"Wild West Dynasty is a perfect example of the dangers of franchise overreach when combined with lackadaisical mediocrity and low production values. "
Singleplayer.
When the Dynasty franchise first arrived, it sparked considerable interest. Farmer’s Dynasty capitalized on the success of games such as Farming Simulator while incorporating role-play mechanics that were mostly absent from most other “realistic” farming simulations.
While the Dynasty franchise saw varying degrees of success following the launch of Farmer’s Dynasty, it reached new heights with the release of Medieval Dynasty, a title that was not only well-received at launch but is still the most popular game in the Dynasty Franchise.
Unfortunately, for every Dynasty title released since then, Medieval Dynasty is the standard to which all newer Dynasty games are held.
While some came close, such as Sengoku Dynasty, for the most part, every Dynasty title released after Medieval Dynasty has failed to live up to it financially, critically, and, most importantly, for players mechanically and graphically, with once again, the exception of Sengoku Dynasty, which is at least nice to look at.
Unfortunately, Toplitz Productions does not seem fully aware of how tired the Dynasty community is of the lack of consistency in recent releases.
Four new Dynasty games are targeted for 2025-2026, including a sequel to Farmer’s Dynasty, Vampire Dynasty, Viking Dynasty, and Pirates Republic (formerly Pirate Dynasty).
After playing Wild West Dynasty, I cannot say I am excited to play any of them.
I do not want Toplitz Productions to stop making Dynasty games; however, to protect the integrity and reputation of their brand, they need to become more selective in who they allow to develop Dynasty games.
While some developers, such as Rendercube and Superkami, have done an exceptional job, others, such as [developers], have not, despite their best efforts.
I am greatly interested in the Viking Dynasty and Farmer’s Dynasty 2 as concepts, but after playing Wild West Dynasty, I must admit to keeping my expectations in check.
While Viking Dynasty and Farmer’s Dynasty 2 could be even better than Medival Dynasty and Farmer’s Dynasty, they could somehow be even worse than Wild West Dynasty.
Fans of the series will keep having this worry until Toplitz Productions finds a way to assure the community that there will not be another fiasco like Wild West Dynasty ever again.
Apart from the fact that the Dynasty formula is starting to feel like reused coffee grinds, the main issue with Wild West Dynasty is that it does not do anything well and, for the most part, does everything it is supposed to in a slightly below-average manner.
Visually, Wild West Dynasty is just below average. While some aspects of the game look okay, others, such as character faces, are poorly done, and character animations are substandard.
Performance-wise, Wild West Dynasty is a mixed bag.
Frame rates bounce between the low 20s and upper 80s, with no apparent reason for the unstable framerate beyond walking around at a steady pace.
While this is likely due to some issue with how the developer has placed assets in the world, it results in a drastically unstable framerate, making playing Wild West Dynasty for long periods difficult and immensely unenjoyable.
While graphics and performance issues are the two major reasons why playing Wild West Dynasty feels so unenjoyable, almost every other aspect of the game, such as NPC AI, building mechanics, and gunplay, is lacking in one way or another, and when you consider the Dynasty progression system is one of the slowest and most time-consuming of any survival game, the thought of spending dozens of hours on a substandard title is daunting, to say the least.
Despite being a financial and critical disaster, with a daily average player count of just 13.8 players as of March 2025, as of February 2025, the developers were still working on updating the game in an attempt to salvage something from one of the worst launches in Dynasty history.
While this could be a sign of dedication on the part of the developer or contractual requirements on behalf of the publisher, I would like to think it is the former.
Sticking with a failed project this long is a feather in the Virtual Magic Games‘s proverbial cap and a living testament to their commitment to doing right by the Wild West Dynasty’s small but dedicated community.
While Wild West Dynasty will never be a good game, I would love to see it escape its mostly negative review score, even if it wallows in “mixed ratings” for the rest of its short and most likely uneventful life.
Regardless of whether Wild West Dynasty improves in any meaningful way, I would like to see Virtual Magic Games take another stab at the genre.
While Wild West Dynasty is just a breath away from being a total disaster, the fact that they did not abandon it speaks volumes of their character.
If I had made a concentrated effort to atone for my mistakes, I would deeply appreciate a second chance, so how can I possibly refuse the developers that same chance in light of what Jesus has to say on the matter?
Wild West Dynasty is a simulation video game developed by Virtual Magic Games and published by Toplitz Productions, it was released on 22 August 2024 and retails for $26.99.
Wild West Dynasty is available exclusively on PC.
The following peripherals are officially supported:
Wild West Dynasty is unrated and contains:
While there are many reasons why I do not recommend Wild West Dynasty, the chief reason is that it frankly should never have been made.
Far from strengthening the Dynasty, it stands as a glaring reminder that just because a game uses the Dynasty suffix and is published by Toplitz Productions, that does not guarantee it is a high-quality product.
Ultimately, Wild West Dynasty feels like a low-quality attempt to capitalize on the success of Red Dead Redemption 2 and the renewed interest in “cowboy” dramas, which was at least partially fueled by the success of Yellowstone and its prequels.
We found Wild West Dynasty to be a poor game, meaning that while it has some redeeming qualities, it's ultimately disappointing and not recommended for most gamers.
