El Paso, Elsewhere – the ultra-stylish “neo noir” motel-in-hell shooter from developer Strange Scaffold – is getting the movie treatment following its acclaimed release last year.
El Paso, Elsewhere takes players into the bowels of a reality shifting Texan motel – and across the boundaries of hell itself – as they hunt down their vampiric ex-girlfriend before she can end the world. Unfortunately, a whole supernatural army of werewolves, fallen angels, and other damned creatures lies in the way, leading to some seriously intense shootouts in what Strange Scaffold calls a “vivid slow motion love letter to action classics.”
It’s mesmerising, almost overwhelmingly stylish stuff, so news there’s an El Paso, Elsewhere movie in the works isn’t all that surprisingly. As per Deadline, Academy Award nominee LaKeith Stanfield (Get Out, Uncut Gems, The Book of Clarence) is in talks to produce and star in the feature, hoping to take the lead role of James Savage. “While recovering from a toxic relationship,” explains Deadline’s synopsis, “[James] confronts both his inner demons and enigmatic ex-girlfriend, Janet, before she executes a world-ending ritual.”
“James navigates her reality-bending universe of ethereal monsters while facing the truth of his own addictions and skewed sense of self-worth,” the synopsis continues, “learning that the only route to love is through healing.”
There’s not much else to report just yet, but if you’re intrigued by El Paso, Elsewhere and haven’t yet given it a go, it’s definitely worth a look. “It’s stylish and clever and striking in a way that few games are,” Eurogamer’s Christian Donlan wrote in his four star review, “and it feels both very old and utterly of the moment. At times it’s so hectic that it’s best to just switch to invincible and blast your way through, enjoying the wonderfully horrible scenery with its bulky props and vintage music video mists. At others, there’s a thrill to juggling ammo, bullet-time, stake count and the advancing horde, and this thrill is so sharp it’s worth the restarts. And yes, at times, the whole thing flung so much at the screen that my PC actually couldn’t take it.”
