So I got a copy of the PDF and read through it.  I like the publisher and I like the core system it runs on so there's a little bit of positive bias.  I am trying not to gild it though so that you can make a well informed choice as to whether or not you want to acquire it.

Far West is a game by Adamant Entertainment and distributed by DrivethruRPG.  It's currently only available as a PDF.  Here's the link to the core rule book: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/452473/Far-West?src=hottest_filtered


Mechanics

Mechanically, Far West is very close to the old WEG D6 system, Specifically Star Wars 2e version.  If you're not familiar with it, I recommend watching one of the great Star Wars D6 review videos YouTube.  There's a lot of opinion about this system; many love it as one of the best systems ever and some hate it.  This game won't change your opinion of the system.  This just tacks on a few extra items.  Adamant Entertainment calls their variant in this game D6 Plus.  Here's the important variances:

A 1 on the wild die is a critical failure. (at the GM's discretion)  Given it's a 1 in 6 chance, this seems a little extreme.

There's two pools of special points for bonuses, spirit points and Destiny points.  Spirit points can be spent to add wild dice to the roll.  Destiny points can be spent to double the dice roll.  Must spend a spirit point too.(a lot like the force points in Star Wars D6)

Joss is rolling doubles during any roll.  Double 4,5, or 6 is gook luck and will add a positive condition to the PC.  Double 3, 2, or 1 is bad luck and will add a complication.

PCs have "aspects" that are broad, vague descriptors that add or subtract from rolls or add or subtract spirit points depending if the PC is played in line with the aspect or against it.

Character creation is very similar to SW D6 with a couple of extra things to roll randomly to give PCs a little more variability.  In the end, it's close enough to SW D6 as to not need much explanation.

There are some setting specific skills.  Almost all of them are exactly for things that you expect.

Kung Fu is a lot like force powers in SW D6.  It's a bit less powerful and a little easier to upgrade.

There's a crafting system for making steampunk weapons and gear.  It feels a lot like a video game crafting system to me.

All or some of these can be dropped without breaking the system in favor of an older Open D6 version.

Here's a few youtube videos covering the Star Wars D6 game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayHM3lrD0RE&pp=ygUQc3RhciB3YXJzIGQ2IHJwZw%3D%3D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vyt16kg00Ac
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=begTn6VtD5k&pp=ygUQc3RhciB3YXJzIGQ2IHJwZw%3D%3D

Setting

This is exactly the way it's described.  It's a 50/50 wild west and Wuxia.  It's done pretty well with a solid backdrop that makes it not clash.  The tech is steampunk all the way and it stretches believably into fantasy with the airships.  There's no magic or supernatural elements beyond the Kung Fu.  It's got a number of well defined factions, locations, and conflicts that set up the GM for success.  It's open ended enough for a GM to add a lot of whatever he wants to add.  There's a lot packed into the 276 pages.

What is here is a lot of fun but there's only so much you can cram in a book this size.  I'm hoping there's a lot more to come.  It's a long shot, but a fella can dream.

The setting lacks concrete good guys and bad guys and focuses on the conflicts of various factions jostling for power and control.  This isn't an established genre of fiction  so the openness is a double edged sword.  You're literally making it all up as you go along.

All in all, there's enough meat on the bones for a GM to run it as is straight from the core.  On the other hand, it's also modular enough that it could be used for a clean wild west game, a clean Kung Fu movie  game, or a more classic steampunk game.  It could also be incorporated into a larger steampunk setting.

Far West isn't a well developed IP so there's a lot of room for a GM to fill out anything he wants.  Also, there's a lot of Open D6 books with things you could add to your game like magic and additional equipment.

Layout and Presentation

The book is pretty good in in the category of being usable and easy to find things.  The explanations are clear and the examples are simple and easy to follow.

One of the biggest things lacking is random tables for generating NPCs, locations, encounters, and the like.  There's no introductory adventure either.  A GM is either got a solid imagination for filling it all in or he's watched a shit load of Westerns and Kung Fu movies.  You're going to need equal parts John Ford and Shaw Brothers for this game.  A lot of anime might be useful too.

I'm not a big fan of the art style.  The images are obviously photos that have been painted over.  It isn't bad but it doesn't sing to me.  Also, the book over all is brown.

Final thoughts

If the setting idea appeals to you, then this is a good product.  I wouldn't hesitate to either play this or run it as a GM.  I would hesitate to recommend this to a new GM because of the massive amount of work needed to get a campaign started.  It needs a lot of world building and fleshing out as a setting to be turn key ready.

I am leaving things out.  It's got rules for vehicle combat, travels, trades, and other things but they didn't feel central.  I think it's cool, but I feel they could have either done a better job incorporating it all or leaving it for a later supplement in favor of more factions and a cast of NPCs.

I love the old WEG D6 system but it can get a little clunky when the PCs become more powerful when there's a dozen or more dice being rolled.  Fortunately, this is easily fixed by reducing the dice from counting values to sorting out successes from failures by saying 4 and up is a success.  This is all codifies in Unbound D6.  https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/302645/UNBOUND-D6-RolePlaying

I would have to score this as a 7 out of 10.  Supplements, particularly source books for factions and locations, would greatly improve the value of this game.  There is a collection of short stories for inspiration.  However, given it took as long as it has for this book to come out, I'm not holding my breath for more material.

Edit: typos, added links to the product and to videos that cover the D6 system.

PS:  If you read my review, I'd appreciate a comment to help me make my reviews better.  I have several more RPGs to do reviews on.  Did I miss something you want to know about?  Do I present my reviews in a way that helps?

I would say this was a pretty good review.  Although the review assumes that people know the D6 Star Wars system it didn't lose me.  I do know the D6 system but I think others might want a little more explanation of at least the core mechanics.  For me, it's system that sells me on games not how most game developers blab on and on about their world and artwork or what type of characters one can play.

The thing I liked best about your review is that is wasn't a wall of text.  That can get annoying.  Your Black Star review was good also.

Thanks for taking the time to review the game.

Thanks for the feedback.  I want to get better at writing reviews so don't hold back being critical.

Quote from: Greg Bruni on September 17, 2023, 07:30:25 PM
I would say this was a pretty good review.  Although the review assumes that people know the D6 Star Wars system it didn't lose me.  I do know the D6 system but I think others might want a little more explanation of at least the core mechanics. 

I'll take this into consideration.  I'll link a few videos that go over the core WEG D6 system in a few.  Being told what doesn't work is valuable to me so I can improve

Quote from: Greg Bruni on September 17, 2023, 07:30:25 PM
For me, it's system that sells me on games not how most game developers blab on and on about their world and artwork or what type of characters one can play.

The thing I liked best about your review is that is wasn't a wall of text.  That can get annoying. 

I hear you.  Everyone is going to need different information about a product to determine if it's valuable enough to them to buy it.  That's why I tried to break up my review into different sections and label them.  Everyone should be able to get the info they need without wading through the whole review, particularly when it's written.

If you (or anyone) wants a new segment added, some kind of subsection, or more focus on an aspect of a product, please let me know.  I have several more games I need to finish reading and testing.  My goal is to have a catalogue of reviews for people to use while shopping for a new game.