Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 81 | 50 |
| Creator reviews (1 tracked) | – | 80 | 1 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 90% | 85 | 735 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 90% | 84 | 617 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Mar 11, 2024) · 300 reviews sampled · 617 total reviews in window · weighted 198.4 up / 22.3 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (39)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“El Paso, Elsewhere does nothing new as a videogame - the whole point of it, in fact, is to do everything old. Despite revolving around the nucleus of a Max Payne homage and flatly refusing to flesh out the mechanics of a game from 2001, El Paso manages to transcend its skeletal concept thanks to an arresting presentation and brilliant story. Incredibly written with themes that speak to me on a deeply personal level, it compensates for its weaknesses as a game by simply being a brilliant piece of media.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“El Paso, Elsewhere might not be Max Payne, but the inspirations are there. James Savage asks players to believe in him during the early moments of the game. That statement early on, as he discusses his sobriety, addiction, and Draculae, carries more weight on this side of his elevator ride through the void. I enjoyed the game’s gameplay loop, even when I grew frustrated with its repetition. I found the “You Keep Going” screen to be encouraging. With James, I kept fighting through the void even when my faith faltered.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“That El Paso, Elsewhere works at all as a drama is a huge achievement. It tackles weighty topics with a maturity that’s rare in gaming, and which is all the more impressive given that it does so within the framework of a shooter that suggests a Halloween attraction as curated by John Woo. It’s emblematic of the game as a whole, a bizarre amalgamation of parts that shouldn’t work yet manages to form something cohesive, soulful, weird, and deeply personal.”
read full review ↗ - 95
“El Paso, Elsewhere is a satisfying '00s-era corridor shooter elevated by a constellation of bold talent that brought to life its audio, visual, and technical artistry. It tells a painfully relatable and intimate story, with a visual style that matches the chaos in its hero's heart and a soundtrack that vocalizes it.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“No genuinely good game has ever been hurt by being too easy, though. With El Paso, Elsewhere Strange Scaffold has given us one of 2023’s great games, one that’s in constant conversation with the medium’s past, while simultaneously brushing against the emotional and intellectual boundaries of games. And it does it all with one hell of a sense of a style. El Paso, Elsewhere’s greatness lies not in the excellence of any one of its single components, but in the consistently high level of quality found across all of them. It does everything it tries to do exceedingly well, with sound, image, story, and interaction combining into a uniformly great package. Game designers can learn a lot from El Paso, Elsewhere, and perhaps even act on that knowledge, if their publishers let them.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Strange Scaffold's shooter is like a drunken boxer in a bar brawl: lacking consistency, but the blows that connect are knockouts.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“El Paso, Elsewhere is a fun throwback to a simpler time in video games. All we needed was dual pistols, a slow-motion dive and some gruff narration and this game checks all those boxes. While I was not blown away by the PS1-esque graphics; I am sure that there will be those that will enjoy them. But it’s the story that folks should come for, the tale between these two lovers is something worthy of a sad opera. Despite its shortcomings El Paso, Elsewhere surprised me quite a bit and could end up being quite the sleeper of 2023.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“El Paso Elsewhere is steeped in emotion like an aged tea that took generations to cultivate a particular flavor. It’s a game that’s simple in its ingredients, constructed in a way that elevates each piece into a timeless piece of art.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Demake visuals are the perfect match for a game that's both direct and gloriously weird.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“El Paso, Elsewhere combines simple yet delicately balanced action with an engrossing story about vampires, love, and the end of the world.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“El Paso, Elsewhere feels good to play and is beautiful to look at. But even more than that, it's simply an outstanding piece of southern gothic fiction, with a quality of writing that blew me away.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“El Paso, Elsewhere is a solid, curious, affair. It’s unfortunate the gameplay doesn’t match the ambition shown in other elements of the game, but nonetheless, fans of a certain gruff tragedy magnet will find joy here.”
read full review ↗
The Jimquisition
The Punished Backlog
Slant Magazine
video games are good
Paste Magazine
VGChartz
ZTGD
Forever Classic Games
Eurogamer
GameSpot
GameLuster
MonsterVine…and 27 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Mar. 11 - Patch (current version: v16)Mar 11, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- Jan. 10 - Patch (current version: v14)Jan 10, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- Nov. 7 - Hotfix (current version: v9)Nov 7, 2023
- Oct. 24 - Patch (current version: v8)Oct 24, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- Oct. 16 - Patch (current version: v7)Oct 16, 2023
- Oct. 9 - Patch (current version: v6)Oct 10, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- Oct. 3 - Patch (current version: v5)Oct 3, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- Sep. 28 - Patch (current version: v4)Sep 28, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- Sep. 26 - Patch (current version: v2)Sep 26, 2023
- Launch Price Correction! Get it now for $17.99Sep 26, 2023
- (Demo) Patch Notes!Jun 21, 2023significant · resets scoring window