This is a game about revenge, love, greed, and guns. There's a very clear objective fed to you at the beginning of every game, but your choices and actions after that heavily alter the way the story pans out. One playthrough may vary drastically from another.

Bushnell's law applies: All the best games are easy to learn and difficult to master. They should reward the first quarter and the hundredth.

I keep finding new things to love about the game, every time I play through. I encourage you to experiment and explore. You will be rewarded!

Most NPCs in the game have valuable information regarding gameplay and locations, but are inevitably unimportant in the grand scheme of the story or quest lines. If you begin speaking to an NPC and do not wish to continue, simply walk away. NPCs will not be angered by your interruption.

It is possible to pull your weapon in the face of an NPC that is speaking to you, which can generate unexpected results. There is only a single NPC who has a positive response to the sight of your weapon, but many NPCs will generate a positive consequence. Experiment!

Several important NPCs can be referred to as "quest givers," as they generate a new mission entry in your journal. Completing missions will give you rewards, ranging from additional cash, to new inventory available for purchase, to hints regarding the identity of the mysterious murderer.

Combat is intuitive, and fast-paced. You are afforded three hats, which serve as a sort of extra life system. So long as you are wearing a hat, you cannot be killed. Once you run out of hats, and are struck again, you will die and be forced to respawn at your last resting point, with half of your money missing. Hats can be replenished by purchase, or by picking them up off the ground.

Hitting any enemy in center mass (from face to groin) will result in their death. Hitting an enemy in the hat will cause their hat to fall to the ground, allowing you to pick it up. This can be a difficult shot to master.

Shooting people is a pretty important part of the game. There are six weapon types, which fall into two categories: firearms, and thrown weapons. Firearm projectiles are instantaneous, traversing the screen as soon as they're fired. Thrown weapons travel across the screen considerably slower, allowing for easier hit and run tactics.

Interesting note: When the store NPC is first encountered, she asks to see your weapon. If you ready it, she will get excited, and exclaim "Smith & Wesson 40. calibre" regardless of the weapon presented. This is even true of the tomahawk.

• Single Pistol - The default starting weapon for most characters. This is debatably the best weapon in the game, as it exhibits the lowest reload, reset, and fire recovery times of any weapon.
  
• Dual Pistols - A dual version of the single pistol, which allows you to fire twice in a single direction, or fire in both directions at the same time. The second pistol shoots a short delay after the first pistol, which can leave you vulnerable during the recovery. If fired in a single direction, one of the shots fires several pixels lower than the first.
  
• Shotgun - This weapon fires a spray of pellets, which splashes all enemies caught within its area of effect. Devastating for large groups of enemies, with the drawback of having severely limited range.
  
• Rifle - This weapon fires a powerful slug which pierces through all enemies in a line. While the rifle is prepared, the screen is zoomed out to allow better visibility, and a dotted line is drawn across the screen for aim assistance.
  
• Bolas - A thrown set of weighted balls on the ends of a rope which will ensnare enemies for a short period of time, leaving them vulnerable to hat shots from other weapons.
  
• Tomahawk - A throwing axe with a large sprite, forgiving less accurate shots.

The map completion percentage is a throwback to metroidvania style games which allow a higher than 100% completion rate. My highest completion rate to date is 162%, and I am unsure if it can go higher. All locations can be reached on foot, with the exception of the final act.

Exploration in the early stages of gameplay is high risk/high reward. Several maps contain hidden caches of moneybags for you to be able to afford new weapons; getting to that money, however, can be difficult depending on your mastery of the combat system, and your starting character.

• Bandits: Bandits band together. If you attack one, you should be prepared to have to deal with their friends. When approached, bandits will announce their displeasure at your presence. If you approach too closely, they and all their ilk on the map will become aggressive. Alternatively, if you trigger their speech three times on the same visit to a map, they will also become aggressive. Bandits can be armed with single pistol, dual pistols, and the shotgun.
  
• Townspeople: Individual townspeople can be made angry enough to draw their weapon on you. If you begin firing your weapon in town, some townspeople will become aggressive. If enough townspeople are attacked, the entire town will become aggressive. Townspeople can be armed with single pistol, dual pistols, and the shotgun.
  
• Indians: Indians are not naturally aggressive, but can be made aggressive through speech options or by attacking their compatriots. They always wield tomahawks.
  
• Coyotes: Coyotes can either be brown or black. If you travel within a certain distance of them, they will attempt to bite you. They are easily avoided.
  
• Scorpions: Scorpions can be found skittering across the desert, or hiding in the sand. While hiding, they will spring out and attack if you travel within a certain distance. They can also damage you while on the surface. If you fire at a hidden scorpion, it will surface. If you fire at a surfaced scorpion, it will dig deep into the ground and never reappear.
  
• Snakes: Snakes can be found coiled up, or traveling across sand or rock. Thusfar, I have been unable to kill one. They attack seemingly at random.
  
• Passive: Buffalo, Rabbits, Deer, Vultures, Songbirds

This is the default character. The youngest child of three, in a family of homesteaders. You start the game with him unlocked. He begins the game with a single pistol, and three hats.

The Hero's older brother. The middle child. You unlock this character for play after completing the game once. He begins the game with a single pistol, dual pistols, and cannot wear hats (this means that he will always die in one hit)

The Hero's older sister. The eldest child. You unlock this character after completing the Clintville Train Station quest line (specifically "Trains Back On Track"), at which point you are given a written letter from your sister stating that she'll be on the next train into town. The game states that this will occur in a week. Travel around the various waypoints or complete quests to advance time. She begins the game with a single pistol, the shotgun, and three hats.

A Native American son to a family of homesteaders. You unlock this character after completing the Indian Tribe quest line, either through war or peace. Note: It has been experienced that the "peaceful" end will not unlock the character. It's possible that the Indian only becomes available if you assist the Tribe in taking over Clintville. He begins the game with the tomahawk throwing weapon, and three hats.

Many of the NTS points are unlocked automatically by speaking to NPCs. It's generally to your benefit to speak to everyone in a given area willing to speak with you. The following are the locations of the various travel points, if you should need to find them manually.

Your first waypoint. Found immediately after introduction.

Located near the north exit from the main portion of the town. From Uncle's Home, go east, then north.

Located across the road from the Store, near the north exit from the train station. From Clintville, go east, then south.

Located near the main entrance to the mines, near a quest-giving NPC. From Clintville, go east, then north.

Located near the entrance to the Fort itself. From Clintville Station, go south, then east.

Located in the middle of the Indian encampment. Can be reached by navigating through the mines to the eastern-most exit, and heading south. If the wall north of Fort Motors has been opened, then: from Fort Motors, go north twice, east around the U-shaped bend, then north twice more.

Located in front of Rancher Bob. From Clintville, go north twice, then west twice.

Located in front of the Oil Tycoon's manor. From Rancher Bob's, go west, then south.

Located in front of nothing particularly useful. From Oil Tycoon's, go west twice, then north.

Located in front of the Express delivery location. From Oil Tycoon's, go south once, then west four times.

Located near the north exit of the map. From Santa Anna, go south once.

Located in front of the purchasable house. From Clintville, go east twice.

Located at the beginning of the final encounter. Unlocked once you have deduced the identity of the murderer and chased him to his hideout.

WIP

• There are three next to the Animal statues located in the mines. A miner's hat will help considerably in locating them:
  
  • one far in the North-East
    
  • one far in the North-West
    
  • one in the South
• There's one at the end of the Northern Forest.
  
• There's one in the Eastern Forest, South from the Golden Buffalo idol
  
• There's one in the centre of the map, in a mountainous area, on a small zone on the side of the main path. You have to reach it from another zone.
  
• There's one South from Lake Santa Anna. You have to find a small passage to get to it.
  
• There's one in the map north of Cob's Ranch, southeast of Clintville Station. You'll have to go one map east of Clintville Station and unlock the gate in the southwest corner to be able to reach it.

Once your sister has arrived to the Train Station, you will have to follow her steps around the West. She will gradually reveal more information about the murderer, and clear areas of bandits.

1. At your homestead.
2. At Fort Motors.
3. At the Graveyard (will clear it of bandits).
4. In the desert to the east of Santa Anna Station.
5. At Santa Anna Lake, near the ruined cabin at the far end of the path (will clear it of bandits).
6. At Santa Anna, some time later. She will have restored the river flow to the town (note that you won't be able to reach Ostrich Bandito Whit anymore).

• There's one at Lake Santa Anna. You have to follow the river bed to reach it.
  
• There's one hidden on the South-East of the desert.
  
• There's one in the East Forest.
  
• There's one in the Northern caves, behind a locked door. You have to make a detour to reach it.
  
• There's one hidden in a shed at the entrance of the mountain pass, south from the Tycoon's mansion.