Wasteland 1 - The Original Classic

If you're willing to put up with some inconvenience, you can glimpse an era when game worlds felt alive with nothing but mechanics and imagination. It's more than a classic. It feels like a preserved relic of the design philosophy that shaped games.

I never played this game when it came out, so I don't really have much nostalgia bias for it. However, I can confidently say that this version of the game is not worth playing (I have yet to give the remaster a try, so I cannot comment there yet). It is honestly far too dated now to actually be a fun game.

Wasteland ... It may be old ... but ... great plot that inspired the Fallout Series. Takes a lot of thought to navigate this wasteland! Thumbs up!

Oof, I couldn't go back for the rope, if you know you know. Fun game, but absolutely brutal. You may find yourself creating several save files just in case something goes wrong (which I didn't). 10 / 10

Wasteland is a landmark role-playing game whose modern Steam release preserves not just its mechanics, but also the philosophy of an era when RPGs demanded imagination, patience, and deliberate thought from the player. Developed and published by inXile Entertainment as a faithful revival of the 1988 original, this version exists less as a modernization and more as a curated historical experience. Playing it today feels like stepping back into the roots of post-apocalyptic storytelling, where ambiguity, consequence, and survival took precedence over spectacle or accessibility. The world of Wasteland is bleak and uncompromising. Set decades after a nuclear apocalypse, the game drops you into the deserts of the southwestern United States, now reduced to irradiated wastelands, ruined settlements, and lawless zones crawling with raiders, mutants, and desperate survivors. You control a squad of Desert Rangers, one of the last remnants of organized order, and the game immediately establishes that survival is uncertain and authority is fragile. There is no cinematic introduction or gentle onboarding; instead, you are given limited information and expected to carve your own path through a hostile world that does not care whether you succeed or fail. Gameplay is built around classic CRPG systems that emphasize preparation and consequence. Character creation is deep and impactful, allowing you to assign attributes, skills, and equipment that meaningfully shape how your squad functions. Choices made early on can follow you for the entire game, for better or worse. Combat is turn-based and tactical, often punishing careless decisions, especially given the scarcity of resources and the real possibility of permanent character death. Every encounter encourages caution, scouting, and intelligent use of skills rather than brute force, reinforcing the theme that survival is earned through planning, not heroics. One of Wasteland’s most defining traits is its approach to storytelling. Rather than relying on cutscenes or scripted sequences, the narrative unfolds through text descriptions, conversations, and environmental clues. Many important details are easy to miss if you are not paying attention, and the game expects players to keep their own notes to track objectives, locations, and hints. This design choice may feel archaic by modern standards, but it creates a sense of immersion that is difficult to replicate. The world feels indifferent and alive, with events happening whether you are ready for them or not, and decisions often carry unexpected consequences that only reveal themselves much later. The Steam version adds subtle enhancements such as paragraph voice-overs and improved compatibility, but it wisely avoids altering the core experience. Visually, the game remains unmistakably old-school, with simple sprites and minimal animation. Rather than detracting from the experience, this simplicity encourages players to engage their imagination, filling in the gaps with their own mental imagery. Sound design is sparse, further emphasizing isolation and reinforcing the feeling of wandering through a quiet, devastated world where danger can emerge without warning. That said, Wasteland 1 is not an easy game to recommend to everyone. Its interface is opaque, its difficulty unforgiving, and its pacing slow by contemporary standards. There are no quest markers, no tutorials to guide you, and little forgiveness for experimentation. For players accustomed to modern RPG conveniences, this can feel frustrating or even hostile. However, for those willing to meet the game on its own terms, these same qualities become strengths, creating a sense of tension and authenticity that modern design often smooths away. Community reception reflects this divide. Longtime fans and RPG historians praise the game for its depth, influence, and uncompromising design, often citing it as a foundational experience that shaped later classics. Newcomers, on the other hand, frequently struggle with its learning curve and archaic systems, finding enjoyment only after adjusting expectations and embracing its slower, more methodical rhythm. The game does not adapt to the player; instead, it challenges the player to adapt to it. Ultimately, Wasteland 1 – The Original Classic is best understood as both a game and a historical artifact. It offers a rare opportunity to experience the origins of post-apocalyptic role-playing design in its rawest form, complete with all the frustrations and rewards that entails. For players who value choice, consequence, and worldbuilding over convenience, it remains a deeply rewarding journey. Its influence can still be felt across the genre decades later, and experiencing it firsthand provides valuable insight into how modern RPGs came to be. Rating: 7/10

One of the best games ever..., played it when it was released back in.., erm 1988 or something. Trip down nostalgia lane. ,) Fun to see it on Steam.

The game cares less about your stats or how much you kill weak enemies. It's about acquiring better gear and attacking stronger enemies for instant levels. There's a whole bunch of stats you can choose with some of them being useful only for a single instance. When you pick skills for your starting characters, spread them evenly and don't raise them above 1 because skillpoints are very rare. This is so that you can buy new skills later in the game in other locations that have other skills available. If you have the money and use the needed password you can get mid-level gear from Darwin right at the beginning. The sensible progression is to start with brawling (crowbar, chainsaw, proton ax etc), then progress to energy weapons with some assault rifle or AT weapon expertise sprinkled for midgame. But somehow my characters could competently use energy weapons without any points in that skill. For attributes you want 23 IQ to be able to get the energy weapon skill and very high Luck. At least two characters should have unlocked the Doctor skill, but the rest is up to you. The only challenging dungeon in the game was the first main plot area, the notorious Las Vegas sewers. Don't forget to keep a canteen on every party member, ropes and explosives are essential equipment too. When you need to heal go to the hottest desert spots and hold esc to hasten the time, because those don't have any random encounters. Don't forget to make backups of your saves because the game autosaves every time you enter a new area or use the radio. The game is intriguing and complex for its time, as you can scatter your party members into groups to avoid burst firing enemies from damaging everyone. Sometimes you have to temporarily disband a member to interact with objects alone. There's some weird jank like trying to deliver a Visa card to a man and not being able to use it on him, or at the table in front of him, but to use it on a chair opposite of him. I didn't encounter any bugs, only the really weird inconsistencies like that. The 80's Bard's Tale games are similar, but this one has a more interesting world. The soundtrack is somewhat fitting despite being made long after and this edition has the luxury that you don't have to read chapters from the book as they're included in the game.

Эта игра настолько сурова, что даже запускается через раз. Но если серьезно - это база. Шедевр 88-го года, который подарил нам постапокалипсис в том виде, в каком мы его знаем, и открыл дорогу Fallout. ​Олдскул в такой терминальной стадии, что здесь легко сломать зубы. Зашел, преклонился перед величием и вышел. 10 из 10 за историческую ценность.

For something made in the 1980's it has a boatload of content and runs exceedingly well. Apparently this was what inspired fallout and the similarities are very interesting to see. The inventory management gets tedious after awhile but it has a lot of charm and of course any older RPG is going to be very challenging but also very easy to exploit if you know how. I don't play it very often myself, but it's nice to take a trip down memory lane and see how older games used to be made and where it all started. (This was before I was even born so I say that with curiosity rather than nostalgia.) This is probably the oldest game you'll really find on Steam, so get it if you wanna experience what older games used to feel like before gaming was even an industry and were still in that weird stage of hit-and-miss development choices. It's only like $4 so you haven't got much to lose. A word of advice though: READ THE MANUAL Every game made before 2000 came with a manual on how to use the various features and controls and they'd always sell it with the disk, but it's available online if you look up "Wasteland Manual". It's brief and will make navigating the world and performing basic tasks much simpler. Older games have a reputation of being a lot more brutal and unforgiving in their difficulty and this game is no exception, so going in prepared and knowing your arsenal is gonna save you a lot of pain down the road.

I can't recommend this game, the UI kills every enjoyment I could have with this game. Sadly this game was before my time and I can't enjoy it even through the rose tinted glases of nostalgia. Maybe it's for you but definitly not for me. I will enjooy playing Fallout 1&2 again and be happy.