WASTELAND 3 is one of the greatest games I have ever played. It worked for me personally on many different levels:
The gameplay: I'm a big fan of XCOM-style strategy games, and this is a good one. I especially enjoy how both ranged and melee are viable options, and you just specialize characters however you want to.
The world: I enjoyed the setting of post-apocalypse Colorado, especially with all the bizarre characters they filled it with. It's basically another Fallout game, but I actually like the setting of it. And, add to that, the ending plays a song that captures all of your most important moments, changing lyrics to reflect your actions? Incredible. In all seriousness, it did feel like there were some actual consequences to my actions.
The humor: I'll admit, it's definitely weird, but the strong character moments combine with just enough (generally dark) comedy to make this game noticeably funny. I wouldn't call it a comedy, but it is the funniest game I've played. I laughed many more times than I thought I would, sometimes just out of bewildered amusement.
The soundtrack: I'm religious, and it was very surprising to me to hear a select few old hymns incorporated into the music of the game, but it worked wonders. They're really good renditions, firstly, but they also just fit. It's a bizarre experience to be watching a cutscene, see someone's head explode all over the screen in a gory mess, and then fight a battle listening to "Are You Washed In the Blood of the Lamb?" That just worked for me.
Negatives?
1. During the long fights--which, some fights can take upwards of 50 minutes--the music track loops. For the aforementioned hymns & ballads, it can get a bit repetitive.
2. You need to quicksave all the time. Some fights are incredibly stacked against you, and you'll pop into them without warning. Or, technical issues may strike (explained below)... Either way, it's easy to play for 2 hours without saving and lose all of that progress due to a lack of autosave and randomly difficult fights that you weren't warned of.
3. Technical issues: in my 50-ish hours, the game probably crashed ~15 times. And, despite playing on Xbox Series S, whenever I put my console to sleep, the game would face a critical error and cease running. I have no idea why this port is so ill-made, but that was primarily a minor annoyance.
Overall: this game is great. There's a ton of profanity and some very violent stuff, if you're worried about that, but the game itself is incredible. I look forward to replaying it in a few years, when the experience isn't quite so fresh.
The gameplay: I'm a big fan of XCOM-style strategy games, and this is a good one. I especially enjoy how both ranged and melee are viable options, and you just specialize characters however you want to.
The world: I enjoyed the setting of post-apocalypse Colorado, especially with all the bizarre characters they filled it with. It's basically another Fallout game, but I actually like the setting of it. And, add to that, the ending plays a song that captures all of your most important moments, changing lyrics to reflect your actions? Incredible. In all seriousness, it did feel like there were some actual consequences to my actions.
The humor: I'll admit, it's definitely weird, but the strong character moments combine with just enough (generally dark) comedy to make this game noticeably funny. I wouldn't call it a comedy, but it is the funniest game I've played. I laughed many more times than I thought I would, sometimes just out of bewildered amusement.
The soundtrack: I'm religious, and it was very surprising to me to hear a select few old hymns incorporated into the music of the game, but it worked wonders. They're really good renditions, firstly, but they also just fit. It's a bizarre experience to be watching a cutscene, see someone's head explode all over the screen in a gory mess, and then fight a battle listening to "Are You Washed In the Blood of the Lamb?" That just worked for me.
Negatives?
1. During the long fights--which, some fights can take upwards of 50 minutes--the music track loops. For the aforementioned hymns & ballads, it can get a bit repetitive.
2. You need to quicksave all the time. Some fights are incredibly stacked against you, and you'll pop into them without warning. Or, technical issues may strike (explained below)... Either way, it's easy to play for 2 hours without saving and lose all of that progress due to a lack of autosave and randomly difficult fights that you weren't warned of.
3. Technical issues: in my 50-ish hours, the game probably crashed ~15 times. And, despite playing on Xbox Series S, whenever I put my console to sleep, the game would face a critical error and cease running. I have no idea why this port is so ill-made, but that was primarily a minor annoyance.
Overall: this game is great. There's a ton of profanity and some very violent stuff, if you're worried about that, but the game itself is incredible. I look forward to replaying it in a few years, when the experience isn't quite so fresh.