Wasteland
While succeeded by more accessible and popular titles, including its more contemporary sequels, it’s important to recognize the first Wasteland. Released in 1988, it’s set in a post-apocalyptic America ravaged by nuclear fallout. As part of the Desert Rangers, you keep the peace and embark on a mission to investigate strange occurrences, eventually fighting against extinction-level threats.
Its setting served as the inspiration for Interplay’s Fallout series and despite the limits of technology at the time, any changes to the world were persistent throughout a playthrough. The challenge will undoubtedly turn people off but if you want to experience a piece of open-world history, it’s well worth checking out (though you may want to go for the original instead of the remaster).
