Wastelander Review (PC)

Wastelander hit the scene on July 12, 2024. This turn-based strategy game drops you into a world where every decision matters. It is an incredible mix of strategy, puzzle, and roguelike elements in a post-apocalyptic world. 

As players dive into its world, they face a devastating environment prone to storm attacks. While in this situation, gamers engage in a thorough process of reviving life by building and managing colonies. Although still in Early Access, Wastelander has already earned praise for its engaging gameplay. And as its development progresses, we’ll see how it evolves and what new features it might bring. For now, let’s jump right into Wastelander’s review and see what it has in store.

Back to the Basics

The game blends different genres, creating a unique experience. As a simulation game, building and colony management are key to success. To strive in this, players balance resource production and usage. At the same time, they should consider techniques for surviving unpredictable storms that regularly wreck their base.

Wastelander is a strategy game. However, unlike other strategy games, no enemies like NPCs or rival factions exist. Here, the storm is your sole enemy. Therefore, it is vital to plan and allocate resources wisely.

The game starts with a simple tutorial featuring the basics. However, once into the actual game, the difficulty spikes. Each turn brings new challenges. Players must then decide where to place buildings and how to manage resources. Similarly, how to rebuild after the storm hits is another issue players should consider. Its turn-based nature constantly forces you to think through your moves, making it an intense, contemplative experience.

The game starts after a crash landing on a storm-ravaged planet. Now, your main goal is simple. Build a colony from your spaceship’s wreckage, find ancient tech, and escape before the storms get too intense. As a turn-based game, one must plan each move carefully, for every turn counts. You will face constant pressure to make the right decisions, which adds a layer of depth that many games in the genre lack.

To survive, balancing exploration, expansion, and defense is essential. You must decide whether to gather resources, unlock tech, or beef up your defenses. Now, as you do so, remember time waits for no man in the game. The clock is always ticking, adding urgency to your decisions. It’s all about managing your time and resources effectively. 

However, making the right decision can be tricky in Wastelander. The game leaves you wondering which actions to prioritize. Should you focus on expanding your colony or invest in defenses to protect against the next storm? Each choice has consequences, and finding the right balance is crucial.

Surviving the Storm

In Wastelander, managing resources is crucial for survival. You’ll juggle to sustain items like metal, energy, and water, which are important for constructing and maintaining buildings. Fortunately, players have it easy with the resource management system. The system is straightforward, adding a strategic vibe as you decide where to spend your limited resources.

Additionally, building placement is vital. Of course, you need to place your buildings strategically. Each structure has specific requirements and benefits. Connecting buildings to your network ensures continuous resource generation, essential for long-term survival. 

If you are used to facing real bad guys in the game with some stubborn NPCs or bosses, the Wastelander offers a new and different enemy. In the game, the storm is the main challenge. It randomly destroys buildings, leaving players constantly rebuilding and adapting. The storm worsens as the game progresses, destroying more buildings each time. 

Surviving the storm involves strategic building placement. Each placement decision strives to minimize damage and offer efficient use of resources for quick reconstruction. The storm’s unpredictability keeps the game fresh and always on your feet, as you must continually adapt your strategies to cope with its increasing severity.

Practice Makes Perfect

Wastelander offers multiple difficulty levels to suit different players. The tutorial and easy modes provide a gentle introduction, allowing newcomers to grasp the basics without feeling overwhelmed. However, the medium and hard difficulties ramp up the challenge significantly, demanding strategic thinking and careful resource management. 

Replayability is one of Wastelander’s strongest aspects. Thanks to the random storm patterns and resource placements, each session feels fresh and different. Furthermore, its roguelike elements ensure that no two playthroughs are the same. This encourages players to experiment with various strategies and building combinations. Basically, it keeps the game engaging and provides endless opportunities to refine your approach and try new tactics.

Moreover, the game’s design fosters a desire to return and improve. It is, in fact, the perfect definition of practice makes perfect. As players become more familiar with the mechanics, they find themselves wanting to tackle higher difficulties and perfect their strategies. The satisfaction of seeing a colony thrive against the odds is a compelling reason to keep playing. 

Functional but Not Cool

Wastelander’s visuals are functional but not flashy. The graphics prioritize clarity and usability over aesthetic appeal, ensuring players easily understand and interact with the game’s mechanics. Buildings and resources are distinct and well-defined, making it simple to manage colonies. However, the overall visual style could benefit from more polish to improve visual engagement.

The audio design follows a similar pattern. The sound effects provide necessary feedback for in-game actions and events, helping to keep you informed about what’s happening in your colony. However, the audio lacks depth and variety, which makes the game feel flat. A richer and more dynamic soundscape would significantly enhance the overall experience. 

Despite these limitations, the visuals and audio effectively support the gameplay without diminishing the real deal. While there is room for improvement, particularly in adding visual flair and audio richness, the current design ensures that players can focus on the game’s strategic elements. As Wastelander develops, we hope these aspects will receive additional attention to match the engaging gameplay.

The Good

Wastelander combines resource management, building placement, and storm survival into a compelling and challenging experience. Each decision feels significant, and the turn-based nature allows for thoughtful planning and strategy development. The game keeps you on your toes, making each session uniquely engaging.

In addition, the game offers multiple paths to success, encouraging experimentation. Different strategies can be effective depending on how you handle resources, place buildings, and prepare for storms. This flexibility makes each playthrough unique and allows players to find their preferred style of play.

Furthermore, the developers are highly responsive and actively incorporate player feedback. This level of engagement creates a positive community atmosphere and ensures that the game continues to improve. Regular updates and active communication with players foster a supportive environment where feedback is implemented. 

The game features random elements and roguelike mechanics that ensure no two playthroughs are identical. Consequently, this keeps the game engaging and provides ample reasons to return even after multiple sessions. The varying challenges and unpredictable storms encourage players to rethink their strategies and try new approaches.

The Bad

The game can be challenging to grasp initially, which might put off some new players. The complexity of balancing resources, rebuilding after storms, and making strategic decisions can be overwhelming at first. While the tutorial helps, jumping to actual gameplay can still be challenging.

Furthermore, the graphics and sound design, while functional, lack polish. The visuals prioritize clarity over aesthetic appeal, and the audio lacks depth and variety. This might diminish the overall experience for players who prefer more immersive and polished game environments.

As an Early Access title, Wastelander still needs refinement. Some rough edges and limited content might affect the overall enjoyment. However, ongoing updates are likely to address these issues, but currently, they may hinder the game’s full potential.

Sometimes, it becomes clear you will fail or lose long before the game ends. This can make some sessions feel like a toil as you wait for the inevitable rather than maintaining a constant sense of engagement.

Wastelander‘s puzzle-based gameplay is fun and satisfying. However, it needs some quality-of-life improvements. For example, the game doesn’t allow you to change key bindings, which can be frustrating for players who are used to moving the camera with the WASD keys. Instead, you have to use both mouse buttons to move the camera, which isn’t convenient for everyone. 

Verdict 

Wastelander is a promising strategic colony builder that skillfully combines puzzle and roguelike gameplay elements. Its engaging mechanics, high replayability, and active developer support make it a standout in its genre. The game challenges you to think critically and adapt your strategies, providing a satisfying and rewarding experience.

The developers’ active involvement and responsiveness to feedback make Wastelander even more appealing. This ensures a continually improving experience, with regular updates and tweaks based on player input. The game’s minimalist visuals might not appeal to everyone, but they don’t kill the overall experience. The challenging learning curve can be tedious but incredibly satisfying once you acquire the skill.

Despite these issues, Wastelander‘s foundation is solid, and its potential is evident. The game will likely become even more compelling with continued updates and improvements from the dedicated development team. If you’re a fan of strategic games and enjoy resource management and survival, Wastelander is worth exploring. Keep an eye on its development, as it promises to grow into a fully realized and delightful strategy game.