Wasteland 3

 PC
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 526 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 361 out of 526
  2. Mixed: 98 out of 526
  3. Negative: 67 out of 526

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  1. HugeyBear
    Sep 5, 2020
    8
    I’m having a lot of fun with this game. It’s a very good game. The world is living and intricate the map is detailed and well designed. The areas are well connected. I like the characters and the dialogue is able to be both gritty and funny as and when it chooses. The choice you have as a player is great. The items are varied and really well implemented. The weapons look great and can beI’m having a lot of fun with this game. It’s a very good game. The world is living and intricate the map is detailed and well designed. The areas are well connected. I like the characters and the dialogue is able to be both gritty and funny as and when it chooses. The choice you have as a player is great. The items are varied and really well implemented. The weapons look great and can be modded etc. Plenty of customisation. The music is fantastic. There is a lot to like.

    But... For me... it has to compete against the best game ever made in Divinity Original Sin 2 which is a very difficult proposition.

    Wasteland 3 is a very enjoyable game but I’m comparing it to the greatest of all time so of course I’m going to be disappointed on occasion. Particularly during combat. There isn’t the variety of skills, and approaches to combat that makes DOS2 so brilliant.

    However, there are moments of sheer brilliance in this and it is a must play.    … Expand
  2. Welkinz
    May 7, 2023
    8
    it is a fine and balanced rpg game. It could have been better if they spend more time depicting main characters around the player
  3. Sugarbooger1
    Jan 28, 2021
    8
    Feels like a true Fallout 3 sequel even though it's Wasteland 3. Lots of choices that seem to matter and great atmosphere.
  4. Sepherim
    Jun 19, 2021
    8
    Sin duda, Wasteland 3 es un juego que está muy bien, aunque con algunas sombras. La principal de estas sombras, en mi opinión, está en la historia, que está bien pero no es tampoco nada del otro mundo. En especial los PNJs que nos acompañan tienen pocas interacciones y poca profundidad en gran medida. La jugabilidad, en cambio, está muy bien, con una buena mezcla de sigilo, combate,Sin duda, Wasteland 3 es un juego que está muy bien, aunque con algunas sombras. La principal de estas sombras, en mi opinión, está en la historia, que está bien pero no es tampoco nada del otro mundo. En especial los PNJs que nos acompañan tienen pocas interacciones y poca profundidad en gran medida. La jugabilidad, en cambio, está muy bien, con una buena mezcla de sigilo, combate, habilidades de diverso tipo, progresión de personajes, etc. Quizás está algo desbalanceada en algunas cosas, con algunas ramas de perks siendo bastante inútiles, pero en general es muy entretenido de jugar. Quizás la IA, especialmente la de pets y companions, debería haber sido mejorada algo.

    Gráficamente el juego está bastante bien, pero no llega a ser uno de los mejores exponentes de los juegos que tenemos hoy en día. El sonido está bastante bien, aunque la música está poco presente, cuando aparece lo hace en momentos relevantes y les da un plus muy agradable. Y, en cuanto a optimización, me he encontrado algunos bugs puntuales, especialmente con combates muy multitudinarios, pero nada demasiado terrible.

    Por todo ello, Wasteland 3 es un juego muy recomendable. Especialmente teniendo en cuenta que, antes de la salida de Steeltown han añadido contenido gratuito al juego que bien le viene (aunque la parte de crafting se nota que es de estos añadidos, porque realmente no se le saca el partido que podría). En resumen, un 8.    … Expand
  5. nightstar9000
    Feb 23, 2021
    8
    this is a very decent game. the story unfolds well your actions can change the gamestory alot. It is a proper RPG game that does better combat than xcom2 in my opinion and is way more open to strategies,levelling up is great there is not one perk or skill that can't be used. now the game has bugs through storywise and combat wise, the way to get through them is by saving alot manually andthis is a very decent game. the story unfolds well your actions can change the gamestory alot. It is a proper RPG game that does better combat than xcom2 in my opinion and is way more open to strategies,levelling up is great there is not one perk or skill that can't be used. now the game has bugs through storywise and combat wise, the way to get through them is by saving alot manually and reload the game after. i plyed it singleplayer so cna't say anything about the co-op side of this game. if your looking for a decent game it is worth to play it . btw you can have sex with a goat if you are into that...… Expand
  6. rockandroll829
    Sep 1, 2020
    8
    Xbox Game Pass:
    I am many hours into the game and have enjoyed it so far. As a player of the first and second one, i knew what i was getting into beforehand. There is nothing more fun than tactically figuring out the battlefield for success. I do have some complaints though. Load times are insanely long, and become very bothersome when travelling from area to area becomes more and more    Xbox Game Pass:
    I am many hours into the game and have enjoyed it so far. As a player of the first and second one, i knew what i was getting into beforehand. There is nothing more fun than tactically figuring out the battlefield for success. I do have some complaints though. Load times are insanely long, and become very bothersome when travelling from area to area becomes more and more necessary.
    Also, i know the game is post apocalyptic but the vendors inventory doesn't seem to replenish that often. I am in need of bolts for an assault rifle and cant find them anywhere even though i have the cash. The game does have some bugs i hope they iron out too. When moving in combat there seems to be a weird bug that causes a character to crouch repeatedly causing the controller to vibrate uncontrollably, so much so i had to turn vibrate off. Even with the bugs the game is enjoyable. The multitude of choice in the game is very engaging and really makes me think about the kind of character i want to play. I enjoy being able to amass a following of friendlies, as of right not i have a Disco Robot who heals and attacks, a cat by the name of Major Tom, a clone, and a cyborg chicken! This guy is definitely worth checking it out, especially if you have Game Pass and can enjoy it for free!    … Expand
  7. dictusSix
    Sep 26, 2020
    8
    Awesome old school Rpg!
    - 2 points for the ridiculous loading times. (arroud 40s on a good gaming Pc with an Nvme Ssd)
    I had no major bugs.
  8. K3isari
    Aug 29, 2020
    8
    The game is alot like the previous wasteland games so if you liked them you will like this one too.
    I have heard of a few bugs on the game i havent seen too many so far. My playtime currently is 13 hours. I will edit this when i get more hours in if you can edit this. The gameplay is what you would expect from a wasteland game and its pretty smooth. Story is ok so far. Theres lots of    The game is alot like the previous wasteland games so if you liked them you will like this one too.
    I have heard of a few bugs on the game i havent seen too many so far. My playtime currently is 13 hours. I will edit this when i get more hours in if you can edit this. The gameplay is what you would expect from a wasteland game and its pretty smooth. Story is ok so far. Theres lots of humour and the game doesnt take things too serious.

    Now the complaints i have:
    -Like others have said the loading times at the moment are unacceptable for 2020. No matter if you have super duper SSD every time you go to a different (map) the game loads for a 1minute minimum.And this wouldnt be that big deal if there wasnt so many map transitions and there is a lot of them. Also same load time every time you have to load a game. If they can somehow fix this issue i could easily give this game 9/10 maybe even a 10/10 who knows.
    -The inventory/skill UI isnt very good but not game breaking.

    Hopefully InXile will iron out the loading times and the bugs.    … Expand
  9. Bagels365
    Sep 7, 2020
    8
    My first wasteland game and I'm happy to say I'm enjoying myself. I dont feel left behind having not played the first two games, and I enjoy the classic rpg style and gameplay. I'm playing on gamepass, but I definitely could see myself purchasing this or dlc for this title.
  10. Saracen7
    Sep 11, 2020
    8
    This game overall is almost excellent. The story is great, graphics is ok, and despite the game sounds weird in some places, overall music and voice acting is excellent. I love RPG games like this, and Wasteland 3 met my expectations. Almost.

    The game is buggy indeed. Not game breaking but annoying, yep. Sometimes even frustrating, like when you've killed all the bad guys, but cant quit    This game overall is almost excellent. The story is great, graphics is ok, and despite the game sounds weird in some places, overall music and voice acting is excellent. I love RPG games like this, and Wasteland 3 met my expectations. Almost.

    The game is buggy indeed. Not game breaking but annoying, yep. Sometimes even frustrating, like when you've killed all the bad guys, but cant quit combat because of your own turret, while taking friendly fire, suddenly becomes your passive enemy, and needs to be destroyed before combat ends. That is weird.
    Enemy placement in some areas is a bit off too. Every gunfight dries your ammo supplies and almost all team is crippled and just around the corner there's even bigger gunfight is waiting for you. No way you can clear some areas on one go. And this breaks immersion. You should put more effort in staging combat scenes and balance them a lot better.
    Despite that, I really enjoyed to play Wasteland 3. Its a solid piece of radioactive junk, and I love it that way.    … Expand
  11. Lordon
    Sep 11, 2020
    8
    Not bad. Not bad, Yes Yes Yes...............Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeees.Not bad!!!!!!
  12. turon
    Dec 16, 2020
    8
    Decir que Wasterland 3 se parece a un Fallout 3 es como decir que una gallina se parece a un Huevo.Es entretenido con un notable alto.
  13. Thothistox
    Oct 12, 2020
    7
    Combat is fun, but this game lacks any interesting villains. Most of the game is spent blasting psychotic clowns of one type or another. This would be okay if their motivations were presented in a relatable way somehow, but they're not. For every moment where the characters are presented convincingly, there is another situation where it feels like a chatty individual from a contemporaryCombat is fun, but this game lacks any interesting villains. Most of the game is spent blasting psychotic clowns of one type or another. This would be okay if their motivations were presented in a relatable way somehow, but they're not. For every moment where the characters are presented convincingly, there is another situation where it feels like a chatty individual from a contemporary B-movie has wandered into your game and is completely unfamiliar with the gravity of whatever situation you're in. For lack of a better word, it's immersion breaking. I wish that W3 either took itself completely seriously or not at all. Instead it swings back and forth in a chaotic way and there is no method in the madness.

    Combat is fun though. Fun enough for me to have played it twice. I'm told that the normal mode is too easy, which is why I tried hard and ultra hard. I recommend hard mode. Ultra hard is full of absurdities. I spent the first third of the game constantly running out of ammunition. Most enemies can one-shot you... but not your pets, which have 10 times your hp and much better armor than you do. The robot I had following me was also much tougher than my characters, and even though it can't be revived once killed I managed to keep it around until the end of the game.

    Another problem is that the game is short. In W2 there were two maps, and here there's only one. It's also drab. I know it's post-apocaliptic but I expected some elements of beauty in the wasteland. Instead it feels as if I've spent 50 hours wandering around a derelict psychiatric hospital, unable to look up at the mountains.

    The main quest feels a bit weak. I honestly thought it was just a prelude to something grander and more elaborate. However, there is a decent amount of C&C in the game. You can take the Patriarch's side to the end, which I thought was pretty cool.    … Expand
  14. karlito31
    Mar 5, 2021
    7
    All great on the RPG front, strong 9.
    Game mechanics, not that great. No real stealth, abysmal Worldmap navigation, no fast travel, no respec ... barely 7
    Graphic presentation dated and near ugly thin 6 In total 7.3 In addition, all this overemphasized goofiness and silyness, which constantly reminds you that this is just a game, comes into serious conflict with any attempt at    All great on the RPG front, strong 9.
    Game mechanics, not that great. No real stealth, abysmal Worldmap navigation, no fast travel, no respec ... barely 7
    Graphic presentation dated and near ugly thin 6
    In total 7.3

    In addition, all this overemphasized goofiness and silyness, which constantly reminds you that this is just a game, comes into serious conflict with any attempt at deeper immersion. Just when you solve some serious moral problem, you run into a cyborg chicken. Or a two-headed mutant goat who likes to talk. Or discobot, exploding pigs, clown gang .... Funny? Sometimes a little. Anoying? All the time completely.    … Expand
  15. Mandulum
    Sep 8, 2020
    7
    While the game is quite fun, with solid gameplay and an entertaining story, there are a few (IMO) inexcusable bugs that are beyond annoying and drag down my enjoyment. My least favorite, and frequently encountered, was the broken Final Actions. "Out of Range"?? Even worse than the bugs, the story ruined my party in the final hours, didn't release their gear, and forced me to sub-inWhile the game is quite fun, with solid gameplay and an entertaining story, there are a few (IMO) inexcusable bugs that are beyond annoying and drag down my enjoyment. My least favorite, and frequently encountered, was the broken Final Actions. "Out of Range"?? Even worse than the bugs, the story ruined my party in the final hours, didn't release their gear, and forced me to sub-in recruited (non-created) members. I had to put Scotchmo in my party ... SCOTCHMO!

    Date Completed: 2020-09-08
    Playtime: ~ 30h
    Enjoyment: 7/10
    Recommendation: Worth a play, especially if you've played the previous Wasteland or like these types of games.    … Expand
  16. Sminky
    Oct 6, 2020
    7
    Very Enjoyable but missing so many quality of life asspects that it's rather frustraiting. Certein equipable items such as 'Utlity' have no tab, so they get burried in your infernate inventory. You can not respec in a game where you are intialy going to make bad choices and every point is crucial due to the games reasonble difficulty. It all feels rather 'cheap' but there is a great gameVery Enjoyable but missing so many quality of life asspects that it's rather frustraiting. Certein equipable items such as 'Utlity' have no tab, so they get burried in your infernate inventory. You can not respec in a game where you are intialy going to make bad choices and every point is crucial due to the games reasonble difficulty. It all feels rather 'cheap' but there is a great game in there if you can wade through a rather a lot of amaturish development descions. 20 hours in i have yet to hit any bugs any else has mentioned. Also this game needs to be on a SSD.… Expand
  17. nabla
    Sep 2, 2020
    7
    Wasteland 3 is a good game. It copies Wasteland 2 gameplay mechanics almost 90% and increased the production value significantly. Unfortunately it's not a great game for several reasons.

    It has some bugs, extraordinary long loading times and a few performance issues (e.g. the Scorpitron fight in the Tellur mine was more of a slideshow, on a 1080TI with Quad Core processor...). These are    Wasteland 3 is a good game. It copies Wasteland 2 gameplay mechanics almost 90% and increased the production value significantly. Unfortunately it's not a great game for several reasons.

    It has some bugs, extraordinary long loading times and a few performance issues (e.g. the Scorpitron fight in the Tellur mine was more of a slideshow, on a 1080TI with Quad Core processor...). These are issues that can be fixed in upcoming updates and I won't subtract score points for them. However, there are a few other things broken (at least in my opinion) which are not easily fixed or changed.

    First of all the game feels too linear. Free exploration is possible but since the game is heavily focused on combat you cannot simply explore any region you like because most (if not all) sidequests involve combat and thus have a minimum level requirement.

    Exploration is not rewarded. Loot seems to be partly predefined but generally randomized and the armor/weapons you find are mostly crap and never interesting. Vendors always sell the same stuff, I've never seen them restock with higher-level items, except for the HQ vendor. I find the item system lacking in every sense.

    The skill system was overhauled to create a steady feel of progression by spamming the player with attribute and skill point allocation on every level-up. I don't like the new system at all. You're constantly assigning points every few minutes which is very annoying, but you don't really notice the changes in combat because of its low granularity so what's the point? On the other hand, having the opportunity to assign skill points every few minutes makes it too easy to progress your character's skills. I never had the problem that e.g. my safe cracking skill was too low because I would just wait for the next combat to give me enough XP for the next level and then I'd assign the required points. That lowers the replayability significantly because you will have seen all of the content in the first run already.

    Interface is ok, but unfortunately it's not optimized for PC. It still works but it could be better. What I really dislike is the missing filter for the individual weapon types and subtypes. I'm constantly browsing the list trying to find the submachine guns or assault rifles. This should be fixed in a patch!

    Quest design is good but as I said everything is centered around combat. I wouldn't have thought I'd ever say this but why is there not a single fetch quest? Or an exploration quest without combat? It tries to stay true to its predecessor but a little bit more role-playing would have been appreciated.

    I don't know if I'm too stupid to understand it but I think there is nothing like a stealth system implemented in this game. There is a stealth perk somewhere in the tree but I'm not sure what it does exactly. Standing within the perception radius of any hostile creature will make them spot you after some given time, no matter what you do. This makes it impossible to get through a crowded area without triggering combat. On the other hand I think the game's simply not designed to work that way which is a real shame because it would have opened up other ways of playing it which was one of the strengths of Fallout 1/2 which some people seem to compare W3 to. In my opinion W3 does not share anything with Fallout except for the general setting.

    The world map is just a gimmick. It looks good but navigating sucks. You can't scroll or zoom, which is extremely counterintuitive. I like the idea with the truck that can be used in combat but then again its usage is limited to exterior areas.

    All in all it was fun to play but it wasn't really what I expected. I expected either an improvement over Wasteland 2 in terms of gameplay mechanics or a deviation from the original towards a more role-playing centered experience. What we have here is just a Wasteland 2 in a higher production value package with a lot of X-Com mixed in, heavily optimized for todays generation of impatient casual and console gamers.    … Expand
  18. Nemyue
    Sep 8, 2020
    7
    It became a bit casual compared to the prequels but the dev managed to make the change in a good way. It could be even better if they got more budget from crowdfunding I guess.
    the battle system is fun and good enough.
    the game mechanism became simpler but more enjoyable. The plot, dialogues, and voice actings are good enough overall. WIsh It had more choice tho. I can not think of any    It became a bit casual compared to the prequels but the dev managed to make the change in a good way. It could be even better if they got more budget from crowdfunding I guess.
    the battle system is fun and good enough.
    the game mechanism became simpler but more enjoyable.
    The plot, dialogues, and voice actings are good enough overall. WIsh It had more choice tho.
    I can not think of any critically bad things about this game compared to the prequel.
    But there are some bugs which are a bit annoying.
    The characters could be more interesting if dev managed to make more quests about them.    … Expand
  19. Anastasyah
    Oct 11, 2020
    7
    I liked previous wastelands, but this hasn't changed a bit. That's why it's boring. Super long loadings. What are you loading?! It's an isometric game. And I have SSD. I liked the plot and heroes, a variety of weapons, LOR.
  20. D3D11
    Nov 15, 2020
    7
    This is an awesome game.

    It is much more polished than Wasteland 2, unnecessary elements are excluded, other great ones are added. If you liked the previous one, you going to like this one a lot more. It is still nothing compared to the Fallout 2's mechanics, which is a bad thing, but for a turn based strategy game, it does its thing. It worth its price, but you not going to play    This is an awesome game.

    It is much more polished than Wasteland 2, unnecessary elements are excluded, other great ones are added. If you liked the previous one, you going to like this one a lot more.

    It is still nothing compared to the Fallout 2's mechanics, which is a bad thing, but for a turn based strategy game, it does its thing.

    It worth its price, but you not going to play it twice, that's for sure.    … Expand
  21. Cold_IcedCoffee
    Aug 29, 2020
    7
    Played enough to see some of the most annoying bugs. I had to load back on old saves a few times already. I love Wasteland 2 and the lore Wasteland 3 offers. I am enjoying the role playing and choices the game has so far. This needed a little more work and does not feel polished enough. I could have waited another month.
  22. watchm824
    Mar 10, 2021
    7
    Good game. I played with pleasure. But the plot of the story is not very hooked. A little disappointing about the limited variability in the development of the plot.
  23. bobbodu2873e1
    Feb 27, 2021
    7
    Completely broken sadly... wasted 3 days of my life to this game, only to find that the gippers vs godfishers fight is so utterly broken, there is no way to progress beyond that point. For every time I try the quest it gliches in a new and different way and have to restart from the save before the fight.
  24. BenyGi
    Aug 30, 2020
    7
    Aftger putting several hours into the game (singleplayer!), all dialogs crashed and I am not able to progress the game - not even loading old savegames worked....This along with many other bugs is a joke - who even allowed to release game in such state??!! Wasteland 2 was a huge mess, Wasteland 3 is the same messy - they didn't learn a thing....Fix, then release it!

    As for the rest    Aftger putting several hours into the game (singleplayer!), all dialogs crashed and I am not able to progress the game - not even loading old savegames worked....This along with many other bugs is a joke - who even allowed to release game in such state??!! Wasteland 2 was a huge mess, Wasteland 3 is the same messy - they didn't learn a thing....Fix, then release it!

    As for the rest (judging by 4-5h of gameplay...) - graphics is fine, voiceacting is very good, locations are nice (however fog of war is akward...), guns mechanics feels satisfying. Can't say much about story :/    … Expand
  25. BrandonSaidWHAT
    Sep 7, 2020
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game is pretty good but it does have some flaws like I play on Xbox one and get crashes a lot I usually have to reload the game again and go back to everything I just done before and sometime the enemies in the beginning of the game are hard like after you finish doing the dame beginning mission u will encounter some really high level enemies like I was level 3 and I was fighting enemies that where so high they 1 shot me or I’ll get ambush and they would destroy my hole team if it was very balance in the beginning of the game it would be very fun to explore and learn and adapt to this game but with The crash is in the high-level the enemy is a kind of makes his game frustrated… Expand
  26. STpure
    Sep 9, 2020
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game has a good base upon which could many good things have been built. Unfortunately it didn't happen. Whole game's story feels like chapter 1 of a supposed to be much bigger game plot wise. There are no interesting plot twists, no interesting or secret antagonist behind the scenes, no nothing..
    The early game tricks player into thinking that this is an awesome game, a masterpiece. But as time goes on it becomes clear that it's not. I was constantly expecting something to happen in the ranger base, like some prisoners escaping, some interesting guests coming with interesting propositions, maybe someone coming to look for one of my companions or something...didn't happen. Nothing unexpected or thrilling happened. It felt like something should happen with certain characters after making some choices, but it didn't happen as well. Game feels like there is a lot of cut or unfinished content. Another weird thing is that companions feel like empty husks. They are boring, there are almost no missions or agendas of their own, no interesting dialogue with the player. World map exploration is lacking big time.Voice in my mind said: "now i am gonna find some bunker with secrets and some good mystery quest".Nope, didn't happen.. Almost all quests end up in combat.. Combat on supreme jerk difficulty is good in the early game and in one area in late game. All other time it's not challenging. Weapons are unbalanced. With some of them killing even strongest enemies in one turn,or even one shot(snipers), others taking all day and night to kill with. Combat AI is kinda dumb. Turrets killing friendly targets, enemy killing it's allies as well, weird enemy positioning and tactics. There is no respec in the game, only new characters creation and removal of old. Yes you can create character with same name and looks but it becomes a chore after a while. An you lose some perks gained from npcs. In a crpg game with a lot of posible builds, respec option is a must. On top of all these things, loading screens are time and mood killers. They take forever. Inventory management is a mess. These are negatives, and i am not even talking about bugs.
    On a positive side game has lots of well written dialogues, which are voice acted. But sometimes i found myself skipping them. Don't know why, maybe because most of them are about the same apocalyptic craziness and most of them starts to feel like forced crazy. Its like game writers made a bet who's gonna think of more over the top crazy **** and forgot to write some other dialogues for the game. But still, dialogues and options during them are good. The game's looting system is awesome. One click- loot all room. Amazing feature, i've never seen before. There is no inventory weight, no fuel for exploration. It's perfect that way. There is also npcs reaction to certain things you have done, choices and consequences. But it feels it should be more of that. There are also couple of good songs, but they play one time each only. Sound effects are good. Animations are also cool, for example something exploding. Game has it's moments, but you cannot build a great rpg game mostly on dialogues and comedy. Without a good story, memorable characters, mystery and intrigue there is no soul.    … Expand
  27. Karlosos
    Sep 29, 2020
    7
    Nice in terms of graphics. Good gameplay. But the game currency is not very well done.
  28. trotzku2323
    Dec 11, 2020
    7
    Nieco gorsza od dwójki, uproszczenie mechanik paradoksalnie zabrało jej nieco uroku. Poza tym nierówna. Są fragmenty fenomenalne (Reagan), jak i wypełniacze fabuły. Niemniej i tak byłoby 8, gdyby nie problemy techniczne, których - przynajmniej tuż po premierze - było sporo.
  29. drlowdon
    Aug 24, 2023
    6
    In a post-apocalyptic world, the Desert Rangers try to rebuild society from the ashes, but they’re fighting a losing.

    Despite enjoying this type of RPG in the past, Wasteland never quite clicked with me. This was partly due to the fairly regular disconnections when trying to play online multiplayer, but also because the storylines weren’t as interesting as games like Divinity. That    In a post-apocalyptic world, the Desert Rangers try to rebuild society from the ashes, but they’re fighting a losing.

    Despite enjoying this type of RPG in the past, Wasteland never quite clicked with me. This was partly due to the fairly regular disconnections when trying to play online multiplayer, but also because the storylines weren’t as interesting as games like Divinity. That being said, the level of freedom is impressive, and the combat fairly deep, so fans of the genre should still check it out for themselves.    … Expand
  30. DavorJ
    Sep 9, 2023
    6
    I really like the concept of Wasteland games, but I think the series, if it continues to evolve in this direction, will worsen over time. Hence an overview of the good and bad.

    * Plot: I think it was well conceived although the Deth-path was not well fleshed out. Learning about the Patriarch involves secondary missions, hence I can image that people that don't explore those, don't    I really like the concept of Wasteland games, but I think the series, if it continues to evolve in this direction, will worsen over time. Hence an overview of the good and bad.

    * Plot: I think it was well conceived although the Deth-path was not well fleshed out. Learning about the Patriarch involves secondary missions, hence I can image that people that don't explore those, don't understand well why Angela calls him a tyrant. (8/10)
    * Music: OST is probably the only place where the game really excels. There are a couple of really good songs such as the Jong's Down in the Valley to Pray and Barton's Monster Mash. On the other hand, these are individual performances, and their incorporation into the game is not always ideal. (10/10)
    * Voice acting: very good, with some memorable performances: McTavish, The Prisoner, Dorseys, Scotchmo, … It was clear that there were lots of well-chose actors. (9/10)
    * Design: the overly punk-style design. Car exhaust pipes on armors, oversized spikes that impede movement, constant fireworks effects on explosion-modded weapons, … all over-fantasized that even 8-year olds wouldn't buy. But at the same time the target audience is PEGI +17. W2 was better here. (4/10) Scorpions were great though!
    * Atmosphere: in some places there is a post-apocalyptic feel, in others (e.g. DLCs) you feel like you are in some futuristic setting having technology hardly imaginable to be possible at all. "Post-apocalyptic" implies some restrictions, and they should be respected. Again, I felt the old Fallout 1&2 and W2 scoring better here. (5/10)
    * Combat: mechanics seem to be dumbed down versus W2. Spike meter versus aimed shots? Distance-based accuracy of weapons no longer visible. And so on. The biggest issue is that the initiative has become completely obsolete and replaced by being completely determined by who starts the battle. This has a profound impact on the battle outcome since the turns are per squad, and no longer per character, hence starting second often means losing directly on Supreme Jerk. (6/10)
    * Character development: my occasional google almost always resulted in someone complaining about min/max-ing the rangers. In my case, all my rangers were equally exceptionally good in coordination because it directly affects AP, and were equally unlucky, because it is probably the most useless attribute. That is I think due to the broken attributes system. Why not penalize it, like the skills system? And why not make important skill checks on it during the game? We are two decades later, and I still feel that the original Fallouts (and Fallout Tactics) had the best character design. Why fix things that aren't broken? (6/10)
    * Companions: underdeveloped, like usual. And then you have the custom rangers that have practically no background at all. W2 forced one to have 4 custom rangers, in W3 you are forced to 2. I hope in W4 we will finally reach 1! Hence (8/10) just for being optimistic.
    * Difficulty: Supreme jerk was enjoyable as it made you prepare for every encounter, although I don't like it when the difficulty merely impacts the "tankiness" of the opponents. And the latter is unfortunately the case. (8/10)
    * SFX: Special effects were probably the most bothersome. Burning trashcans at 5 meter distance sound as if standing in the middle of an inferno, blasting my eardrums out. And then this click-pop sound over and over at HQ armory and many different locations is just maddening. I don't remember ever (!) experiencing SFX this disturbingly bad. I literally had to constantly adjust the SFX volume to not loose sanity. (1/10)
    * DLC: God I hate those, and this was again such an experience. I remember a few times were DLC felt OK: in Neverwinter Nights and Dragon Age: Origins as separate (!) mini-stories with a clear beginning and end. In W3, both DLC are placed as primary quests, with no effect on the main story. What is more, they introduce new gameplay elements and design choices that are not in line with the original, hence feel as if you are playing a new game within a game, completely breaking the immersion and feeling like an endless chore just to "check" boxes. There were two occasions where I considered quitting the game, and both were related to the DLCs. (2/10)

    Hence although some elements were good, like the music, voice-acting and even the story, some aspects seem as if directed by some young grads, as if the old veterans weren't involved at all. So overall, 6/10, and without the DLCs it would have been 7/10.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

23
#23 Best PC Game of 2020
25
#25 Most Discussed PC Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 60 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 58 out of 60
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 60
  3. Negative: 0 out of 60
  1. CD-Action
    Nov 16, 2020
    90
    Wasteland 3 should actually be called Fallout 3, as it has much more in common with two legendary Interplay/Black Isle Studios games than any later entry to the Fallout series. If that’s not a sufficient recommendation, let me put it plainly: Wasteland 3 is the best turn-based post-apocalyptic RPG in many, many years. Yes, at the time of writing this review there were many gameplay and technical issues that needed to be addressed as soon as possible, but the fun this game offered made it very easy to look past them. [11/2020, p.46]
  2. Vgames
    Oct 26, 2020
    95
    Wasteland 3 is one of the best RPG's of 2020. Your choices matter, your build matters, everything you do matters. You don't just play this game, you live in it.
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  3. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Oct 21, 2020
    79
    Clichés and predictability don’t make the playthrough of Wasteland 3 any less enjoyable. After all, good post-apocalyptic RPGs are always in short supply. [Issue#248, p.36]
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