InXile Entertainment has partnered with Nintendo to release Wasteland 2: Director’s Cut on Switch. Originally releasing in 2014, Wasteland 2 is a post apocalyptic RPG available for PC. Director’s Cut–already available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC–adds a visual upgrade and numerous gameplay features.
“When I first showed a screenshot of Wasteland 2 running on the Nintendo Switch, it erupted into one of the largest social media reactions I have ever seen,” said InXile Entertainment CEO Brian Fargo. “RPG fans are looking for new ways to experience old favorites, and Nintendo fans are looking for big, meaningful RPG experiences they can play anywhere they go. The game received a huge reaction last week at Gamescom, and it feels great to be this close to getting the game in fans’ hands.”
Although the Wasteland franchise takes place in a similar setting to the Fallout series–the original Wasteland went on to inspire the first Fallout–there are noticeable gameplay differences between Wasteland 2 and modern day Fallout titles. Wasteland 2 plays like early Fallout games, with a larger focus on squad building and tactical, turn-based combat.
Instead of creating one character, you’ll start Wasteland 2 customizing four different party members. This allows you to have more than one specialization at the start. For example, you might make one character into a sniper, another into a medic, the third into a smooth-talking thief, and the final party member a soldier. Like Fallout, there are dozens of different skills, and you’ll have to carefully balance them all amongst your team to ensure they survive their quest to discover the identity of a mysterious killer.
Back in 2014, we gave the game an 8/10. In our Wasteland 2 review, Daniel Starkey wrote, “In many ways … Wasteland 2 represents everything about classic computer role-playing games that the modern iterations of Fallout aren’t. Where Fallout 3 gives you an extreme amount of general latitude, Wasteland 2 focuses on the narrative minutiae and tangible consequences of your individual actions. Where Fallout 3 tries to craft a broad world that feels whole, Wasteland 2 loosely strings together several locations with hidden connections, with secrets waiting to be discovered and picked over. And where Fallout masterfully uses comedy to lambast the ludicrous tone of paranoia surrounding Cold War America, Wasteland 2 attacks the natural arrogance of the individual. It forces us to confront the painful truth of our own blind self-righteousness, and shows us how childish our own grand plans truly are.”
Wasteland 2: Director’s Cut comes to Switch on September 13. The game is now available to add to your Nintendo Eshop wishlist if you want a notification for when you can purchase it.
