[2] Themes typical of the Western genre, such as bank robberies, lynching and the gold rush are commonplace in the game's world but also metaphysical beings such as Death and the Devil directly influence the lives of the local population.

Location visits on the strategic map are presented via simple text panels accompanied by static illustrations and allow the player to perform actions by picking entries from a list.

After every tactical encounter or performing pre-defined actions on the strategic map the player is rewarded with unique poker cards which can be assigned to characters, each of them providing a different bonus.

[8] In February 2016 development of DLC titled Scars of Freedom was announced which would move away from the supernatural themes of the base game towards Frankenstein-esque Gothic horror.

[10][11] A sequel developed by Ice Code Games and published by Good Shepherd Entertainment, titled Hard West II, has been announced, and was released for Windows via Steam and GOG on August 4, 2022.

[13] Vince Ingenito from IGN awarded it a score of 7.3/10, saying "Hard West trades some tactical grit for a touch of mystical fun, and a flair for the supernatural.

"[16] Tyler Wilde of PC Gamer awarded it a score of 6.1/10, saying "The presentation is aced, but Hard West's turn-based combat is too rote to be engrossing.

[14] Brett Todd of GameSpot awarded it 7/10, saying "Tactical combat fans and horror buffs alike will find a lot to like here in both the spooky surroundings and the shoot-em-up scenarios.