izigame.me

I find the notion of Americana, especially the period of rapid development of that vast geography after WWI, quite fascinating. The pain and suffering this exploitation brought, and how it led to unprecedented levels of economic superiority and its massive impact on art, architecture and generational psychology is undeniably a nerdish subject, but not a boring one. If one wants to understand the human condition better, what better time there is than one filled with struggle, conflict and progress. Nevertheless, the culture and psyche of people who built this colossal hegemonic power is quite an underdeveloped subject in gaming when compared to other artistic mediums.
Wasteland 3 is an exception. It is a love letter to Americana, unlike so many proponents of it, Brian Fargo and his team knows that love of Americana can exist without romanticizing it. They know that their mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun and yet, their love is rare. Wasteland 3 doesn’t engage in masturbatory nostalgia, alluding back to a cultural greatness that never existed, but faithfully portrays people hardened and brutalized by immeasurable hardships. Traditionalist falsification of the common American of this period, deeply religious, stilted, and enduring has no place here. Most people you will meet in this game are people no civilized person by today’s standards will want to associate with. But in this world the spectrum of morality is so far distorted by common acts of cruelty, out of necessity or reaction, even a tyrant will start to look reasonable. This is what Americana is, and crossing it with a post-apocalyptic setting makes it shine.
While the subject matter is depressingly oppressive, the brilliant humour of inXile, dark and even bitter at times, is in a delicate balance with it. I assume the fans of Beastality’s Gate 3 Baldur’s Gate 3 will be delighted to know that you can fuck a goat or participate in a terribly written erotic show, and the fans of The Witcher 3 will laugh at pettiness and inefficiency of human cruelty. What really lightens this sombre setting though, is the fact that the whole purpose of our agency in the game is not a mere return to status-quo. Unlike the usual CRPG conceptualization, history in reality is not an inertial happenstance that jumps through certain periods like a warp drive. It is a wheel made to turn and in Wasteland 3 there are stronger forces for progress or regress than there are for returning to status quo. Allowing the player to have agency in creating change whichever path you take, introduces a semblance of hope to the cold, snow-laden Colorado.
Agency, in typical CRPG fashion, comes in the form of pure, unadulterated violence. What distinguishes Wasteland 3 from others is the fluidity of violence that it almost feels like a tactics game when in combat. UI and UX is a level above from any other CRPG I’ve played and combat animations are visceral and responsive. Skills of various builds in your party of six are all designed with consideration how they can complement each other well. Rushing the cluster of enemies with your shotgun wielding Ranger, draining their HP pools, finishing the job with your sniper that gets extra action whenever they finish off an enemy never gets old. Once the dust settles and you’re dutifully looting the battlefield, an inventory tab opens that shows all lootable objects in one tab, and individual boxes and corpses in other tabs. This simple addition immensely reduces the time you spend with busy work, and lets you focus on more important matters, like dancing on the grave of your annihilated enemies.
What’s disappointing is, agency in Wasteland 3 rarely comes in the form of environmental puzzles or dialogue. As an example, there is a newspaper in the town that publishes slanderous headlines about our actions throughout the game. I wanted to visit their offices and have a chat with their chief editor to convince or coerce him to support the Ranger takeover I was planning to accomplish as all coups need to manufacture consent to be successful. This is simply not an option because almost all the quests are designed around combat, even though some outcomes can be influenced by non-combat skill checks.
Of course, it would be unfair to expect a crowdfunded game to be the ultimate CRPG experience. But while playing Wasteland 3, all I could think was I wanted more of this heartless and treacherous world. I wanted more pre-defined companions, I wanted more side quests, I wanted more easter eggs, I wanted a larger city, I wanted more NPCs, I wanted more choices. I created my character with the background “disciple of the metal” expecting it to have at least some bearing to gameplay other than its 15% fire damage bonus. As in, short guitar solo every time I land a crit hit or meeting other disciples of my tribe. Most importantly I wanted more of that hauntingly beautiful soundtrack that reimagines classic, biblical and patriotic hymns of Americana in the context of this post-apocalyptic universe. As of writing this review I’m still listening to the soundtrack album and I desperately crave more of it. Despite my desire for more, Wasteland 3 is obviously a finished article. This is of course a personal preference but I’d rather play a game that leaves me wanting more, than one that overstays its welcome.
I usually write in-depth reviews within a week of completing a game, while its memory is still fresh in my mind. If it passes that threshold, there is almost no chance I’ll write a review. Wasteland 3 is an exception. It has been more than a month and I keep thinking to myself, what a great game and homage to Americana it was. As far as I can see, it flew under the radar mostly due to bugs at launch, but my experience was almost flawless other than FPS drops here and there, which were solved by loading a save. If you want a unique CRPG with a soul, it doesn’t get any better than this.
Love letter/10