Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 81 | 13 |
| Creator reviews (2 tracked) | – | 83 | 1 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 83% | 76 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 78 | 9 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 100% | 97 | 2 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 7 reviews sampled · 5 total reviews in window · weighted 5.2 up / 0 down · computed 4h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (87)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“The game places trust in the moral, philosophical, and intellectual response of the audience.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“All in all, while Wasteland 2: Director's Cut for the Nintendo Switch gives you a new way to experience the post-apocalyptic desert, it's far from the best option thanks to its poor presentation.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Wasteland 2: Director's Cut on Switch is a missed opportunity. While the underlying systems and crunchy combat are enjoyable, and it just about works as a portable experience, a steady list of irritations make an unqualified recommendation impossible. There's a solid foundation of gritty turn-based combat with some great writing, but a stubborn camera, disappointing performance and a lack of quality-of-life enhancements means the PC ‘master race' take this round.”
read full review ↗ - 83
“Like the post-apocalyptic wasteland in which it is set, Wasteland 2 is unforgiving, but unlike a real apocalypse, it's a blast to experience.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“What it comes down to in the end is that Wasteland 2 is an excellent RPG that plays completely differently than anything else on the system. The degree of control you have over dictating the skills and perks tied to each of your squad members goes far beyond what can be done in other titles and though this can be overwhelming it also guarantees that nobody is likely to experience the game in quite the same way. Just understand that this is a bit of a compromised experience, and while the developers have done an admirable job of trying to make it as viable as possible on the Switch the interface can be cumbersome at times and even aggravating. However, if you thirst to explore a post-Apocalyptic world and all of the challenges and violence that can entail it’s still well worth checking out.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Wasteland 2: Director's Cut is a sprawling adventure, and it never fails to be engaging and the game world is an interesting place to be. The combat can get samey and the range of enemies is not massively varied but the required strategy and different approaches to fights kept us coming back for more. The sense of accomplishment when you take out a superior force by the clever use of cover is very gratifying, and helps to increase the game's longevity. We've put a good number of hours into this over the course of this review and can honestly say that we've barely scratched the surface. If you have even a slight interest in post-apocalyptic games, we don't think you'll be disappointed here.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Wasteland 2: Director's Cut is an old school CRPG experience like no other available right now in the console market. It is unforgiving, deep and liberating. Turn-based RPG fans will be delighted with Wasteland 2 and shouldn't miss its release.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“A healthy amount of patience and a reasonable amount of stress toleration will be needed but ultimately it will be worth it. If your spirit hasn't been broken by a frustrating camera or delayed inputs then the daily game crash right before you've saved your progress may be the final straw. As frustrated as I may have been at times, the highs certainly outweigh the lows, and came away with the feeling that any version Wasteland 2 is with playing.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“There's a level of roughness here that I couldn't help but be a little disappointed by after such a long development time. For every smartly written sequence with vibrant locations and characters, there's an aimless fetch quest or an overlong combat section. Oddly enough, despite the content added in Wasteland 2's extra year of production, I think the game could have benefited from being cut down, edited to emphasise the best bits and get rid of some of the clutter. I like Wasteland 2, I really do, but I can't help but think it's not quite the masterpiece we were promised.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Wasteland 2 is for players looking to get lost in world that seems perfectly comfortable in giving the players all the options at their fingertips. The wasteland is a host to deadly enemies, characters, and vile world, one in which I take my very own created desert rangers, with their own personal stories, my stories, and try to live… to see another day.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Wasteland 2 is a wonderful post-apocalyptic classic RPG romp through the radioactive dunes of Arizona and California. The game is unabashedly old school with its lack of hand-holding and harsh scenarios.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Overall, at least on the Switch, I could not get into Wasteland 2. Clunky controls combined with performance issues kept holding me back from even getting pasts the oddness that ranged combat could often have. I hope to revisit this soon upon a PC, but in the meantime, I'm feeling disappointed because it has been a title that I've been looking forward to for a long while and after reading Nick and especially Robert's reviews, I had expected to be blown away.”
read full review ↗
Slant Magazine
Gadgets 360
Nintendo Life
VGChartz
Nindie Spotlight
Pure Xbox
LevelUp
NintendoWorldReport
GameWatcher
ZTGD
PCMag
Chalgyr's Game Room…and 75 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Wasteland 2 Patch 6 (65562) Released!Feb 9, 2015
- Wasteland 2 Patch 5 Release Notes (61997)Dec 15, 2014
- Wasteland 2 Patch 4 (60792) Release NotesNov 18, 2014
- Wasteland 2 Patch 3 (59820) Release NotesNov 5, 2014
- Wasteland 2 Patch 2 (58154) Release NotesOct 13, 2014
- Wasteland 2 Patch 1 (56458) Release NotesSep 26, 2014
- Wasteland 2 Beta Update #51166 NotesAug 1, 2014
- Stackpole/Long Novella & hotfix releasedMay 29, 2014
- Stackpole/Long Novella & hotfix releasedMay 29, 2014
- Wasteland 2 Early Beta Update #39080 NotesApr 18, 2014
- Wasteland 2 Early Beta Update #34119 NotesFeb 25, 2014
- Wasteland 2 Early Beta Update #34046 NotesFeb 24, 2014
- Wasteland 2 Early Beta Update #29462 NotesJan 8, 2014
- Wasteland 2 Early Beta Update #28918 NotesDec 20, 2013significant · resets scoring window
- Upcoming new build will likely break save games while fixing some major known issuesDec 17, 2013significant · resets scoring window
- Version 28396 ReleasedDec 13, 2013