TheFalloutfranchise has become one of gaming’s most popular franchises over the years, with its popularityrecently being boosted by the Amazon Prime series. As apocalyptic, nuclear wasteland game franchises go,Falloutis perhaps the mascot of the industry and thrives thanks to its retro-futuristic setting. It is one of Bethesda’s flagship franchises and popular enough with fans for them to make grand projects, likeFallout: London’s total conversionofFallout 4. Still, Bethesda hasn’t released a new game since76and likely won’t until afterElder Scrolls 6, so players may need to look for aFalloutfix elsewhere.
Although the setting has always remained consistent,Falloutas a gaming series changed genres when it got to its third installment. Before that,Falloutgames were isometric CRPGs known for their brilliant writing and world-building. Now,Falloutis an action RPG series with shooter elements that rely heavily on the freedom that the open world gives its players. Some prefer modernFallout,while others prefer the classics, and for those who prefer the CRPG route, theWastelandfranchise is definitely worth checking out.
The Wasteland Franchise Is Worth Checking Out For Fallout Fans
Especially Fans Of The Classic Games
TheWastelandfranchise is a part of the post-apocalyptic CRPG genre that was largely boosted by the originalFalloutgames. DespiteFalloutbeing the flagship franchise for the genre,Wastelandis actually older,with the first game being released in 1988, and is known for its extraordinary difficulty. Since then, it has evolved into a 3D, isometric, squad-based CRPG franchise with its third title,Wasteland 3,which was released relatively recently in early 2020, and continued to enjoy DLC afterward.
Wasteland 3was developed with the Unity Engine, a popular engine for indie games.
The connection to theFalloutfranchise has been something that theWastelandseries has enjoyed or perhaps suffered from, depending on who people ask. In fact,Wastelandwas developed by Interplay Productions, later known as Interplay Entertainment. Interplay worked on theFalloutseries later on, withFallout Tactics,andFallout: Brotherhood of Steel, as well as theBaldur’s Gatefranchise.
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In general, games made by Interplay tend to go on to do some great things, especially in the CRPG genre, although many of these games end up being taken up by others, like withBaldur’s Gate 3and Larian Studios. This is the same with theWastelandseries,which has been picked up by InXile Entertainmentand taken into the modern age of gaming with two more games and a remaster of the original. The developer has also worked on other RPGs, likeThe Bard’s TaleandTorment: Tides of Numenera.
Wasteland Thrives In The Same Ways Fallout Does
A Punk-Inspired Post-Apocalyptic Adventure
There is a bit of a jokebetweenFalloutandWastelandin which the former game copied the latter. Of course,both series were made by Interplay Productions, so it can be considered a minor case of self-plagiarism, but there are a lot of similarities between the two games' settings and their genres. For one, both are set in a world that has been devastated by nuclear war, and the player must now survive in this new, harsh, and irradiated land filled with monsters and dangerous people alike.
Interplay Entertainment (then Interplay Productions) also made theEarthworm Jimfranchise.
Where the games differ is the way in which these settings present themselves.Wastelandthrives more on being a wasteland, as the name suggests, and some of the design elements can lead to the game looking a little moreMadMax-inspired thanFallout.Falloutrelies more on a retro-futuristic setting, with a world still stuck in the 1950s and 60s, with the actual split between the real world andFallout’s alternate reality taking place in the late 1960s. This specific difference in setting is perhaps the largest contributor to making the two franchises feel different.
Still,Wastelandhas plenty of the things that people love from theFalloutseries. Both are quite adult in their themes, they are both very gory at times, and can have their goofy elements despite the dangerous and depressing landscape of a post-nuclear world.Wastelandhas its futuristic elements too, particularly in some weapons, but it goes more into the post-punk direction rather thanFallout’s trapped in the 1950s and 60s approach. With the two games sharing so many similarities, this approach is what makes the two feel unique from each other.
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Wasteland Has Become A Beacon For Post-Apocalyptic CRPGs
Just Like Fallout Used To Be
It should be noted that modernFallout, with its shooter and action RPG gameplay,is quite a departure fromWasteland,despite how similar elements of its worlds are. Even the recentWastelandtitle stays true to its roots, keeping the game as a squad-based CRPG with an isometric camera. This makes it a perfect title for lovers of the first twoFallouttitles, in particular, who never got theFallout 3that they wanted since Bethesda’s acquisition of the series and rather adamant move away from the CRPG direction.
Even withFalloutruling the roost when it comes to post-nuclear games, theWastelandseries is still moving along healthily.BothWasteland 2and3, which have been developed by InXile Entertainment rather than Interplay Productions, have been critically acclaimed,and both have “Very Positive” overall reviews on Steam. With the squad elements, the modernWastelandgames are like a brilliant mix betweenXCOMand the originalFallouttitles, and although it isn’t typical for the modern RPG landscape, it doesn’t mean the games feel outdated at all.
For players who want more from theFalloutseries and want to dip their toe in the CRPG genre, or for those who wanted the CRPGFallout 3that never came, theWastelandseries should be the next game franchise for them. With its tactical gameplay, punky, post-apocalyptic elements, and a world devastated by nuclear war, there is enough of a similarity with the world ofFalloutto feel familiar, but enough unique elements to entice players to something new. It presents another broken, irradiated world that is worth visiting for those who seek to thrive in such environments.
