolkids that wouldn't look out of place in the PS1 Harry Potters
This PS1 Harry Potter parody game just got its first major update, adding a scalable inventory for all those explosive barrels you want to hoard
Flick Shot Rogues in Future Games Show
Line up the perfect shot to launch your hero spinning through their enemies in Flick Shot Rogues
Latest in Action
Star Fox
Nintendo employed "so many incredible people," even a legendary Star Fox and Zelda dev had an "inferiority complex" during his 32-year stay at the company
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Ingenious Tears of the Kingdom player spends 3 glitchy hours bringing Purah, Paya, and a fake Zelda from across the map all for the perfect photo for Link's wall
Death Stranding 2
I'm glad the heatwave is over, because if it wasn't I'd think I hallucinated these weird Death Stranding 2 moments, from dancing dolls to sci-fi directors fighting while making pizza
Hollow Knight
As Hollow Knight: Silksong gets 7 new Steam updates in less than a week, the SKONG community reaches levels of cope hitherto unseen: "The wait is almost over"
Fighting enemies in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Switch 2 Edition
2 years and one Switch 2 release later, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom hoarders are still celebrating their item duping glitches making it past Nintendo's patches
Death Stranding 2 screenshot
Hideo Kojima's fabled USB stick full of ideas contingency plan has been put aside, as it was actually put in place during a 2020 health scare long before Death Stranding 2's release
Latest in Features
Alexej Manvelov as Akram Salim in Dept. Q
I’ve seen countless crime dramas, but Netflix’s Dept. Q and Poker Face season 2 are rewriting the sidekick archetype for the better
Emma Mackey and Fiona Shaw as Sofia and Rose in Hot Milk
Sun, sea, and strained relationships: Andor's Fiona Shaw and Barbie's Emma Mackey play a mother and daughter on the brink in new drama Hot Milk
Two menacing gingerbread men look intimidating while a candy person waves from a cage
I didn't expect to like the latest D&D book, but after an utterly stupid adventure I'm all in on Dragon Delves
Mion and Rena look uneasy in the classroom in Higurashi: When They Cry
The Silent Hill f writer's debut game was basically the original Doki Doki Literature Club, and it's still terrifying me 23 years later
Promotional image showing the Everdark Sovereign version of Gaping Jaw in Elden Ring Nightreign.
If Elden Ring Nightreign wants to keep me around to buy DLC, it needs to lean into Dark Souls so much more
Quantum Witch screenshots
This stunning 2D "plotformer" is the ultimate cottagecore fantasy with an extra dose of mystery, sapphic witches, and a giant lady who fights you
  1. Sam fires at the ghost mech squid boss in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
    1
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  2. 2
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  3. 3
    Tron: Catalyst review: "Disc slinging is a thrill in this gorgeous rendition of the series, but I'm let down by a time-loop story that falls flat"
  4. 4
    FBC: Firebreak review: "A disappointingly bland multiplayer FPS that's missing far too much of what made Control special"
  5. 5
    Dune: Awakening review: "Both extremely compelling and extraordinarily boring, sometimes at the same time – yet still a true Dune love letter"
  1. A T-rex in Jurassic World Rebirth
    1
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  2. 2
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  3. 3
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  4. 4
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  5. 5
    From the World of John Wick: Ballerina review: "Brilliant action, even if the plot gives you a sense of déjà vu"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...