There are bugs. There are bugs that will force you to reload a save which may make you lose progress, or ones that will prevent you from completing quests. There are long load times. There are some balance issues that can show up even on lower difficulties.

This game is still one of the best RPGs I have played, let alone cRPGs. I played the second title, and I can say that Wasteland 3 takes everything Wasteland 2 did and improves upon it. It is a distinct, unique experience that departs from the desert wastes of Arizona into a new world with new enemies. Some familiar faces return, but the new lore and worldbuilding make Colorado feel even more alive than distant Arizona. Rumors of the Motor City Gangs and Buckeye Republic further east make Wasteland's post apocalyptic America feel like a whole society rather than isolated cells of civilization.

The writing is great. Characters have fantastic personality. Serious moments are punctuated by dark humor to alleviate tension, but that humor almost never takes over the entire games tone. The satire makes a point, the lines like a trader crying "Reagan bless this arms deal!" before you buy some ammo are witty and funny but also make sense given the context of the place you are.

The decision making is real. The game moves beyond simply looking at the 'good and bad' or the 'morally grey' and tries to make the player choose between what benefits the world and what benefits them *individually*. Does the player pursue the immediate benefit of a unique rifle by killing innocent people? If so, what is the impact on the world? Is being granted access to a cache of high end weaponry (a cache you cannot access any other way) worth selling out somebody to slavery? While the morality may seem black and white to us, the Wasteland is not our world, and the gameplay benefit of having that cache seems much more valuable than the guilt you have over some pixels. You will of course be tasked with picking sides and playing politics. You may regret some decisions. You will think about what you did and reflect. You will ask if you could have done something different to do better.

Wasteland 3 is a standout title in this regard. It is not perfect in its bugs or performance, but it is a game that demands a great deal from the player so that the player reaps a whole lot in return.

There are bugs. There are bugs that will force you to reload a save which may make you lose progress, or ones that will prevent you from completing quests. There are long load times. There are some balance issues that can show up even on lower difficulties. This game is still one of the best RPGs I have played, let alone cRPGs. I played the second title, and I can say that Wasteland 3 takes everything Wasteland 2 did and improves upon it. It is a distinct, unique experience that departs from the desert wastes of Arizona into a new world with new enemies. Some familiar faces return, but the new lore and worldbuilding make Colorado feel even more alive than distant Arizona. Rumors of the Motor City Gangs and Buckeye Republic further east make Wasteland's post apocalyptic America feel like a whole society rather than isolated cells of civilization. The writing is great. Characters have fantastic personality. Serious moments are punctuated by dark humor to alleviate tension, but that humor almost never takes over the entire games tone. The satire makes a point, the lines like a trader crying "Reagan bless this arms deal!" before you buy some ammo are witty and funny but also make sense given the context of the place you are. The decision making is real. The game moves beyond simply looking at the 'good and bad' or the 'morally grey' and tries to make the player choose between what benefits the world and what benefits them *individually*. Does the player pursue the immediate benefit of a unique rifle by killing innocent people? If so, what is the impact on the world? Is being granted access to a cache of high end weaponry (a cache you cannot access any other way) worth selling out somebody to slavery? While the morality may seem black and white to us, the Wasteland is not our world, and the gameplay benefit of having that cache seems much more valuable than the guilt you have over some pixels. You will of course be tasked with picking sides and playing politics. You may regret some decisions. You will think about what you did and reflect. You will ask if you could have done something different to do better. Wasteland 3 is a standout title in this regard. It is not perfect in its bugs or performance, but it is a game that demands a great deal from the player so that the player reaps a whole lot in return.