While the gaming community goes through a small drought, longing for announcements from the upcoming biggest AAA of the year or another Nintendo Direct, Wasteland 3 surprises everyone as a fantastic summer game to fit the new norm of 2020. Pulling unexpectedly high numbers, it’s a nightmarish version of America that could be frightening enough for some players that the developers at inXile Entertainment decided to put a warning at the beginning.
Meant to improve upon many mechanics of its predecessor, Wasteland 3 is an open world, action RPG, and a direct sequel to Wasteland 2. It also changed up the combat style, replicating the style seen the XCOM games. By replacing single-character control for squad-based action, Wasteland 3 focuses itself on team sequences while keeping with the same turn-based combat system from the second installment. The game is played from an isometric perspective, and various choices throughout the story impact the direction and the game’s world. On Twitter, InXile’s Studio Head Brian Fargo called Wasteland 3 “epic in size,” feeling very positive about the collaboration and work his team put in to create the final product. It’s also available for online co-op, for players who’d like to explore the post-nuclear world together.
The timing of Wasteland 3‘s release couldn’t be more suggestive, reviewers say. The Wasteland games are known for mixing the tragedy of destroyed ruins of nuclear fallout with humor and a silly cast of characters, and the third installment is no different. From Colorado Springs’ refugee “problem” and the dictator known as the Patriarch, the reflection of real-world America is described as a bit on the nose. However, the added fun that pulls players out of their real-world problems and into their gaming escapism is the addition of monsters, creepy clowns, cannibals, and evil scientists to remind them that this is a work of fiction.
PC Gamer (Jody Macgregor)
“Like its predecessors, Wasteland 3 is the kind of game where the most interesting story is the one you make, usually thanks to that juxtaposition of a seriousness and silliness. Maybe you created a character who dressed like a clown and inflicted status effects on enemies by throwing yellow snowballs at them, or maybe you went into battle with a herd of vicious animals—at least until you got sick of them and abandoned even the swearing parrot to bleed out in the snow.”
Score: 84/100
Screen Rant (Christopher J. Teuton)
“While the XCOM-style combat is one of the biggest differences returning Wasteland players may notice, there has also been a much-needed increase in the amount of voiced dialog when compared to previous iterations of the franchise, something which is likely due to the extra influx of assets the developers gained after being acquired by Xbox Game Studios. This addition of capital not only helped to convey more lifelike, convincing characters through excellent, albeit sometimes rather cheesy, voiced dialog, but it is also apparent in the game’s user interface and overall graphical quality.”
Score: 4/5
PCGamesN (Gina Lees)
“It’s an apocalypse game where everyone is either a softly spoken sweetheart or a gust guzzling sycophant. It’s a fictional future of the most extreme depravity and it’ll force you into uncomfortable places and ask you hard questions. All the extremities and bloated stereotypes should be a hard pill to swallow, but you glug it down like it’s the apocalypse, and you haven’t had a taste of bitter bourbon in a long time.”
Score: 9/10
NME (Ewan Wilson)
“The game concedes any notion of sophistication from the jump, with a pop-up that lets you known that any similarities to real-world events are purely accidental, and that everything you encounter is for entertainment purposes only. If the message feels a little like pulling the rug out from under your own RPG… Well, that’s because it is. It’s hard to take much of Wasteland 3’s moralising or “difficult choices” seriously when the game introduces itself as a clown.”
Score: 3.5/5
GamesRadar+ (Andrew King)
“Wasteland 3 is a terrific take on a tried-and-true formula. It’s tough, but fair. It rewards tinkering, but is straightforward enough that old school Wasteland fans and CRPG novices will both find plenty to enjoy. Both will likely be impressed at how heavily Wasteland 3 weighs your choices; how much it respects your agency and reflects your decisions with consequences that ripple across its world.”
Score: 4/5
Overall, though Wasteland 3 blends the tongue-in-cheek humor with difficult choices, the game reads as overly satirical for some players, and just the perfect pairing for others. But what can be agreed upon is the improvement that InXile has made on streamlined combat and strategic game mechanics since the last installment. The brutal and punishing tale doesn’t disappoint in terms of excitement and delivers unexpectedly rich dialogue supported by talented voice acting. Though it has a few bugs and is still rough around the edges, the overall result is an entertaining gaming experience, standing out as a surprisingly well-performing title to help finish off the summer.
Wasteland 3 releases August 28 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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