The Waste Land is a side-scrolling, open-world, action-adventure lovingly crafted in the same visual and gameplay styles of classic games such as Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest and Metroid; games that Caletti cherished playing growing up.

An added layer of inspiration comes from T.S. Eliot’s poem of the same name, which is imbued with feelings of despair and lost innocence. The game puts players in the role of King Zyron III, a fallen king who must find his way to right the wrongs caused by his own failings. Throughout the game players explore a vast open world across seven continents and meet memorable characters while fighting off twisted creatures to survive a hostile land.

“You can explore in any direction, with no established order. The story lends itself to exploration and role play to enhance the experience and enjoy the depth of the game. You meet strange characters, visit weird landscapes, and discover upgrades and weapons. It’s a world that embraces you and I hope players will get captivated by this world: wandering, exploring, and making their own way at their own pace. The gameplay is old-style but not overly punishing. There's plenty of room for a sense of wonder and discovery, all in classic pixelart.”
- Michele Caletti, Fledermaus

• “Metroidvania” style open world with over 15 hours worth of classic gameplay
  
• Find and collect hidden Upgrades, Secrets and Bonuses that boost stats and abilities
  
• Discover 10 deadly weapons, 5 swords and 5 arrow types, imbued with unique properties and strengths such as the Battle Sword, Chain Sword and Katana and as well as the Fire, Bomb and Cursed Arrows
  
• Slay 5 giant twisted Bosses that include a mutated slug, colossal hornet and demented whale
  
• Encounter colorful characters in each town you discover
  
• Watch the ominous moon rise each night as the skies darken and light with the Day/Night cycle
  
• Explore vast maps across 7 continents, each with their own challenges to overcome
  
• Steam Support includes Cloud Save, Achievements and Trading Cards

Fledermaus consists of just one man, Michele Caletti, who is a game director by trade with over 10 years of experience developing racing games under his belt. As an indie developer, he is now excited to launch his passion project, The Waste Land, which he worked on in his spare time during his commutes by train, on his lunch breaks and in any unoccupied time over the last 5 years. The creative freedom and passion he enjoyed in creating the game is evident. As for the name - Fledermaus - when coming up for a name for this indie endeavor Michele wanted a name without the abused "videogame insider jokes" style, something weird and distinguished, and Fledermaus just popped into his mind and has stuck ever since.

This game was created from July 7, 2009 to september 15, 2014. Developed by Fledermaus.
Game design, programming and graphics by Michele Caletti. Music by Davide Cangemi.
Published by Digital Tribe games.

• LEFT ARROW – Move Left
  
• RIGHT ARROW – Move Right
  
• DOWN ARROW – Crouch
  
• UP ARROW – Talk/Enter Doorways/Save
  
• C – Jump
  
• V – Bow & Arrow (hold to shoot further/trigger arrow effects)
  
• X – Sword Attack (Press C then hold DOWN in air for Down Thrust)
  
• M – Open/Close Map
  
• P – Pause Menu (Weapon Select, Heart Collection, Quit, etc)
  
• ESC – Main Menu: Quit Game | In-Game: Pause Menu (Weapon Select, Heart Collection, Main Menu, etc)
  
• F4 - Window Mode (Minimize game screen into a Window)

• LEFT D-PAD – Move Left
  
• RIGHT D-PAD – Move Right
  
• DOWN D-PAD – Crouch
  
• UP D-PAD – Talk/Enter Doorways/Save
  
• A – Jump
  
• X – Bow & Arrow (hold to shoot further/trigger arrow effects)
  
• B – Sword Attack (Press B then hold DOWN in air for Down Thrust)
  
• Y – Open/Close Map
  
• START – Pause Menu (Weapon Select, Heart Collection, Quit, etc)

• Technical requirements are very low: a dualcore PC with 1GB video board runs the game perfectly, and the minimum specifications are even lower, down to an atom cpu netbook with shared video memory.
  
• Be careful, to avoid issues, to have installed (Steam install process includes them, don't skip or abort) VisualStudio 2012 redistributables, DirectX 9.0c, and up to date video and audio drivers.
  
• The most frequent issue is related to Administrator rights: running the game from a profile with insufficient rights makes impossible to save the game: Windows prevents the game to write the file.
  
• The game supports DirectInput/XInput devices, like Xbox360 and XboxOne joypads. If the game doesn't recognize them properly, check if they're working correctly in the dedicated control panel configuration.
  
• In case of major slowdowns, the most frequent case is another application trying to render fullscreen or to create overlays, or notification dialogs. It's recommended to switch off all applications that have this behavior.
  
• In case of other issues, feel free to reach Digital Tribe games to signal, and if possible provide a screenshot of the issue, with the error dialog visible. Usually a file called error.log is saved in the same directory of the game, if it's the case, please attach it too.

The Waste Land is a pure retro blast, with some modern tweaks to improve the overall
experience. Here are some hints, most of them are covered in the tutorial, but it's
useful to have them listed:

You can use keyboard or a variety of joypads to play. Once a controller is plugged in
you can use it, it's activated along with the keyboard, and there is no need to
configure it.

Save points
Save frequently: the game can be hard and saving also fills the health bar. Save
points come in two different shapes, but have in common a blue flame inside them.
So: blue flame equals save and health. Use it!

Attacks & weapons
Generally speaking, weapons have increasing attack power, according the way they
are listed in the "weapons menu" - you can find it in the pause menu - but some
enemies are resistent to some of them, and some weapons have special uses you
will discover during your adventure. So, try them out and experiment to master
their use. Also remember that to trigger the effects of special arrows that you must hold down
the Arrow button until the effect kicks in (some special effects take longer to trigger than
others)

Secrets
There are some secret areas hidden.. somewhere. Usually bonuses are hidden inside
them, so exploring is well worth the effort. Some of these areas are found trying
to break walls or floors with your weapon. Some others open under special conditions
in a mini-quest fashion. Reaching 100% bonuses and weapons is a demanding task!

Dialogue
To fully understand and enjoy the game, dedicate some time to talk to the characters
you will meet in towns and other places. Sometimes they'll give you hints. Sometimes
it's just for fun.

Bosses
Bosses are made in a very classic style: look for their attack patterns, weak spots
and find the best way to kill them. Some weapons may be super useful, some others
barely usable. If a boss encounter seems too hard, you can try to lower the difficulty
level, or you quite likely miss a weapon, have not found enough life upgrades, or you
are simply missing the attack strategy.

Upgrades
You start with bare hands and quite small life bar. The game is full of life upgrades,
in the form of heart shaped items, and new weapons. Most of them are hidden, so don't
be afraid, explore, and keep an eye open for secret areas.

Difficulty Levels
There are three difficulty levels: 1986, 1994, 2014.

• In 1986 enemies are harder, and falls from high places cause more damage.
  
• In 1994 the game is still demanding, but to a significantly lower degree.
  
• In 2014 damage taken is even lower, and high falls bring no damage at all.

You can select difficulty at start, or anytime during gameplay, even
during bossfights. There is no penalty, no missing areas or story parts, the game is
at your service for an enjoyable experience.