When Cowboys Met Vampires in a Video Game
Twenty years ago, High Moon Studios (formerly Sammy Studios) released a game so delightfully weird that critics and players still talk about it with nostalgia. Darkwatch: Curse of the West was a first-person shooter that dared to ask a question nobody was asking – what if you mixed cowboys, vampires, steampunk technology, and moral choice systems into one unholy FPS? The answer was something genuinely special, and yet today, Darkwatch has almost vanished from gaming conversation. It’s a game that time forgot, which is exactly why you should remember it.
The Setup Was Perfect
You play as Jericho Cross, a Civil War veteran turned outlaw gunfighter in 1870s Arizona Territory. Your last job before retirement is robbing a train – except that train belongs to the Darkwatch, an ancient secret organization dedicated to hunting supernatural threats. You accidentally release Lazarus Malkoth, their greatest enemy, a vampire lord imprisoned for centuries. As punishment and redemption, Malkoth bites you, slowly turning you into a vampire. The Darkwatch then conscripts you to help them stop the very monster you unleashed.
It’s a premise that could have been laughably bad in lesser hands, but Darkwatch nailed the tone. The game was narrated by Peter Jason, lending gravitas and personality to Jericho’s transformation from hardened outlaw to reluctant vampire hunter. The writing treated the premise seriously without being preachy, letting you exist in this weird overlap between Western gunslinger and supernatural hero.
The Gameplay Got Weird and Wonderful
What made Darkwatch special was how mechanics reinforced the fantasy. During daylight, you fought as a normal human with standard weapons – pistols, shotguns, crossbows, rocket launchers. But when night fell, your vampire powers activated. Suddenly you had superhuman abilities – Blood Shield for protection, Vampire Jump for aerial mobility, Blood Vision that highlighted enemies and objects like thermal imaging.
The reputation system added another layer. Your moral choices determined which powers you unlocked. Good path powers included Silver Bullet (more weapon damage), Fear (confuse enemies), Mystic Armor (extra shield), and Vindicator (lightning bolts destroying nearby enemies). Evil powers were genuinely tempting – Blood Frenzy gave you immunity and devastating melee attacks, Turn let you convert enemy vampires to your side, Black Shroud drained life from nearby enemies, and Soul Stealer destroyed enemies while stealing their souls to fuel your powers.
Your health and power bar both regenerated by collecting souls from slain enemies, which created this addictive cycle of combat, collection, and escalation. Vehicle sequences let you ride a horse or man a steam-powered Gatling gun wagon, switching to third-person view and arcade shooting galleries. It sounds chaotic, but it worked.
The Marketing Was Bonkers
Capcom went all-in promoting Darkwatch. They built a Gothic “desecrated church” theatre at E3 2004 to showcase the game. They created a trailer that won multiple Aurora Awards. They took out ads in alternative rock radio stations and video game magazines. They even partnered with Good Charlotte to create a music video of Darkwatch set to their song “Predictable” for MTV2.
Perhaps most memorably, they leaned heavily into the sex appeal of the female characters – a marketing strategy that would never fly today but was pretty standard for the mid-2000s gaming industry. Tala, Jericho’s ally, appeared in Playboy’s special “Gaming Grows Up” issue and subsequent “Girls of Gaming” features. It was trashy marketing, but it worked for generating buzz.
The Multiplayer Was Actually Good
Beyond the campaign, Darkwatch offered multiplayer that actually held up. Standard deathmatch and team modes were fine, but “Soul Hunter” was legitimately unique – teams competed to collect blood clouds and fill their blood bar first. It added objective-driven gameplay instead of just fragging. The Xbox version supported up to 16 players through Xbox Live, while PS2 got split-screen co-op for the campaign. These differences mattered back when online multiplayer was still novel.
The multiplayer maps captured that Western aesthetic with steampunk touches, letting players bring their vampire powers into competitive chaos. It wasn’t revolutionary, but it was competent and fun enough that communities formed around it.
Why It Disappeared
Darkwatch sold respectably but didn’t become the franchise Capcom hoped for. A sequel was planned but canceled in 2007. A film adaptation got stuck in development hell and never materialized. High Moon Studios moved on to other projects, eventually getting acquired by Activision. The game remained on PS2 and Xbox, gradually becoming forgotten as new consoles arrived.
Digital storefronts didn’t preserve it like they do modern games. Physical copies became scarcer. A generation of gamers never encountered it. Today, it exists in that weird limbo of cult classic obscurity – beloved by those who experienced it, virtually unknown to everyone else.
Why You Should Revisit It
Darkwatch represents something indie developers rediscovered but AAA studios forgot – sometimes the best games come from weird ideas executed with confidence. A vampire cowboy FPS shouldn’t work, but it does. The aesthetic is specific and memorable. The mechanics reinforce the fantasy. The writing doesn’t wink at the audience. It’s genuine.
Playing Darkwatch today, you see a game that trusted players to understand the tone. There’s no tutorial explaining why you’re a vampire or why moral choices matter. It just puts you in the world and trusts you to figure it out. That kind of creative confidence is rare, especially in mainstream gaming from the mid-2000s.
FAQs About Darkwatch
Can I still play Darkwatch today?
If you have a PS2 or original Xbox, physical copies are available on the used market, though they’ve become scarcer. The game hasn’t been ported to modern systems or released on digital storefronts, so retro hardware is your best bet. Full playthroughs are also available on YouTube.
How long is the campaign?
A typical campaign playthrough takes around 8-12 hours depending on difficulty and how much you explore. The game is linear enough that replaying with different moral choices feels like a new experience.
What’s the difference between PS2 and Xbox versions?
The campaigns are identical. The Xbox version supports 16-player online multiplayer through Xbox Live. The PS2 version offers split-screen and co-op campaign play but no online multiplayer. Both versions are solid, but the Xbox version gave multiplayer accessibility that mattered at the time.
Does Darkwatch have a good story?
Yes. The campaign features multiple endings based on your moral choices. You can either help Jericho maintain his humanity or embrace his vampiric nature. The final boss fight and ending change accordingly, giving genuine replay value. The writing is surprisingly good for a 2005 FPS.
Will Darkwatch ever get a sequel or remake?
As of 2025, no official announcement has been made. The series remains dormant at Capcom. However, the cult status and recent nostalgia for mid-2000s gaming has sparked conversations among fans about reviving it. For now, it remains a one-off game.
How does Darkwatch compare to other PS2 FPS games?
Compared to Killzone or other PS2 shooters, Darkwatch prioritizes creativity and atmosphere over technical polish. It’s less serious than Killzone but more mechanically interesting. The vampire powers and moral system give it depth that straightforward military FPS games lacked.
Why isn’t Darkwatch available on modern platforms?
Licensing issues likely played a role – music, voice talent, and potential licensing agreements would need renegotiation. Capcom never prioritized re-releasing it digitally. The game exists in a licensing limbo that prevents easy modern distribution.
Conclusion
Darkwatch is that rare game that took a ridiculous concept and executed it with such confidence that the ridiculous became genuine. A vampire cowboy FPS has no right being this good, and yet it is. Two decades later, it remains one of gaming’s most underrated and forgotten treasures. If you can track down a copy, don’t sleep on it. Darkwatch deserves to be remembered not as a failed franchise, but as a creative risk that paid off. In an industry increasingly afraid to try weird things, Darkwatch stands as proof that weird, when done right, is exactly what players want to remember.