Wasteland 3 is the latest title in the Wasteland series from inXile Entertainment. The reviews are in from reviewers across the board and the game looks like it’s going to be a great one.
It releases officially on the 28th August on Xbox, PC, and PlayStation. As it stands, it doesn’t seem like you need to play the previous two titles to understand fully what’s happening, and the game is also free with Game Pass. Nice.
Wasteland 3 is a role-playing game set in the wastelands of Colorado, a land populated with freaks, weirdos, and robots. There are swearing cats and goofy cyborgs, and yet the game has this harrowing undertone which drives the atmosphere of it all to new heights.
Reviewers cite its satirical narrative as befitting the strange world we all currently live in. A representation of a broken America, plagued with almost total nonsensical characters and surprising brutality.
Reviews across MetaCritic are widely positive – some of the highest reviews for any game in the series. With turn-based combat, an overarching narrative of apocalyptic hellscapes, and a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor make this a Fallout-like game for the more technically-minded.
It’s an old-school RPG game with top-down aesthetics and almost total freedom to explore where you want. Where the previous games were set in the endless sands of Arizona and California, Wasteland 3 opts for a snowy wasteland this time around.
The landscapes are easy to navigate in your AI car and alongside a crew of ragtag companions. Standalone NPC characters throughout the story are more detailed than ever, with close-ups and fully fleshed-out narrative arcs.
The game has also refined some more of the intentionally old-school and clunky aspects of Wasteland 2. Combat is much more like XCOM 2 at this point, with the slick animations and UI that make everything just a little bit easier to get to grips with.
Character creation is back in full force and you’re allowed to create whatever kind of silly monster of a character you want to. Murderous clown or slick wasteland desperado, the choice is yours.
Considering the game is free-to-play on Xbox’s Game Pass it’s definitely worth checking out. And don’t worry – you won’t miss out on anything too serious if you haven’t played the previous games, the narrative and game design have been sculpted to allow anyone new to the series to jump right in.
