The DNA of franchises changes through time. Ideas that were once staples become forgotten relics left to rot away on through Lets Plays or the odd article on a niche site or two. Like meeting a school friend 30 years later, only to discover they now listen to 21 Pilots and wear shirts with ‘’Bazinga!’’. In a world where classic RPG franchises like Fallout end up becoming just another shooty-looty game, Wasteland’s return is more than welcome.
Wasteland 3
Developer: inXile Entertainment
Price: $60 USD
Platform: PC (reviewed), PS4, Xbox One
MonsterVine was supplied with Steam code for review
Falling on from the events of 2014’s Wasteland 2, the third entry into the series moves from the bone dry land of Arizona to the cold harshness of Colorado. Seeking aid to help bolster a weakened force, the Rangers agree to work with Saul ‘‘The Patriarch’’ Buchanan, the man responsible for bringing Colorado to order…mostly. Tasked with apprehending his three estranged children, the Rangers set out with a glint in their eye and a finger on the trigger.
In truth, the initial pitch of the story does little to stand out. Strangers in a strange land working for an imposing figure is nothing new. The magic here is that the world isn’t just a cut and dry set of environments with linear stories attached. Every aspect of Wasteland 3’s Colorado has something going on that rewards the player’s attention. Keeping in traditional RPG circles, these rewards aren’t necessarily items of use, but enhancements of the game’s world. While those of a modern cut may raise an eye-brow at this approach, it makes each slice of dialogue and environmental storytelling pop, and there’s a whole lot of popping.
Colorado’s complexities are more than merely people surviving in a new world. Buchanan, the guy payrolling the Ranger’s activities, isn’t quite the clean-cut hero he’s made out to be. This fact puts a cloud above every thought, choice, and interaction you, as the player, take. Suddenly, the actions taken in Colorado aren’t free from scrutiny. Slave-trading, weapon peddling, smuggling, drug-dealing, murder. You’re rubbing shoulders with it all.
The special sauce that makes it so sweet is the ability to allow yourself to be part of the world. More often than not, organic role-playing entangles the player, forcing them to think before they react. Moral ambiguity will become a common companion. Those moments of internalised conflict drive motivation, crafting a connection to the characters and events going on. Wastelands 3’s ability to never truly feel obnoxious with player choices is what allows for immersion to set-in, even when it leaves you feeling like a piece of shit for being too naive or falling victim to oversight. But that’s what makes it so great, choices looped into consequences that never feel forced or gimmicky. The choices the player makes are dictated by their thoughts, emotions, and beliefs, not by some faux morality system or Good/Bad/Evil one button press.
Those decisions and interactions swill and mature around the varied factions found within Colorado. Wasteland 3’s extensive and vibrant cast of characters is a buffet of the weird and wonderful. Each respective faction has its own ethos, lifestyle and approach to combat. Clown worshippers, Ronald Regan fanatics, horror movie-obsessed killers in state of remorse. They all offer a unique flavour that injects such a strong sense of life and movement into a world on its knees.
Choice, as with any CRPG, is the core principle at the heart of Wasteland 3. Character creation and general gameplay support this principle just as strongly as it is narratively. Instead of crafting a single character, Wasteland 3 runs with an initial duo. There’s a number of pre-made duos to choose from, as well as the ability to create a custom set. Aside from the cosmetic side of things, Wasteland 3’s creation system is separated into three main categories, along with two traits. Attributes include the likes of Speed, Charisma, Awareness, and Intelligence. Each respective category impacts the character both in combat and while traversing the world. Examples of this can include high Awareness stat, which increases their perception allowing them to observe things in conversations or spot threats in the game world. In combat, that same character will have a higher hit chance and improved ranged damage.
Skills are what shapes the speciality of a character. They’re neatly separated into Combat, General, Exploration, and Social. Each section hosts a number of skills that allows the players to further sculpt their Ranger. Skills like Nerd Stuff, Mechanics, and Picklocking allow for interaction with items in the world, opening new paths or looting items. Combat skills are exactly that, means to make characters more efficient at shooting, pewing, punching, stabbing, melting or blowing up their problems. Social Skills offer unique interactions with NPCs as well as buffing the player’s party. Skills have a further role to play, dictating what equipment can be used, how proficient a character is with certain items.
These skills and attributes are at the heart of the turn-based combat system. Each action taken costs Action Points. From moving, firing, reloading and item uses, it all costs. Of course, the amount of points a character has depends on their base stats. Like cogs in a machine, neatly in motion, Wasteland 3’s systems work. Padded with handy options like Ambush (think Overwatch, but not that Overwatch, but XCOM Overwatch), Defence, and banking AP with Prepare. The end product is a cohesive, responsive combat mechanic that plays a part in validating the RPG system Wasteland 3 hosts.
Two out of three is normally enough to confirm a good game. Wasteland 3 hits three for three. With a sharp jab of the tongue and chesty cough, Wasteland 3’s crafting of its world is only achievable by writing that never takes a dive off the deep end. Subtly is a trait often left on the floor in favour of chasing after ‘heavy topics’? Where Triple-A productions have often failed to speak without sounding like a jack-hammer, Wasteland 3 excels. Heavier topics are treated with a level of matter-of-fact in a society adjusted to an ‘anything to survive’ mentality. This trait acts as a platform for characters to be pieces of shit, but understandably so, forcing the player to choose between applying in-character values or those of their own. Shockingly, the results are compelling.
Wasteland 3’s only real issue is its struggles with joining the dots together in a way that maintains momentum. Travelling from place to place via the hulking beast that is your truck is not exactly exciting. Additionally, the ability to have your truck involved in combat should be a new element worth chomping on but instead feels like an afterthought. It’s nice to call flatten an enemy under the behemoth, but it only feels like an extra, rather than part of the cohesive experience.
Visually, the cold edged bluntness of Colorado is represented well. Pockets of society hidden between the cracks of the nuclear holocaust, laced with relics of the past. The Unity engine is used to great effect, creating a vibrant, yet suitable grotty, aesthetic. At times, some of the character animation, especially in discussions with key characters, is delightful. Facial expressions accentuating their points and emotions. On top of this, Wasteland 3 is full voice acted, with no obvious weak performances. Add to this a subtle, but smooth, soundtrack and the overall production provides a well-rounded affair.
As expected, Wasteland 3 runs well, at least well enough. Larger areas filled with more NPC activity can produce a slight framerate drop, but not enough to register annoyance. Bugs creep up, affecting anything from visuals to quest progression. Oddities such as equipping hats or masks turn a character bald, while others can cause clipping. Progression halts, at least from the 60+ hour playthrough used for this review, were all fixed via reloading the game. The oddest bug came in the shape of an NPC that was killed after a dispute, only to appear perfectly well again.
By the time your knee is deep in the snow, politics, and blood Wasteland 3’s Colorado is submerged in, there’s an underlying hook firmly under the skin. Consequences to actions and conversations neatly knit together every other aspect of InXiles’s love letter to the golden age of RPGs. In the modern market, the elements of RPGs have been reduced to menial threads to support button-bashing gameplay. Wasteland 3 scales things back, takes its time. There’s no rush, no forced attempts at being profound while falling flat on its face.
The Final Word
Wasteland 3 is a credit to the revival of CRPGs in a time where mainstream audiences think picking a perk and slamming one button is the ‘RPG experience’.
– MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
