Review: Wasteland 3 (PS4)

NB I completed my playthrough of this on the PS5, as my first (PS4) attempt was somewhat set back by the console breaking. 

Wasteland 3 is a post-apocalyptic RPG set in the USA (Colorado, specifically). It’s got a grim sense of humour throughout, a six-man party, and a very interesting setup for combat and non-combat skills, plus plenty of decisions to make. But is it a good game?

Gameplay

The combat of Wasteland 3 will be easily recognisable to anyone who’s enjoyed XCOM or XCOM 2, but does handle things differently enough to set it apart. For those unaware, this style involves a turn-based approach on a grid, with the entirety of one side progressing at once, which means getting the jump on enemies is worth a lot. Movement and actions, such as firing weapons or throwing grenades, consume AP (action points).

However, whereas XCOM 2 has two AP and that’s it, Wasteland 3 has a more nuanced system with characters capable of having more or less AP depending on stats, and different weapons consuming different amounts. Heavy weapons and sniper rifles consume almost a whole AP bar, whereas shotguns and pistols can be fired multiple times in a single round without difficulty. This increases flexibility and makes the choice of weaponry (a mix through the squad is a good idea) crucial. In addition to the player and enemy sides, you may have a friendly turn, which will be your non-controlled allies such as animal followers and extra chaps (or robots) you pick up along the way.

On standard difficulty I found the combat to be sharp enough I needed to stay awake but, for the most part, usually not too challenging. That said, I had several hours in my initial borked playthrough as experience so I wasn’t diving in fresh and that may’ve smoothed my path a bit. Nevertheless, combat is fun and if you take it for granted you can easily end up in trouble. This is a big Wasteland 3 review highlight.

Out of combat players have multiple significant decisions to make regarding who lives and dies, and who you help, or not. You can also unlock multiple new dialogue options by proficiency in various skills, most commonly the hard ass/kiss ass skills. The game does a good job of ensuring you can be as nice or dickish as you like.

 

Story

Post-apocalypse is a genre I can really take or leave, but I still liked Wasteland 3 a lot, which is a testament to how well it’s written. There are plenty of grisly moments and daft comedy, which both work well.

You play as the leaders (even if playing solo you make two characters at the get go) of Team November. And by leaders, I mean survivors, because the other four dozen get killed in the intro. Hailing from Arizona, you’re in Colorado at the invitation of the state’s ruler, the Patriarch. He’s got supplies which the Rangers desperately need, all you need to do is capture his kids and stop them causing problems. But things may not be so simple… The Patriarch’s children are Valor, Victory, and Liberty, or Nerd, Psycho, and Tyrant if you want to know their respective personalities.

Beyond this core of the game there are a good number of side quests, exploring the map will throw up some fun gems you can easily miss (I especially liked paying Santa a visit), and each major quest can go down various ways. It’s pretty good, with some interesting twists that I won’t spoil.

Companions could be better, though. I liked Lucia quite a lot, but the other (non-player made) companions stayed pretty much undeveloped through the story. They will leave if you act contrary to their interests, apparently.

 

Sound

In most areas good, this is sometimes excellent. One stand-out example was when I loaded up a game in the world map and the radio played some random nonsense. This happened and it was a psycho with a chainsaw and screaming in the background, which was very well done (although not great for those who are squeamish). Flamethrowers, explosions, gunfire, ambient effects, and voice acting are all either good or very good.

The music deserves a special mention as there are a small number of fights (including one in the intro area) that have their own excellent tracks, as does one (optional) fight that can lead to a new companion. The latter was a rare occasion when I deliberately paused mid-fight just to listen to the music a bit more.

 

Graphics

As an isometric RPG this is not the biggest deal in the world, but the graphics get the job done without being spectacular. Occasionally you see major characters (the Patriarch, for example) up close and they’ll look ok, but not amazing.

 

Bugs and Other Problems

There were some bugs. I had a small number of crashes, perhaps three or so in an entire playthrough (I’d guess perhaps 30 hours total, can’t be sure). In addition, I once got stuck in combat and the enemy turn just wouldn’t start. That’s not ideal.

 

Replayability

There are two ways this game offers good replayability: difficulty and choices. The difficulty has several basic levels making combat easier or harder, but with some degree of customization covering things like permanent character death and friendly fire (NB even when this is off, you’ll be affected by AoE stuff so don’t throw a Molotov on your animal follower or you’ll end up with a hotdog).

Choices are plentiful and missions can often have multiple outcomes. Sometimes failure to attend to a matter can lead to it being resolved in your absence (I have one confirmed case of this, unsure if other things can happen this way). And certain missions can only be completed if you ignore an alternative, which will have consequences.

 

Conclusion

Wasteland 3 is not flawless. It has the odd bug and could perhaps be a little longer (playtime is perhaps around 25-30 hours, I think). But it has fantastic combat, engaging missions with multiple outcomes, and the approach to skills is excellent as all of them are useful and deciding where to spend points (and which perks to get) will alter your playthrough significantly. It’s a very good game indeed.

 

Thaddeus