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An indie shooter called El Paso, Elsewhere is making waves on Steam with some gorgeous retro aesthetics and a blend of Max Payne-style action and vampire-fueled supernatural horror.
El Paso, Elsewhere wears its Max Payne inspirations on its sleeve, with a trench-coated, noir-soaked main character issuing gravelly laments as he jumps sideways and fires guns in slow motion. The twist is that this one's all about supernatural foes, like vampires, werewolves, and fallen angels. You fight your way through a motel that's not just haunted - it's breaking the bounds of reality.
It's gotten an excellent reception on Steam, where user reviews have been 96% positive. Here's one that particularly sold me: "Max Payne meets Doom 95 meets PS1 nostalgia graphics meets vampire lore meets heartbreak meets addiction meets the parents. It's fast, poetic, deeply silly and strange. It cuts just about every bit of fat off the bullet dodge mechanic and just keeps punching you with levels."
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Developer Strange Scaffold is known for taking some wild swings, like the appropriately named An Airport for Aliens Currently Run by Dogs or the time its studio head goofed "too close to the sun" and got Sunshine Shuffle temporarily barred by Nintendo for joking about teaching kids to gamble. With all that in mind, 'Max Payne but vampires' seems like a downright sensible pitch.
The series that inspired El Paso, Elsewhere isn't dead, as Remedy is working on a proper remake combining Max Payne 1 and 2. The real question remains, however: what is Max Payne's next-generation face going to look like?
If you feel the need to start blasting, check out the best shooters out there.
