@NCDowell
As far as stories go, Tales from the Borderlands is the best of both TellTale and Borderlands. Obviously that is a bold claim that probably stems from my unending love of the Borderlands franchise. However, just playing the game will make anyone realize how much attention and care was put into it, with a story that is so powerful you quickly forget the absurd world in which it’s based.
How do you even travel Pandora without millions of guns?
As detailed in my review of the first episode of Tales, the series follows Rhys, a Hyperion programmer out for revenge, and Fiona, a Pandoran con artist trying to survive Pandora. The story’s narrative is split between the two as they are held prisoner by a mysterious figure. Together, they take turns telling the story of how they got to their current situation. That, of course, leads to a lot of truths stretched so thin they’re basically being torn apart by two skags.
The real narrative picks up about halfway through Episode One, when Rhys and Fiona get caught up in a scam gone wrong. One really simple interaction devolves into a story that takes the team across Pandora and even into space to Helios, Hyperion’s headquarters. Every episode, the individual goals of Rhys and Fiona grow farther and farther apart. Fiona learns she may be cut out to be an actual Vault Hunter, and Rhys finds an opportunity to follow in Handsome Jack’s footsteps.
Despite these separations, the story keeps them tethered together with the mysterious Gortys project and, eventually, a vault.
As a whole, this story almost never slows down. The slightest lull in narrative turns into a really powerful moment for a character, or a weird finger pistol war with thousands of “casualties” that is never fully explained but is so entertaining you don’t care.
All of this ultimately leads to one of the most satisfying endings in any Telltale game – one that was so powerful it made me want to throw my laptop across the room out of anger that the story was over.
Empathize with insanity
Tales from the Borderlands will make you care very deeply for a loader bot. You know, those robots that you killed MILLIONS of in Borderlands 2? You befriend one and become unbelievably attached to it.
The other characters are great too, though. Joining Rhys and Fiona are Vaughn, Rhys’s friend from Hyperion, and Sasha, Fiona’s sister. They aren’t playable characters, but they provide additional character development and often give Rhys and Fiona something to fight for. The combination of all four of them works extremely well, as none of them are truly ready to experience Pandora.
The best characters, however, are the supporting cast. Unlike in other Borderlands games, where the emphasis is on the Vault Hunters while the supporting cast just provides humor, Tales’ supporting cast is crucial to the evolution of the story. Over the course of the game, you meet up with several familiar faces, like Zer0, Athena, Janey Springs, Scooter and all of the Vault Hunters from the first Borderlands game.
The Vault Hunters mostly appear in cameos, but Athena, Janey and Scooter turn from quirky people on Pandora to characters you will actually care for. There’s a romance between Janey and Athena that’s just adorable, and Scooter has an unbelievably powerful moment as a character.
Walk around and click stuff
Tales’ gameplay is nothing special, as it follows the same Telltale format. A lot of the game is dialogue selection and quick time events mixed with some minor exploration. It’s not extremely fun, but it’s hard to care when the focus in a Telltale game is on the story.
All of that holds true until the final episode.
For what feels like the first time in a Telltale game, the choices you make actually matter. Characters and relationships don’t really change, but the final action sequences will change dramatically based on who you treated well in previous episodes.
Even better, the final action sequences contain the most fun and involved quick time event sequences I have seen from a Telltale game. For the first time, I had to get out of my slouch to sit up and make sure I was pressing the buttons correctly and quickly.
As far as exploration goes, it’s not that fun unless you play as Rhys, who has a robotic eye implant that gives him additional details about the world. These little bios on various items do a lot to the Borderlands universe by helping enrich the lore in a way that’s usually hilarious. Even his gameplay in the final episode is more fun than Fiona’s, which is definitely a disappointment.
Exploring as Fiona doesn’t hold the same appeal as it does with Rhys. The only quirk she gets is the ability to collect money that can only be spent on vanity items. These items quickly become useless, as some are literally blown away mere minutes after you buy them. There is a secret choice you can make in the final episode if you have enough money, but if you know the Borderlands series well, it’s a choice you may not want to make. If the items stayed around the entire game, then there wouldn’t be much to complain about.
TL;DR
seriously Borderlands 3
+ Extremely deep and rewarding story
+ Characters have interesting arcs
+ Exceptional music choice
+ The entire final action sequence
- Gameplay favored toward Rhys
- Slow build to exciting gameplay
- The occasional framerate and texture issues
Read More
'Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League'—A villain of an Arkham game
By Aaron Picklesimer / April 17, 2024With massive shoes to fill, Suicide Squad Kills the Justice League manages to stake it's own claim in the Arkham Universe, despite some issues cropping up here and there. With fun new gameplay mechanics and a cast of loveable, unloved unheroes, The Suicide Squad is here to stay
Who is Your Favorite Ginger? | Byte-ing Questions
By Byte Staff / April 9, 2024Aaron asks Ball State the Byte-ing Question, Who is Your Favorite Ginger?
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: Temporal Forces | Checkpoint
By Byte Staff / April 9, 2024Mason goes over the latest Pokemon Trading Card Game expansion, Scarlet & Violet: Temporal Forces
