The Waste Land

Terrible controls that cannot be remapped

Not Recommended

Dreadful. I was tired of backtracking before the tutorial/introduction was over.

Developed by Fledermaus and published by Digital Tribe, The Waste Land is an independent action-adventure that embraces the spirit of classic metroidvania games while weaving in themes inspired by T.S. Eliot's famous poem. Rather than focusing entirely on combat or platforming, the game places equal emphasis on storytelling, exploration, and atmosphere. Its retro presentation is backed by a narrative centered on consequence and redemption, offering a more thoughtful experience than its pixel-art visuals might initially suggest. While it clearly pays homage to the 8-bit era, it also strives to distinguish itself through its literary influences and emotionally driven premise. The story follows King Zyron III, whose reckless mistake during a hunting expedition unleashes corruption across the kingdom. Once-peaceful wildlife transforms into monstrous creatures, and the balance of nature is shattered. Burdened by guilt, the king embarks on a dangerous quest to reverse the catastrophe he inadvertently caused. This setup gives the adventure a strong personal motivation, making the journey feel less like a conventional hero's quest and more like a search for forgiveness. Throughout the cam…

Turned trash into bricks that sing opera. My garbage has more soul than my ex. I’d recycle it again.

A meh game. The Waste Land is an excruciatingly dull and frustrating experience, one that I cannot, in good conscience, recommend to anyone. Determined to give it a fair shot, I dedicated over 14 hours to completing the game in its entirety—painstakingly achieving 100% completion—just to ensure that my criticisms were not the result of a misunderstanding or a lack of effort. Unfortunately, my thorough playthrough only reinforced my disappointment. Never before have I encountered a Metroidvania-style game that made exploration feel so utterly tedious. The game's environments are sprawling to an absurd degree, yet they are devoid of meaningful content, making traversal feel like a pointless slog. The world itself takes approximately 40 minutes to traverse from end to end, yet despite this seemingly substantial size, it remains barren and lifeless. Enemy design fares no better. The few scattered monsters populating the world pose little to no threat, being both unchallenging and easily avoidable. Worse still, the level design lacks any sense of structure or cohesion, making the entire experience feel directionless and bloated. Instead of carefully crafted pathways and rewarding progr…