Dull, Uninspired, Lazy, Poorly Optimized
I expect better, given how much this game hyped itself up on its pedigree. As a post apocalyptic rpg adventure the game works, which is about as much as can be said for it. As an RPG, it is somewhat lacking. Character build options are quite versatile, but every character is still going to boil down to some combination of melee fighter/ranged fighter/talker/medic/thief/engineer. There are woefully few opportunities for role play within the story. There are few ways to express your character, even in dialog. The story itself is solid if rather uninteresting. Characters are awfully flat if they're given any personality at all. Scenario design is creative but every situation plays out about as you'd expect. Quest design is horribly inane. The skill system is inane pass/fail savescumming of the highest caliber. It's ridiculous how many loot crates are randomly trapped. For how much of a hassle it can be just to open a box, there's never any remarkable loot inside. Mostly junk items for sale. Combat encounters are simple and get repetitive after a while. This game is ugly. This game would be ugly in 2005. The graphics are absolutely atrocious. The gameplay updates the Director's Cut adds are negligible and should have been in the base game anyway. The graphical updates make the game look better, but it still looks like turd. And for that, it's inexcusable how poorly the game runs on such fugly visuals. Animations are pretty slick though. Sound fx are delightfully pleasant. Everything from the creaking of leather travel packs to the snap of a firearm reloading to the UI sfx are pretty nuanced. The UI is functional and aesthetically appropriate, especially for immersion. If you play it, Wasteland 2 is a discount game. I got it for free as part of GoG's Deadfire deal. I feel like I paid too much for it.
4 gamers found this review helpful