"Obviously, money isn't everything. Sure, sure, it's important, but it doesn't have to drive your existence like it did mine."
--Rhys, Tales from the Borderlands
Tales from the Borderlands is quite the grand mixture of two historically separate kinds of games, one mostly a dialogue-based string of decisions and the other an RPG shooter. It is by far the most unconventional Borderlands game yet, but one with a story and characters that fit perfectly into the world set up in Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel. It even has plenty of gun and fight-related sequences despite being more like Telltale's The Walking Dead than the comedic loot shooter formula of the others. Players will see or hear of a host of series characters such as Commandant Steele from the first Borderlands, Shade from Borderlands 2's Captain Scarlett DLC, Nakayama from The Pre-Sequel and some DLC for Borderlands 2. This makes the most irregular addition to the series a great starting point for newcomers and a way for familiar players to remember classic franchise cast members--and it even can become a very sincere celebration of friendship (between a man and a woman at that!) and self-discovery by the end based on player choices.
Production Values
The art style and noises of the Borderlands series are all replicated here very faithfully, from Pandoran psychos to loot boxes. The only major difference is that this is the first and only Borderlands game so far that is not a first-person RPG shooter. There are some first-person segments, like when using Rhys's scanning function, but the majority of the game is like other Telltale games: you either walk around for brief periods or just watch cinematics and make dialogue or behavior decisions. This gives plenty of time for character development, and Tales from the Borderlands excels at utilizing old characters while introducing new ones in a way that honors Borderlands lore. The animation, voice acting, and writing converge to provide a very authentic Borderlands entry with high quality all around. The excellent Troy Baker is just one of many superb voice actors or actresses who contribute to this quality. Here is a game full of style and heart that does not need to sacrifice its connections to a series defined by its absurdist comedy to tell a story with gravity.
Gameplay
Conversations and cinematics carry most of gameplay, as is the case with other Telltale games, and the humor and characters of Borderlands make it easy for this style to be integrated with the IP. You will still get to use grenades, firearms, and even Athena's throwable shield, so it is not as if all remnants of the action-oriented gameplay the series is known for vanish. Whereas decisions and optional dialogue were just some of the attractions in the main games, they are given a new emphasis in Tales from the Borderlands. This lets players tailor aspects of the story to their choices for better or for worse. For instance, another character might become more or less friendly and helpful based upon what dialogue the player chooses. Adding a layer of realistic pressure, the choices must be made within a short window of time--or else silence is the response (when it comes to dialogue) or the playable character will die (in quick-time events).
Story
Some spoilers are below.
Tales from the Borderlands focused on the intertwining stories of two new characters--Rhys, an employee of Hyperion, and Fiona, a con artist. In the aftermath of Handsome Jack's death, Hugo Vasquez has become the leader of Hyperion, but his manipulation of Rhys drives the latter, with the help of two of his best friends, to try to get a Vault key before Vasquez can. Fiona happens to have a role in the events that follow. Both Rhys and Fiona are actually abducted prisoners of a mysterious stranger who wants each to tell the story of what becomes their search for an Atlas artifact called Gordys. However, plenty of unexpected things happen during the search, including the appearance of a holographic version of Handsome Jack that only Rhys can see.
Intellectual Content
The sometimes major and sometimes minor impact of specific responses and other decisions later on is a deep part of Telltale games, including one based on the absurdist humor of Borderlands. It is still actually the backdrop of the two main characters telling their supposed "version" of the story of how they worked together, though, that is one of the most intentionally or unintentionally philosophical parts of the game. Deception, memory, and denial of past events for personal gain are all issues that have something to do with how the plot is structured. In this regard, Tales from the Borderlands reminds me of another game called Call of Juarez: Gunslinger. Both share the central story similarity of having the playable parts take place before the present day narration that opens the game and periodically comes back onscreen. It is rather fitting that I played both for the first time this year.
Conclusion
It does not have the hundreds of hours of diverse choices and progression that the main Borderlands games have, but Tales from the Borderlands is an excellent addition to the franchise thanks to its signature comedy, worldbuilding, and characters returning, as well as its new lore. Borderlands, after the largely shallow first game, has developed into one of the most creative and deep franchises in gaming history. Tales from the Borderlands honors the best of the series while presenting a new gameplay style. Having a spin-off game to tell the story between Borderlands 2 and Borderlands 3 allows for variety in the gameplay genre--the kind that could appeal to people who might not desire to put dozens of hours into the other games.
Content:
1. Violence: There is actually a lot of blood in one scene of the episode one in particular, with other parts featuring shootouts, sword fights, or brawls that have little to no blood.
2. Profanity: "Damn," "shit," "bitch," and "bastard" are used at least a handful of times.
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