Wasteland 2: Director's Cut

The tactics are calculated, the world is callous, and the humor is bone-dry. All of that only makes it feel even more like a wasteland.

Wasteland 2 has aged poorly so this recommendation is a qualified one. The story is great, the setting is great, but the mechanics are clunky, unintuitive and unforgiving. Did you play the first Wasteland way back when? Then you'll enjoy this. Did you recently play and enjoy Wasteland Remastered? Then you'll enjoy this, it definitely won't feel as archaic as the systems in that game. Did you love Wasteland 3 and want more? Then this is worth trying, but you may find it hard going. The systems are much more primitive in this game. Wasteland 3 is much more polished by comparison. If the answer to all of those is no, only give this one a try if you're willing to put up with game mechanics that are distinctly less than modern.

Honestly not a very good CRPG. It has many many flaws, the game is underbudgeted and very unpolished. The story premise is interesting but not worth following for 40 hours it will take you to beat the game. There is some to like about this game. + RPG mechanics themselves are good - skills, stats, gear, weapons, it is pretty good, at least on paper. + Story premise is interesting and is what kept me playing for most of the game. I liked that at the end you get support from people you helped in your playthrough. + I like the setting, its interesting enough and doesnt step on Fallout much. And the bad? The bad is everything else. - It feels like various systems were stringed together but there isnt much cohesion. On paper it sounds good but its very rough and unpolished. Its also very clearly underbudgeted, your imagination will be doing a lot of heavy lifting. - Main quest straight up sucks. Premise is interesting but thats all, everything else is boring - mostly you will play a technician trying to fix up radio towers, thats like 80% of your main quest. - Side quests are just boring and uninteresting. The main conflicts are very tacky, few are interesting but the majority are pretty generic, rail nomad camp being the worst offender. - Unnecessary runs back and forth are unenecessary. Maps are also very weirdly designed so its also annoying to navigate and the camera is never just right. - It costs 25€ which is terrible value for money. - Game stretches too much, it coulc be cut back to about half the playtime. It gets pretty repetetive. - I dont like how checks are done in this game. Your character has maxed out lockpicking but lockpicking a chest is still just a 30% chance? The whole chance system needs to go. - It cant be taken seriously in any moment. You play as the desert rangers - elite para military group of wasteland vigilantes - you arrive in a new base where a previous team lost contact and you realise the previous team was wiped out by a group of dogs? Elite para military group? By dogs? - Balance is completely broken, some weapon skills are useless, some are overpowered. Speech skills are pretty useless and rarely get checked. Overall I've played better indie games with more polish and better game designs. This isnt worth the money and the time investment. Skip this one and play the third game instead.

TLDR: If you haven't played Fallout or Fallout 2, and are thinking of giving Wasteland 2 a go - don't. Both of the original Fallout games are vastly superior, cheaper, and pack a metric ton more replay value. Wasteland 2 is essentially a love letter to Fallout 1 and 2, which is apparent in just about every aspect of the game, with perhaps one major exception - in Wasteland 2 you play as a ranger, and as such are expected to always do good. There is no karma system, no deliciously selfish quest or dialog options, which immediately takes the sting out of this scorpion's tail, and makes it feel like a toothless imitation. But it doesn't stop there, oh no. Wasteland 2 is a game entirely without polish - everything was made exactly to standard, and not a millimeter more. The dialog is samey and much too wordy, and you get an absolute minimum of opportunity to shape your character through dialog options, which are 99% the same for any set of characters. Doubly unfortunate, as the quest details are hidden in these winding paragraphs, and would you know - the quest log is basic at best, too. In general though, you go to a linear map, find baddies there that you kill, in order, then push a button, use an item, or bring something back with you. Minimal variations on fetch-quests that get predictable very fast. What about the combat, what you'll spend the majority of the game on? Where the challenge comes from? Well, aside from firing weapons, you can take cover and heal your guys with the appropriate skills - that's it. The cover system is terrible to behold - most solid walls or mountain faces offer no cover, while a knee-high cactus almost never fails to provide it. And there's no difference in cover either, not to mention that you weirdly get a bonus to hit even on the enemy side of the cactus. In most encounters it doesn't matter though, as most areas have no cover at all, giving you the choice of simply standing your guys in a row and firing until one side is dead, or playing cheesy and baiting the enemy through half a level, back to a couple of barrels that happen to count as cover. The atmosphere then. Surely a game that draws (let's not call it 'steals') from Fallout is oozing with atmosphere? It starts out that way, and the first four hours were really cared for - I even felt a little something for some characters that died, because it had been set up properly, and I felt responsible. After that - flatline. I never again had the feeling that my choices mattered, not once. BARE. MINIMUM. I really feel that this game is a special curiosity. I've never come across a game so unpolished, that still manages to fulfill the basic requirements of the genre. I could go on about how the few NPC illustrations are reused and mismatched to the descriptions, how confusing quest descriptions had me routinely turning to guides (where I saw many other commenters complain about the same), the poorly balanced and unintuitive skill system... apparently the game was buggy as hell when it came out too, which at least has been fixed - to a minimum. In conclusion, don't buy this game. If you really want the Wasteland experience, buy Wasteland 3 - I haven't tried it, but I can't imagine it's any worse than this. Oh, and if you think this review is too long, you will most certainly not like the (length of) dialog in Wasteland 2!

Toaster repair simulator

Hell it is boring....

My favorite wasteland game. Sue me.

Wasteland 2 is a deliberate return to the roots of classic CRPG design, a game that wears its old-school philosophy proudly while infusing it with enough modern sensibility to feel both nostalgic and new. Developed and published by inXile Entertainment as a long-awaited successor to the original Wasteland, it thrusts players into a post-apocalyptic American Southwest scarred by radiation, tribal warfare, malfunctioning technology, and the desperate struggle for survival. You begin as a squad of rookie Desert Rangers attending the funeral of a fallen comrade, and what starts as a simple investigation into his death slowly widens into a sprawling crisis involving rogue broadcasts, machine uprisings, hazardous ecosystems, and competing factions each clinging to their own vision of the future. The narrative is shaped heavily by player choice, and its strongest appeal lies in how reactive, unpredictable, and morally gray its world becomes as you push deeper into its irradiated wastelands. Character creation sets the tone for the entire experience. Wasteland 2 offers an exceptional amount of freedom, allowing you to craft a squad of four Rangers whose skills, backgrounds, and attributes dictate not only how they fight but how they interact with the world. Skills like Lockpicking, Demolitions, Animal Whisperer, Leadership, Survival, and various weapon proficiencies aren’t mere flavor — they change how events unfold, what paths open or close, and how effectively you handle crises. The addition of recruitable NPC companions further broadens party identity, as these characters bring distinct personalities, goals, and occasional unpredictability to your team. Every decision you make during character creation has consequences hours later, making the game feel like a massive interconnected puzzle where experimentation and planning are equally important. Exploration is harsh, deliberate, and always tinged with threat. The wasteland is a dangerous place, and Wasteland 2 emphasizes that through its resource management and encounter design. Water, ammunition, first-aid supplies, and even safe travel routes matter deeply; a poorly planned trip across the desert can bleed your party dry before you ever reach the next settlement. When combat erupts, the game shifts to a turn-based system that rewards tactical positioning, use of cover, and thoughtful resource allocation. Battles feel gritty and grounded — enemies don’t fall easily, and a single misstep can leave one of your Rangers bleeding on the ground or permanently dead. Firefights take place in varied arenas, from cramped interiors rigged with traps to open wastelands filled with unpredictable hazards. Every encounter reinforces the necessity of caution, scouting, and preparation. One of Wasteland 2’s most compelling strengths is its reactivity. The world responds to your actions with a depth rarely seen in modern RPGs. Saving one settlement may doom another. Supporting one faction may lead to hostility from others who interpret your choices as betrayal or favoritism. A single skill check might prevent a disaster, while failure or neglect can cause irreversible damage, from town massacres to faction collapses. The game encourages experimentation, but it also forces players to live with the consequences of their decisions. There is no perfect route, no ideal moral path — only hard choices shaped by imperfect information, desperation, and the harsh logic of survival. This dynamic approach gives every playthrough its own unique texture. The writing embraces a blend of bleakness, dry humor, and absurdity that feels authentic to the wasteland setting. Conversations range from heartfelt pleas for help to bizarre cult ramblings and dark comedic encounters with malfunctioning AI or mutated wildlife. The tone shifts seamlessly between tragic and outrageous, creating a wasteland that feels both lived-in and strangely human. Characters are flawed, frightened, hopeful, or broken, and the stories within each settlement — whether involving religious fanatics, environmental extremists, corrupt sheriffs, or renegade robots — add layers of depth to the wider narrative. Yet Wasteland 2 is not without its rough edges. Visually, the game can appear dated, with environments that are functional rather than visually striking. The interface can feel cluttered or unwieldy, especially during inventory management or complex encounters that require juggling multiple skills. Combat balance can occasionally feel uneven, with some early fights feeling brutally punishing while certain late-game builds become overwhelmingly strong. Despite these issues, none of them fundamentally undermine the game’s identity; instead, they reflect its commitment to an older, more demanding style of RPG design that prioritizes depth, consequence, and player agency over streamlined convenience. Ultimately, Wasteland 2 stands out as a rich, challenging RPG that rewards patience, planning, and thoughtful decision-making. It is a harsh journey through a world where survival is earned rather than given, where every town has its own tangled problems, and where your squad’s personality and skills shape the unfolding story in meaningful ways. For players who appreciate tactical combat, reactive storytelling, and the unmistakable charm of classic CRPG mechanics, Wasteland 2 offers a deeply satisfying and immersive experience — one that captures the spirit of its predecessor while carving out its own identity in the wasteland of modern role-playing games. Rating: 8/10

In many ways this is better and more fun than Wasteland 3

You play as 4 different nameless idiots that you have to create yourself. I don't want to play as a hivemind I want to play as a specific character. If you are looking for a fallout 1/2 successor this is not it.