From the intro to the game loop, the devs wear their inspiration from Fallout 1 and 2 on their sleeve, but avoid the trappings of ripping off the game and instead took the concept in their own direction. First and foremost, it is set in the nuclear wasteland of a communist Russia, in a world where the cold war turned hot in the 80's, as opposed to the Fallout 50's/60's "Americana" world. The game features no plasma weapons or shoulder mounted nuclear missile launchers, instead focusing on a more realistic approach, filled with soviet era military hardware and a crafting system somewhat akin to that of Fallout 4, where you create rudimentary weapons from scrap you find in the wastes.

The story as you set out isn't all too engaging, but the characters and side quests you come across along the way to your main objective is what makes the game engaging. A mix of relatable, quirky goofballs like the "people's commissar" you find training an army of hares to fight for the motherland, to dark, disgusting characters like the ones engaging in human trafficking and prostitution.

You are allowed to play how you like. You can play as the "Wasteland Saint" going around doing your best to heal a scarred world, protecting old world values of solidarity and justice, or a depraved bastard doing anything for cash, up to and including racially motivated "purges" of undesireables. Or anything in between.

After 50 hours, it feels as if I have barely scratched on the surface of what's in this game, and as I understand it, things are still being added. I did have some issues though, mostly with the somewhat strange rules for random encounters, sometimes pitting you against foes you mathematically could not defeat our even flee from, promting a reload from autosave. There were also some issues with a quest not updating properly as well as broken skill checks, but the issue I had seemed to fix itself after a patch. Also, some grinding, although enjoyable, is required to reach a power level where you can play through the game without relying on the somewhat dumb AI companions.

All in all, a solid 9/10, and a must buy for Fallout 1 & 2 fans.