Each companion has unique abilities and a colorful personality. Which one should you choose?
West of Loathing is a seemingly simple game. What appears to be just a game about a stick-person running around with some fancy hats… Well, that is accurate, but it’s also a surprisingly deep and hilarious RPG.
After a short introduction to the game – which has plenty of choices and consequences in and of itself – you will have to choose a Pardner to bring along with you. Certain characters in this opening will display interest in traveling with you, while some are available later on from certain quests. To start with, you'll only be able to pick one, so let’s take a look at every Pardner and determine the best.
You'll find Pete at the Saloon in The Town of Boring Springs, as the crazy old guy with a know-how for mining. Likely the first encounter with a potential Pardner you'll have, he offers to join you off the bat, with little need for persuasion.
Crazy Pete himself is a pretty simple feller – he's your standard old coot and doesn't have much to say beyond his experience of mining. He will add a bunch of Mines to your map as you play and has some pretty basic combat skills that are fine, but nothing special, so it's worth keeping those in mind. Otherwise, there are plenty of other candidates for your travels that will serve you much better – in combat and in conversation.
As part of the Reckonin' at Gun Manor DLC, Florence will act as your guide for ghostly encounters. She appears in combat for the bigger encounters and acts as a primary character for the quest, but won't be available in the main game afterward – so make the most of this one while she's around.
Over the course of the DLC, Florence has access to some pretty cool and powerful abilities in combat. These skills are fairly useful for the fights you'll face, and she is quite capable of clearing a room of enemies by herself. With her fighting ability and paranormal story, it's a shame she doesn't stick around after the quest is done, as she could have easily earned herself a place higher on this list.
With whiskey in one hand and a strong hatred for all things undead in the other, Doc Alice is sure to liven up your time in West of Loathing. While she may focus very, very heavily on this aforementioned hatred – what with necromancy taking the life of her husband and patients – it makes for some interesting quests with her along the way.
On top of her disdain for necromancy, she also dislikes clowns, churches, religion, or anything else that isn’t science, really. She’s great in combat, with a scattergun ability that can hit all enemies and can patch up allies to restore HP within combat. It’s worth noting that she can only gain experience from defeating the undead, however, so leveling up isn't going to be overly common – unless you like grave digging and necromantic cults.
On the topic of necromancy: Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Bill is a character who requires – yes, abbreviation – but also the need for you to resurrect him in a quest later in the game at the Buffalo Pile. Once done, you can choose to bring him along or to let him go free.
While his backstory is pretty hazy, as Buffalo Bill can remember and recall a few different past lives briefly, he can be a dab hand in a fight. You can’t control Buffalo Bill in combat as you can with other Pardners, but he will join you in addition to you and your current companion, so an extra pair of hooves will come in handy. He does not level up either but is pretty strong as standard, so there's no reason not to love having him around.
Gary might sound like an ordinary guy, but – you guessed it – he's a Goblin. Being such a creature makes for a very entertaining and surprisingly useful companion for your adventures, as well as exploring a race besides humans and bovines in this wacky west.
In the Town of Boring Springs, one of the tasks will be to deal with a goblin in the basement. Now, you could just walk down there and smite it, sure – however, if you take the time to explore the other quests, you can learn to talk to him. Gary is great in combat, but is generally a fun and interesting character to have along the way, and will also have unique encounters with other goblins. Better than making a habit of killing them.
A little more of a tragic addition to the game, Susie is a character that has the perfect mix of combat effectiveness and interesting backstory. She lost her entire family when The Cows Came Home – a big and devastating event within the game – and has a thirst for revenge of the bovine kind.
The cows will pose a big threat as you play, which may not be something you're expecting but should certainly prepare for. Luckily, with Susie by your side, she will be able to protect you by actively building cover mid-battle, and shooting enemies otherwise out of reach to other characters. In addition, her story of cattle redemption will pop up as a consistent and intriguing activity as you play, with some fun quests to take part in as you get to know her character.
Sam has been writing online for over 8 years and ran a small-scale website on the side. Looking to bigger things, he joined TheGamer as an editor in 2021, and now acts as Deputy Lead for Evergreen.
