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) | – | 85 | 60 |
| Creator reviews (2 tracked) | – | 88 | 1 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 97% | 92 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 86 | 126 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 98% | 94 | 28 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Acclaim gate: the raw blend lands at 90.2, but scores above 88 must be earned in front of a mass audience; this verdict rests on 17,431 player reviews, a largely self-selected fanbase. As more players weigh in, the ceiling rises (full scale unlocks at 100,000 reviews).
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 79 reviews sampled · 63 total reviews in window · weighted 62.6 up / 1.3 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (143)
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.
- 90
“Desperados III is one of the best real time tactics games to come out in years. Fun and strategic gameplay, a diverse cast of characters with their own unique abilities, and some top-tier level design are just a few of the things the game has going for it. It’s honestly some of the most fun I’ve had all year and I hardly noticed the time passing while I was playing.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Desperados III is an excellent tactics with a deep gameplay, interesting features and references to the cowboy movies, which successfully revives the original series and continues the ideas laid down by the developers in Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun. An exciting gameplay, built like a puzzle, makes you think ahead and improvise on the go. A convenient save system and fast loadings help to minimize annoyance even if your risky plan fails. If you like real-time tactical games and you like westerns, it is not recommended to skip this game.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Desperados 3 might not be a huge revolution in the real-time stealth action genre at first glance. And, in fact, it's not. What it is, however, is an incredibly robust game that will keep you on your toes, will make you feel smart and - especially - will entertain you from start to finish.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Mimimi Games once again proved itself as a modern king of the stealth tactics genre. However, Desperados III is dangerously similar to the Shadow Tactics and heavily relies on the ideas of the previous game.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“While the plot and characters in Desperados III may be familiar, each scenario feels distinct.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Mimimi has made something that plays well, is often funny, and sticks to the original classic in what matters. Yes, the somewhat rawer atmosphere of the original is not exactly captured here. The graphics don't dazzle with three times the detailed models and don't allow too much zooming. But that's not what Desperados III is about. First of all, it's a pretty successful game.”
read full review ↗ - 95
“Desperados III builds heavily upon Mimimi Games “Shadow Tactics” experience to deliver one of the best “soft reboots” I’ve seen in a long while. It’s unrelentless and both charming varied enough to keep you going. It knows how to treat “failure” not as a bad thing, but only a minor setback. Heavily recommended for stealth fans.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“If you've played Shadow Tactics, the high quality of Desperados III will come to you as no surprise. This game checks off all the mandatory elements of the stealth tactics genre: lots of ways to complete a mission, an intriguing story (and less obvious than it seems initially), cool characters, and a difficulty level that motivates, but doesn't frustrate.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Sometimes the try, die, retry system can grind your gears, but more often than not you’ll be enjoying the myriad scenarios in which you stealth kill your way to another victory.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Desperados 3 is not a case of the good, the bad and the ugly. It’s a case of the awesome, the great and the good. There’s a few weak points here and there, but overall this is a sumptuous piece of real-time tactics. It’s rewarding and satisfying to play, doesn’t hold your hand and makes you feel like a badass when you pull off the perfect plan. And when everything goes wrong and the bullets are flying it’s always your fault. You can see where you went wrong, and so you just reload a save and tweak your plan a bit. We’ve already had some terrific tactical games this year, but this is the best of the bunch. Utterly, utterly brilliant.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“A challenging real-time tactics experience in the old Wild West, Desperados III pulls no punches in its quest for old-school magic.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“Desperados III is the first game in Desperados Franchise that is developed by Mimimi Games. the studio behind the successful Shadow Tactics and they have once again proved themselves in tactical games. Desperados III offers perfect gameplay, beautifully designed worlds and amazing soundtracks and is the great example of a perfectly designed video game, no matter how you define this form of entertainment.”
read full review ↗
cublikefoot
GameMAG
INDIANTVCZ
3DNews
Slant Magazine
Gaming Professors
Hu3br
GRYOnline.pl
VGChartz
Wolf's Gaming Blog
PC Invasion
Zoomg…and 131 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Another FREE CONTENT UPDATE introducing 4 new Baron's Challenge missions!Aug 20, 2020significant · resets scoring window