Call of Juarez: Gunslinger is the latest (final?) entry in the Juarez series. While sharing the same name, it is completely disconnected from the previous titles and can thus be played without having experienced the previous games. You play as Silas Greaves, a bounty hunter on a lifelong mission of revenge. While Gunslinger may be an FPS, and while it may not do anything truly unique, it is the way the elements are tied together which makes all the difference and sets it apart from other games in the genre.

The story unfolds as Silas, being recognised when walking into a bar in Abilene, recounts his life and adventures to a small group of listeners. The narration is extraordinary (perhaps only rivalled by the narrator in Bastion) and does an exceptional job of both sucking you into the world and imbuing it with the needed gravitas, as you would expect from a man hunting his prey. The entire game takes place in the past (relevant to where you are now), with adventures ranging from helping Billy the Kid escape jail to stopping Jesse James. While the game may be arcade in nature and have little focus on realism, there are also collectables hidden in the game world called Nuggets of Truth, which are factual titbits detailing the real lives and actual history of some of the people and events covered in the game. This is a really nifty way to engage with the audience and increase interest, as well as provide some balance to the story - Silas' listeners do occasionally call him out on certain things or express doubts that some of the tales might be a bit tall.

There are three main modes in Gunslinger: story (recounting Silas' experiences), arcade mode and duelling. Arcade mode is essentially a timed and scored challenge through a set of the story levels with a focus on finishing with the highest score possible. Points are awarded for speed, accuracy and style, with some vague similarities to Bulletstorm in this regard, if not so ludicrous. Duels, which you also encounter in story mode as a form of boss fight, are precisely what you think they are: an old-style showdown where both yourself and an opponent (AI) face off and draw to kill the other. Both modes have leaderboards and while there is no true multiplayer or co-op mode, this does serve as a form of competition and adds replay value.

The art style of Gunslinger is close to the cell shading used in the Borderlands games and reinforces the feeling of being in a comic book or dime novel story. There is also a comic-style art border around the screen which may or may not bother you (more on this below). As such, while it may not blow you away with graphical fidelity, it has aged well (better than the other titles in the series). The vibrancy of the colours (far from the expected dull varied shades of brown one may think to encounter in the Wild West) and the over-the-top arcade nature (think bullet time, slow motion blood spatters etc.) helps to reinforce that this was a living, breathing reality and further ties into how vivid Silas' recollections are. In addition to the narration, the soundtrack is also superb and does a marvellous job of setting the pace and tone: exciting when engaging, grandiose when facing someone down, quiet when reminiscing.

To help ease into duelling, I found the below guide helpful (all credit to OP):
https://steamoss.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=419224184
Small tweaks, including removing the comic-style border, can be found below (all credit to OP):
https://steamoss.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=193151743
Further tweaks (if needed) can be found at the PCGamingWiki page located at https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Call_of_Juarez:_Gunslinger

What Gunslinger is most of all though is fun: pure, undiluted fun - which is pretty much the entire point of games and something the majority of people miss. Highly recommended for anyone looking to enjoy themselves, anyone who enjoys FPS and anyone with any interest in this period of history; you will not regret your purchase.

Played on Windows 10/11 Pro x64 without any issues.

Slightly dated game play but an excellent story and a great narrative style and presentation. About 6hrs to complete but you will need to run through a couple more times if you want to 100% all achievements. Enjoy.

fun