The fourth main game in the shooter series, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, returns to the Old West setting of the previous game, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood. The player takes control of bounty hunter Silas Greaves, and the game is divided into three modes: Story, Arcade, and Duel. Arcade entails traveling through a setting, destroying waves of foes, and achieving a high score by continuing the combo, whereas Duel entails a succession of gunfights.
In plot mode, the protagonist Silas Greaves also narrates the plot, and the player completes a series of missions through linear levels. Greaves visits a tavern in Abilene, Kansas, circa 1910 and relates his bounty-hunting adventures. These cutscenes are a sequence of drawn, still images with voice-overs. The gameplay sessions are then replayed in the form of flashbacks. Greaves, on the other hand, reveals to be an untrustworthy narrator. When he is called out at specific points, the game world is immediately altered, deleting or introducing new features. The player can also seek out Nuggets of Truth, which reveal the historical truths behind his stories.
Completing tasks and firing down foes comprise the gameplay. He has access to many guns, and experience points can be utilized to improve his skills and enable him to handle dual pistols, shotguns, and rifles. Gunslinger (dual wielding), Ranger (far distance), and Trapper (close quarters) skills are divided into three categories, with improvements such as faster aiming, faster reloading, and more. The gameplay includes the bullet time ability (Concentration), gunslinger duels that require rapid reflexes, and dodging bullets through quick time events. L lethal shots can be avoided only when the Sense of Death meter is ultimately charged. Greaves have tremendous freedom of movement and must frequently take safety behind rocks. More points are awarded for precise aiming via headshots.
