Good Shepherd Entertainment and Ice Code Games have announced that the open beta for Hard West 2, the supernatural sequel to the hit turn-based strategy game experienced by over half a million players, kicks off today on PC via Steam. Running now until June 5, the beta features a small slice of the game’s full campaign and introduces players to some of the special abilities they’ll acquire in their journey through the dark heart of the West.

Hard West 2 ups the ante on the original game in every way. The unique new Bravado system delivers a more aggressive approach to tactics and combat, rewarding you for going on the offensive so you can extend your streak and dish out even more damage. Experience shootouts on the move with dynamic levels that play out in changing environments to recreate the action-packed feeling of high-speed horseback chases and nail-biting train showdowns.

Demolish your adversaries with special abilities like Gin’s Shadow Barrage, which ignores cover and can hit several enemies; Flynn’s Shadow Swap, which lets her trade places with friend or foe; Old Man Bill’s Dead Man’s Revenge, which can hit anyone in the line of sight and scales based on the amount of damage he’s taken; and Laughing Deer’s Wild Run, which increases in damage the further he is to the target.

Turn dire situations to your advantage by utilizing Luck, which you’ll gain when taking damage or missing shots and can be used to improve your chance to hit. Obtain new abilities and give your posse additional skills or enhance existing ones when you find and equip cards from the Deck of Haunts.

Key Features:

• Conquer the Dark Frontier: When first-class con man Gin Carter raids a legendary “ghost train” in search of gold, he discovers it haunted by the Devil himself! Now Gin must lead a posse of strange outlaws to save his soul in a land claimed by darkness. Explore the frozen wastelands and lawless frontier towns of the Wild West in a desperate battle against the living and undead.
• Unleash Your Bravado: Rack up kills to activate the new Bravado State and replenish your Action Points. Rush out of cover, go on the offensive, and chain together stylish kills to extend your streak as you take down anyone or anything brazen enough to stand in your way.
• Shootouts on the Move: Hard West 2’s turn-based combat is set in dynamically shifting environments, keeping your brain as busy as your trigger. Let your Western imagination run wild, from horseback chases to tense train holdups, as you hone your strategic skills to a fine edge.
• Supercharged Posse: Unearth mysterious playing cards to build your crew’s poker hands. Arm them with guns, explosives, trinkets, or just some beans and whiskey to keep them in top shape.
• Unnatural Leader: Responsibility for your growing posse of gunslinging outlaws, witches, and other mysterious beings lands at your boots. Make the right calls to get more Loyalty Points and new skills for those closest to you, but choosing poorly will test their commitment to your cause.
• The Good, the Bad & the Undead: Wild West folk tales and the occult collide in a character-driven story featuring the voice talents of Kevin Conroy (Batman: The Animated Series), Darien Sills-Evans (Days Gone), and Adam Gifford (The Colony), plus a score by BAFTA Award winner Jason Graves (Dead Space) and story co-written by Origins Awards winner and New York Times bestseller Matt Forbeck (Deadlands).