Borderlands 3 - Review

When a game is announced the same year it releases, one of two things happen, the first is that the game is rushed out and contains very few things to be excited for, or the second, it is a hit in all sense of the word and Borderlands 3 is the latest to release this way, but which way did the final product fall?

If you have not played any of the previous Borderlands games, you are not going to be out of the loop, at least too much with the latest entry and that is including the Tales from series. A new threat has arisen in the form of the Calypso Twins, Tyreen and Troy and they have, for the first time, united the bandits on Pandora as they seek to lead them to the Great Vault. While the Crimson Raiders attempt to force this new threat back, they are defeated, almost wiped out and this is where you come in, you are a vault hunter, or you are after you select one and you are set to help revive the Crimson Raiders and take the fight to the Twins. However, things are not as easy as you might think, before long a tragedy happens and leaving Pandora, which was always the plan, is now a most worthwhile option, but once the planet is left behind, things go from bad to worse for the Raiders and their plans to stop the twins.

The story follows many of the expected beats that a story about a race against evil follows, though there are some moments that will catch you off guard, especially after you open the first vault. But while the story is strong thanks to the large casts of returning characters, it is the newer characters that you will encounter on Pandora, Promethea and beyond that help make the games story shine. Sadly though, no matter how often I had to interact, read stand by and do nothing, with the Twins, they never grew on me, their entire shtick about streaming their kills and broadcasting their conquests, never clicked with me. In early hands on, it felt forced and I had hoped it was only for those events, but it is that way most of the game and it is not to say they don’t have a presence, but it highlights the biggest problem with Borderlands as a series and that is their reliance on the ‘now’ humour, which in a few years, becomes out dated. With the final release, the extra time has helped draw out their time with that, but it still feels like it will date rather quickly, not to mention, I just don’t like it.

One aspect of the game that is easy to get behind is the gameplay as all the little things that were odd in past games have been replaced here and the game is so much better for it. The core of the gameplay is still to shoot everything that you can, with as many bullets as you can, but it is all the tweaks and improvements that stand out. One of the most wonderful additions is that you no longer need to run around and manually collect all the dropped loot, cash or ammo form the ground, it just gets sucked towards you on its own. It might seem like a minor thing, but having taken down hordes of enemies in past games, to then only have to manually collect your spoils, well it was hard to accept, now though the auto pickups, makes each fight faster, as you no longer have to take fire while attempting to scrounge ammo. On top of being a human hoover, you can now move like a normal person, something past games struggled with, there are still some issues with what it determines a ledge you can grab or a gap you can’t jump, but it is far better than it was.

Of course, improvements are not just the main thing, the new vault hunters all have a set skills that make them a dangerous enemy to the Children of the Vault, as well as the native creatures of the various worlds. Having played as all of the new Vault Hunters during previews, the longest being with FL4K, I had no set character I was going to play as, so I simply used google to spit out a number and the character ended up being Zane, the Operative. If you have played past games, Zane is more of a lone wolf character, that can call in support from a drone, or a digi clone, when things get hairy, which they do, a lot. Using a special ability is much like it was in the past, where you can use it as often as the cooldown lets you, but now there are more skills you can tweak it with. Being able to change up skills, once you have unlocked them, makes the game far more versatile than you might have expected, letting you use the best skill for the appropriate battle.

Of course, battles are done in the form of unloading massive amounts of lead into which ever idiot has run in front of the business end of your gun and while the same basic principles apply, elemental and such, there is more to it this time. As Claptrap so melodiously informs you that some guns now have alternate firing modes, with how often I saw it, I will be honest, I forgot about it a lot and having a gun that can also be a grenade launcher is cool, having to wait through a few more upgrades until I remembered again, was less so. In addition to alternate firing modes, elemental weapons are more powerful and impact on the world than ever before, with cryo based weapons freezing water, or electric ones, well electrifying water. If you can use the environment to your advantage, you can deal some massive damage to a host of enemies, with little effort on your part. The world though is not just interactive in that sense either, as the game now sports limited destructibility, meaning that cover is not always going to remain safe for you. Learning what you can destroy and what will remain intact is critical for some fights, but more importantly, when you step into battle, it means that the enemy can’t hide behind things either. Even the addition of a new type of vehicle helps make things feel so much better, especially as you can take it to more places you shouldn’t take a vehicle.

Another aspect of the game that is done really well is the presentation, yes, the game still sports the now signature look, but it has been given a massive level of additional detail, which helps make things even more appealing. While Pandora still looks dry, in a good way, there is a lot more dotted about the landscape, to help make it seem like people or bandits, live there. Stepping onto the planet of Promethea and you get exposed to something truly different, at least compared to Pandora. Anyone who played the Pre-Sequel, will get vibes of the moon, but regardless, it too looks amazing. Athenas though is the weakest link, at least in terms of oval design, where the others, including Eden-6 have so much happening, you need to really explore to try and get a sense of the scale of Athenas, because the first visit does not do it at all. Even when you return from the planets back to Sanctuary 3, you are exposed to a host of sights, from Moxxxi’s bar, to Marcus’ little shop, there is a lot happening. But unlike past games where people would just stand about the place, doing nothing of interesting, they now move around, investigating things, fixing objects and generally look like they have lives. As you will sprint past them most of the time, there is little chance you will reveal how basic they are, but it is still a nice touch that helps bring the game to life.

Perhaps the aspect that helps sell the game the most is the characters and they are all brought to life with amazing performances, with most of the older cast members returning to the series. Characters like Lilith are central to the story, but even obscure characters are fun, and while it is nice to see some older ones return, the newer characters are what steal the show. While I have issues with some of the thing the Twins state, there is no denying that they have a presence in the game and that is made believable by the amazing performances by the two actors and surprisingly the actor for Tyreen is a real life streamer and this is her first voice acting role, but she nailed it. Troy is just as real, with hints of anguish in his earlier scenes that start to peek out more as the game moves forward, it is a solid addition. But more than that, I feel that your own Vault Hunter is actually a person this time around, thanks to some amazing work by the actors, but they now have lines to say to people, so when someone says something witty, even if some lines are repeated a bit.

Sadly though, the presentation is not all sunshine and rainbows, as there are some issues, on PC the frame rate tends to vary wildly, with it hitting as low as 18-19 fps, or as high as 75fps. This would happen in fights, when there was a lot of action taking place on screen, but it would also happen when the game had to load in texture and that silly little load in effect that the series has had since day one, is still here. Another issue is when the game would save, it would freeze for a few moments, now thankfully almost all save points are away from enemy locations, but it would still be an annoyance. That being said, the issues that I have with Borderlands 3 are ones that can easily be fixed at a later time, as they are not game breaking in anyway.

If you are looking for a game that is going to offer massive amounts of replayability, then Borderlands 3 is the game you need and that is just solo, throw in some mates and you have a game that you could play for years. The world feels more alive than ever before, with characters that have life in them for a change, plus with playable characters that feel like people, the game is just bursting with appeal. Throw in more guns than you could possibly ever need, boss fights that will challenge you in new ways, plus real and impactful choices on the world and you just can’t go wrong.