Geaaaarbox. Pwaaaaaaaphhhhh. Oh man, the iconic Gearbox intro never ceases to amaze me. I’m a vast Gearbox fan, and Borderlands is probably one of my favorite franchises from their ‘stable.’ I even played Battleborn, which I still prefer over Overwatch (sorry, not sorry). My love for Gearbox ignited with Brothers in Arms, which I still play occasionally (and holds up oke). But it still does not come near Borderlands – I don’t know what it is, but it ticks all my preferential boxes. So let’s dive into this latest installment, shall we?
Oke, I lied – before we dive into actual gameplay analyses and the whole shebang, let’s talk a bit about what makes New Tales from the Borderlands different from the rest of the Borderlands franchise. Oh, and why it’s probably my favorite spinoff game from any franchise.
Tales from the Borderlands
The original Tales from the Borderlands was developed by Telltale Games, which was shut down in 2018. Gearbox Studio Quebec, which was opened in 2015, served as the game’s lead developer. The team spent at least two and a half years developing the game. As the Gearbox team did not have experience creating a game featuring a branching narrative, they hired several key members of the original game’s development team to help them understand how to write an interactive story that could respond to the choices and decisions made by players. The studio also hired Lin Joyce, a doctor in interactive fiction, to serve as the game’s lead writer. While the game initially had a more extensive cast of characters, many actors could not complete motion capture work. As a result, the writing team had to modify the game’s script to focus on the three core characters, resulting in a more “intimate” story.
Gearbox considered New Tales from the Borderlands a “standalone product” and a spiritual successor to Tales from the Borderlands. It features a cast of new characters and a self-contained story, so players will not need to have played other games in the series to understand the story entirely. However, the game will also feature returning characters, including Rhys Strongfork, CEO of Atlas and one of the two protagonists from the original Tales, and his employee Lor (formerly Lorelei) from Borderlands 3. Its art will also look closer to that of Borderlands 3 than the original Tales, and the game is powered by Unreal Engine 4. Yes, New Tales from the Borderlands retains the episodic structure of the original game, but all five episodes are released at once, similar to Life Is Strange: True Colors.
New Tales from the Borderlands
Since the game is mainly about storytelling (compare it to a visual novel), I won’t spoil too much about the story. Set about a year after Borderlands 3, weapon manufacturer Tediore has begun invading the planet Promethea. New Tales from the Borderlands introduces a cast of new characters, including three playable protagonists: Anu, an altruistic scientist; Octavio, Anu’s brother who is seeking fame and fortune; and Fran, the owner of a frozen yogurt store who uses a hoverchair for mobility. If Gearbox reads this, make a spinoff game with Octavio and Fran – okay? Thanks. The player must guide the three protagonists, each with their hopes and dreams, as they fight against Tediore agents and monsters, and criminals roaming the planet. The trio must also work together as they seek a vault key that may grant them access to a vault stashed with treasures that may change their lives forever.
Similar to Tales from the Borderlands, it is a graphic adventure game in which the player must move the game’s protagonist around the world’s environment, explore their surroundings, complete quick-time events, and make narrative choices that may change the outcome of the story. Each character has their own unique gadgets. Anu has high-tech glasses which allow her to scan objects; Octavio can browse other people’s social media pages and hack into their devices; Fran can freeze enemies using her hoverchair – and much more, but as I said – you need to discover this for yourselves. It’s so worth it.
Gameplay
People play Borderlands games for two things – Guns (and a lot of them) and excellent writing. Borderlands is known for its great sense of humor and great storytelling. I can’t stress enough how well-written the Borderlands franchise is (even part 1.5 had some significant features, just not my favorite story of the four main games). However, since the main franchise focuses on being a looter shooter with a great story, the writing is sometimes overshadowed by guns and puns. So when Telltale Games came with Tales from the Borderlands, it was my dream come true. Everything I liked from Borderlands was put into a story-driven game with a grand narrative and quick-time events, making every playthrough with my bunch of weirdos memorable.
New Tales from the Borderlands uses the same elements as Tales from, since why would you change up a winning formula? The story is on point, the puns well written, and the gameplay elements fit very well with the whole atmosphere the game creates. One of my favorite characters from the game is L013E, an assassination bot with a very complex background story. Add some misfits in the mix, with elements from previous Borderlands games, quick time events, and references to pop culture, and you get yourself a new Tales from the game (see what they did there). It even features some fourth wall-breaking She-Hulk and Deadpool would be jealous of. I often laughed so hard while playing the game or moving around an area I had to ‘check’ that my wife just looked at me with anguish. When I tried to explain the jokes to her, she even mentioned, ‘Oh god, they made the perfect Nick game,’ I still wonder if it’s a compliment or an insult.
Mini Games
Oh, yeah, I should mention this as well, I guess. In New Tales of the Borderlands, there is a new hype in which you battle with Vaultlander characters to get past certain plot points. In Vaultlanders (yeh, that’s the actual name), each of these usable characters (comparable to amiibo or Skylanders, wink wink) is molded after either a Vault hunter from the original Borderlands games or a person from either Tales from the Borderlands or New Tales from the Borderlands. Even this mini-game is well written and shows that someone in their twenties, thirties, or forties, can still enjoy things other people brand as ‘childish,’ am I right, Anu?
Conclusion
New Tales from the Borderlands takes everything I love from the Borderlands franchise and puts it into a narrative-driven game filled with relatable borderlands elements, but with a twist. It delivers a powerful spiritual successor to the original Tales game. For fans of the franchise, it offers so many nudges and winks that I probably missed some of them. For newcomers that want to try their hand at a Borderlands game, this is a perfect training model to see if you like the sense of humor and writing of a Borderlands game. New Tales from the Borderlands shines in its own genre and is probably my game of the year since I haven’t had this much fun with a game in a long time. Just remember the control schematics on your controller of the keyboard of choice; you’re going to need it. Or your Steam Deck, on which I played this one.
