Zane’s ability to throw out a clone of himself that can deal damage is great, but being able to switch places with said clone (essentially teleporting) is a game-changer. These weapons can be wielded by one of the franchise’s trademark four classes, and each offers a surprisingly diverse play-style. Your character can now vault and slide, and while these feel long overdue and seemingly minor at first, trying to return to (the admittedly excellent) Borderlands 2 without being able to hop over small pieces of level geometry or baseball slide with a shotgun blast shows just how big a difference these small tweaks can make. Gunplay feels great, but movement is where Borderlands 3 has taken baby steps to offer a more modern experience. Many weapons now have alternate firing modes, so the most unassuming pistol can fire rockets or become a taser with a click of a button. One early submachine gun offered dual sights but no real other perks, but flicking between both optics was so satisfying that we kept using it long after its utility wore off. While you’ll be constantly cycling out weapons again and again to test out new ones, the design of each feels lovingly handcrafted. The much-publicized ‘guns on legs’ are fun, as are guns that double as throwable explosives when reloading, guns that send enemies flying sky high, or guns that eat through currency when used.ĭespite the variety, each feels given its chance to shine.
Weaponry is once again the star of the show, and guns in Borderlands 3 are impressively varied. Thankfully the reason you’re probably here, the gunplay, feels just as good as it ever has. For example, one enemy can electrocute the arena’s floor, offering absolutely no reprieve. Many conform to the ‘run around an arena killing small enemies and flanking the big bad’ methodology, but occasionally cheap difficulty spikes keep things frustrating more than challenging. Other bosses don’t fare much better, despite some entirely unique designs. While they taunt via a radio system, they’re just lacking any charisma and can feel like a podcast you’ve tuned out of after a few conversations. It’s standard MacGuffin fare, but the shame of it is that the Calypso Twins simply aren’t as interesting as previous villain Handsome Jack.
The Calypso Twins, primary antagonists and intergalactic internet superstars, have managed to unite the various Bandit factions in an effort to mobilise a force to unlock vaults hidden below Pandora’s surface. It’s exhausting, but it isn’t without its positives - enemy death cries are an easy highlight, and hearing a bandit yell “my chilli recipe dies with me” still brings a smile to my face even dozens of hours in.īorderlands 3’s campaign revels in its own absurdity, and for the most part that’s fine. Perhaps its audience has matured over the last five years, but many of the references and memetic callbacks just feel like a chance to introduce tired pop-culture reference after reference. While humor is entirely subjective, so many of the game’s ‘funny moments’ simply don’t stick the landing. Unfortunately, it’s with Borderlands 3’s dialogue that cracks begin to show. Each of the new environments stand apart from each other, from Promethea’s huge structures and urban streets to the swampy depths of Eden-6 that widen the franchise’s color palette tenfold. While Pandora has its own charm, it’s exciting to leave the wasteland behind in search of more exciting climates.
Thankfully, in its jump to the current generation, Borderlands 3 offers more exciting locales too. Returning to Pandora feels like a homecoming - if the home you’re returning to is a Mad Max-inspired desert planet where the only thing more dangerous than the bandits wreaking havoc in its arid spaces is the local wildlife. I suppose you could say it’s sticking to its seemingly endless number of guns. Borderlands 3 doubles down on everything that makes the franchise great, but also maintains some of the series’ less enjoyable idiosyncrasies. Players earn loot at an almost obscene rate, constantly unlocking new weapons and abilities with which to battle through stylized environments. For the uninitiated, the Borderlands franchise is built upon the pursuit of gear.
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