GamesRPGWasteland 3This underrated post-apocalyptic RPG is the perfect blend of Fallout and Baldur’s Gate, which means I’ve already played for 38 hours and killed SantaWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesRPGWasteland 3This underrated post-apocalyptic RPG is the perfect blend of Fallout and Baldur’s Gate, which means I’ve already played for 38 hours and killed SantaWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: InXile Entertainment)
It’s mid-October, and I’ve just killed Santa. Not therealbig man, I should clarify, but someone remarkably similar. Besides having the same name, he’s got the same cozy red robes, a workshop full of elves who are hard at work, and a fondness for home-baked cookies. Unfortunately, we’re meeting in post-apocalyptic RPG Wasteland 3, where nothing is as sweet as it seems.
Out in the wasteland of Colorado, ol' Kris Kringle rules his workshop with an iron fist. His elves – who make highly addictive drugs, not toys – beg for death if not freedom, and are collared with explosive fairy lights. As I’m playing a band of do-gooder Desert Rangers sent north from Arizona to secure supplies, my first instinct is to liberate these elves peacefully. But when I find a computer and disable the “naughty list”, which is Santa’s programme for remotely detonating his elves' collars, St. Nick drops his kindly veneer and unleashes legions of festively-named robots to kill ranger and elf alike.
When the fighting ends, Santa and his scrapheap lie in pieces across the floor, and his captives are free. Er, kind of. There’s one last choice to make: do we free his elves so that they can start a new life in the wastes, or keep them indentured under new management? Hohoho, welcome to Wasteland 3.
Rather be in Colorado
(Image credit: inXile Entertainment)
Here’s what we said…(Image credit: InXile Entertainment)Wasteland 3 review: “A terrifically executed RPG that rewards player investment”
Here’s what we said…
(Image credit: InXile Entertainment)Wasteland 3 review: “A terrifically executed RPG that rewards player investment”
(Image credit: InXile Entertainment)
Wasteland 3 review: “A terrifically executed RPG that rewards player investment”
Try as I might to get into those first Fallout games, I’ve never been able to break through the awkwardness that comes with their age. It’s particularly frustrating becauseBaldur’s Gate 3has left me with a craving for more isometric RPGs, and I suspect that Fallout would scratch that itch if I could only work out what to do with it. Fortunately, Wasteland 3 pairs Fallout’s long-revered tone with modern sensibilities – and after rolling credits on my first 38-hour playthrough, I’m a little shocked this one crept past me for so long.
(Image credit: InXile Entertainment)
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Besides stressing over every line of dialog, I loved watching my Rangers slowly become a force to be reckoned with. Wasteland 3’s turn-based combat starts tough – early on I constantly ran out of ammo mid-fight – but as you gather better gear and invest more points into your party’s skills, the tide shifts. Wasteland 3’s systems all feed nicely into one another, and your character sheets play a big part in fighting: my resident tech nerd, for example, could turn enemy robots and turrets against each other; while expert lockpicker Coyote unlocked side-routes that often led to perfect flanks. On a baser level, fighting is wildly satisfying. Cryo guns can turn opponents into delicate statues waiting to be shattered, while a critical hit from one particularly powerful laser sniper rifle could disintegrate a raider in a single shot.
I won’t spoil how I used all of that accumulated power, in the hopes that any Baldur’s Gate or Fallout fan reading this will give Wasteland 3 (which is on Game Pass!) a shot. But I will say one thing: when the credits rolled and I watched slide after slide outlining the consequences of my choices, Santa’s elves were nowhere to be seen. Did they find new, better lives somewhere else in Colorado? Are they still toiling in that forever-festive workshop, making sweetly moreish Brain Candy for some Rangers who lost their way while make Colorado a better place? I already know the answer, but I’m sure as sleigh-bells not telling.
Can’t get enough of setting the world on fire? We recommend checking out thesegames like Fallout.
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