The Waste Land
- September 15, 2014
- Fledermaus
- 8h median play time
Get on Steam"The Waste Land" is a survival-horror adventure game set in a post-apocalyptic world. Players must navigate through a bleak landscape, scavenging for supplies and battling mutated creatures. The game features a rich, immersive atmosphere and a haunting original score. However, some players may find the controls and combat mechanics to be clunky and dated.
PC
Reviews
- The game captures the nostalgic feel of classic Metroidvania titles, reminiscent of games like Castlevania 2.
- The atmosphere is unique and immersive, with a well-thought-out scenario and interesting world design.
- Fans of retro gaming may appreciate the pixel art style and the challenge it presents, as it encourages exploration and discovery.
- The controls are clunky and unresponsive, making gameplay frustrating and unenjoyable.
- The world feels empty and lacks meaningful content, leading to tedious exploration with little reward.
- The repetitive music and poor enemy design detract from the overall experience, making it feel monotonous and uninspired.
- music19 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 37 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many players finding it repetitive, monotonous, and intrusive. Reviewers noted that the limited soundtrack, consisting of only a few short loops, quickly becomes annoying and detracts from the overall experience. While some appreciated the nostalgic 8-bit style, the general consensus is that the music fails to enhance the atmosphere and can be grating over extended play sessions.
“The unusual but effective music sets up a somber and dead serious tone.”
“As you are traversing the kingdom you doomed, both the music and the graphics will help you feel an ambient sadness.”
“The 8-bit yet sophisticated graphics, dark and purposeful palette, chiptune music, mature and frightening enemy design, and cryptic and quirky dialogue show the developer's intimacy with that era's games that most 'retro' games miss.”
“I spent 3 hours exploring multiple similar looking locations in the first region, and all this time I was listening to the same monotonous endless soundtrack loop that really starts to get annoying after only 5-10 minutes.”
“The gameplay is totally broken, the graphics are confusing and uninspired, the repetitive short loops of boring music for dozens of minutes will drive you nuts; the level design isn't interesting at all... you don't get satisfaction nor gratification with any action in the game.”
“Oh, and the music that plays through the opening areas is just awful and repetitive, somehow both droning and intrusive, yet it goes on forever without variation.”
- gameplay13 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 46 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing its broken mechanics, poor level design, and frustrating controls, leading to a lack of satisfaction and enjoyment. While some appreciate the challenging simplicity reminiscent of old-school titles, others find it repetitive and uninspired, suggesting it may only appeal to dedicated retro gamers. Overall, the gameplay experience is seen as mediocre, with significant room for improvement.
“I thought this would be good due to its style of metroidvania gameplay.”
“The gameplay is mostly good.”
“Huge world and a deep sense of exploration and discovery and Nintendo-hard gameplay.”
“The gameplay is totally broken, the graphics are confusing and uninspired, the repetitive short loops of boring music for dozens of minutes will drive you nuts, the level design isn't interesting at all... you don't get satisfaction nor gratification with any action in the game.”
“I can deal with the random drops sometimes being poisonous (and even killing you), brutal difficulty, repetitive enemies, fall damage that just kills you (never seen that in this genre before, probably because it is obnoxious), terrible jump mechanics (if you press down while mid-air you just drop like a stone), and sluggish controls, but I just cannot deal with that one audio track.”
“Gameplay itself is simplistically boring and repetitive.”
- story9 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The story starts strong with an engaging plot hook but quickly loses momentum, leaving players feeling disoriented and disconnected from the progression. While the narrative has intriguing elements and features interesting boss battles, the lack of fast travel and excessive open space detracts from the overall experience, making it difficult for players to stay invested.
“The story is pretty cool, though, and most of the boss battles are pretty neat.”
“It has a cool story and a really neat metroidvania world puzzle.”
“The early plot hook is well done, but the story quickly falls flat on its face after the initial scene.”
“The problem is that there is too much featureless open space (save the cool background graphics) between location nodes and no fast travel, so you walk and walk and walk before you get to the next important quest -- and lord help you if you get off of the beaten path!”
“Next, what is going on in this story?”
- graphics7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with some players finding them confusing and uninspired, while others appreciate the nostalgic 8-bit aesthetic and dark palette reminiscent of classic titles. The level design is criticized for its featureless open spaces, detracting from the overall experience, although some elements, like the background graphics and enemy design, are noted as strong points. Overall, the visuals seem to cater to a niche audience that values retro aesthetics, but may not appeal to everyone.
“As you are traversing the kingdom you doomed, both the music and the graphics will help you feel an ambient sadness.”
“Great NES Castlevania aesthetic with a day and night cycle.”
“The 8-bit yet sophisticated graphics, dark and purposeful palette, chiptune music, mature and frightening enemy design, and cryptic and quirky dialogue show the developer's intimacy with that era's games that most 'retro' games miss.”
“The gameplay is totally broken, the graphics are confusing and uninspired, the repetitive short loops of boring music for dozens of minutes will drive you nuts, the level design isn't interesting at all... you don't get satisfaction nor gratification with any action in the game.”
“Graphics are not 'pixel art' or whatever indie darling buzzword you want to use, they're just ugly.”
“I can only recommend this to people who are smitten with the art style and the Eliot/Fraser allusions and who also loved the stiffness of the early Castlevanias so much that you'd play a game that chose to impose that limitation on itself.”
- atmosphere7 mentions
- 86 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its uniqueness and immersive qualities, drawing comparisons to influences like "Vampire Hunter D" and Miyazaki's "Nausicaa." While many players appreciate the rich and peculiar ambiance, some note that it can become tiresome at times. Overall, the atmospheric elements contribute significantly to the game's appeal, enhancing exploration and gameplay.
“I believe this is a unique and atmospheric adventure.”
“Plus, he enjoyed Eliot and his tale, and it is true that the atmosphere in this game is unique and peculiar.”
“This game plays well and has a great atmosphere, plenty of exploring and gearing, and period-perfect music.”
- grinding5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
The game eliminates traditional grinding by removing leveling up and experience points, instead allowing players to strengthen their character through item collection and strategic combat. However, late-game encounters lack incentives, as enemies do not drop money or experience, leading to potential tedium and backtracking. Overall, while grinding is absent, some players may find the gameplay repetitive and challenging.
“Late game there are no incentives to fight enemies as they drop no money nor experience (while that negates any form of grinding it is still an issue).”
“Be warned though - the game is tedious at times with a lot of backtracking and tough enemies.”
“(Interestingly enough, though many parts of the game were tryingly tedious when I just simply sat on the couch and played, my one-hour stationary bike sessions blazed by ultra-quick, quicker than when I play more exciting games. Yeah, a real funny feeling of time dilation... maybe I felt like I was pedaling through those monster-infested wastes with the guy, eh?)”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as subtly amusing, particularly in the contrast between the engaging audio track and the otherwise tedious gameplay, which creates a unique experience that can make time feel distorted. Players find humor in the unexpected enjoyment derived from mundane activities, like exercising while playing.
“I find it kind of funny considering how good the title audio track is.”
“(Interestingly enough, though many parts of the game were tryingly tedious, when I just simply sat on the couch and played, my one-hour stationary bike sessions blazed by ultra-quick, quicker than when I play more exciting games. Yeah, a real funny feeling of time dilation... maybe I felt like I was pedaling through those monster-infested wastes with the guy, eh?)”
