Fantastic CRPG. Holds up really well in both gameplay and graphics. Really hope they make a fourth after this one because I loved every chapter. I wish there was a bit more to the story and I haven't heard great things about the DLC, but the base game is great. There are QoL mods like fast travel and the ability to remove weapon/armor mods which are good additions. Highly recommend!

Wasteland 3 is a pretty good game.

The core of the game is turn based combat and using skills to interact with stuff in the environment and I think it does a pretty good job with it. The combat is good, hits are punchy, except for actual punches which is kind of funny. Enemies didn't feel like they had too much health or did too much damage near the end of the game like how other games can screw up encounter balancing, instead the choices on where to put stats felt like they actually mattered, where the meatwall I made could easily take a punch, but the sniper with paper skin and glass bones turned to dust when someone looked at them, it worked the way it felt like it should. The skills are implemented well, investing into something feels like its worth it, both from what the skill actually lets you do (lockpicking, repair) and ALSO from small combat stat bonuses that you get from investing in certain skills as well. I will say that some skills feel like they're more worth it than others, there's always locks to pick, but animal whisperer doesn't pop up as much.

A thing that's pretty prevalent in CRPGs is big choices the player can make that can change how the story goes and how the game ends. Wasteland 2 did it, right at the start there was a pretty important decision you needed to make that is still having repercussions at the end of the game. This pops up again in 3, and the choice here feels more thematic for how you intend to play through the game. The gist of the plot without going into spoilers is the Arizona Rangers have been called to Colorado by the guy in charge, asking for help in exchange for supplies for the people of Arizona, which is still screwed up after the events of the previous game. The big choice is: are you gonna do every single thing this dude says or are you gonna do what you think is right?

Something that carries over from 2 to 3 is the general tone of the game. There's a lot of jokes in dialog, in flavor text for items, in the environment, and there are over the top death animation for crits and different weapon types. There's some crossover with the Fallout series in terms of flavor, but there's way less retro-futurism and more jokes about the 80s. There's also parts that are very bleak, which makes sense because life after the bombs drop is miserable, so the balance between them makes the individual highs and lows stand out more.

Something that's new in 3 is the music. At multiple times for certain fights, full blown songs with lyrics kick in, and it really makes that particular part of the game stand out. Another thing that elevates 3 over 2 is the truck that you drive around in on the overworld and break out for certain fights. I really enjoyed rolling around in the endless blizzard that covers Colorado in my Killdozer, its really different compared to other post-apocalyptic games where everything is mostly a brown desert.

The two DLCs for the game are mostly good, they both have different gimmicks that I can definitely see some people finding grating or otherwise not wanting to engage with. One has you dealing with a strike at a major factory gone wrong and all the ugly problems that go with that, the other has you go into Cheyenne Mountain and beat up a bunch of irradiated mutants all for the sake of tasty delicious free energy. Both have new enemies, new items, and new crafting recipes to play with, so I had fun with them and think they're worth it, though I was not a fan of the taunting voices that pop up on the radio in Cheyenne Mountain mocking you for the choices you made, the fact that the game does not let you turn them into red mist is a wasted opportunity.

I also just really liked the little bonus things that just add extra fun. You can find creepy little dolls around the game world that provide permanent bonuses to your squad. There's other unique perks you can get out in the game world that reward you for exploring. The crafting system lets you make weird gimmick items and cool weapons. On top of the six party members you can have in your squad, you can also have a bunch of followers, so for fights where you're meant to be outnumbered, you can bring in a bunch of freaks, robots, and farm animals to even the odds. I liked that instead of generic "raiders", each group of warmongering outlaws is distinct, not only in terms of aesthetics and personality, but also in gameplay as they all behave differently.

Overall I liked Wasteland 3. If there was a part that I didn't enjoy, it was the worry that I had made the wrong choice when it came to the big A or B questions that popped up in the games plot, though weirdly I would say that's still a mark in the games favor. Most game you pick red or blue and then coast to the end without thinking about it, but I was actually thinking and wondering if I had done the right thing. I give Wasteland 3 a "Backwoods redneck armed with a flamethrower" out of "Oh man I probably shouldn't have done that." Would recommend.

game is alright, but the encounters getting bugged made the game very had to continue playing. I hope they fix this one day.