Creating the original Borderlands, Gearbox focused not only on Diablo, but also on Halo, offering spacious locations and driving in vehicles, and the developers got the general surroundings and craziness from the Mad Max movies.
In 2012 Gearbox released a sequel, which became even more popular among the people, but then the company disappeared, and Bungie with Destiny, Ubisoft with The Division and many others came in its place.
And now, ten years after the release of the first Borderlands game, fans finally got Borderlands 3. Could Gearbox hold the crown? Or you should abandon this game and play online pokies? Let’s find out.
Borderlands 3 Storyline
Borderlands 3 begins with a story where the gunsmith Marcus talks about Scarlet Raiders, a treasure vault, and events from previous games in the series. Then follows a traditional screen saver with toilet jokes about crazy people in a mask and we are quickly introduced to the four new characters.
New characters beautifully deal with a crowd of enemies, simultaneously demonstrating their skills, and at the end of the video comes a bus with Marcus and we need to decide which character we want to play for. Each fighter has his tactics and unique abilities, so the choice should be taken carefully.
Main playable characters in the Borderlands 3
Moze the Gunner owns a large robot named Iron Bear, climbing into which she can shoot enemies from several cannons in the manner of the Overwatch Diva. If you play in a co-op, then a partner can take the place of the second shooter.
On the skill tree, she can choose several different guns that will be installed on the robot. Iron Bear armed with a local railgun analog and a multi-barrel machine gun can help Moze to deal with a crowd of enemies in a matter of seconds.
She also has skills aimed at supporting allies, which makes her a good partner for any other character. She is a versatile fighter and is great for those who want to play for a balanced hero.
The second character is a robot named FL4K, which specializes in summoning various creatures. In total, he has three beasts at his disposal – each with its own characteristics and manner of warfare.
Besides, the hero knows how to become invisible and to ambush behind enemy lines, and thanks to his pets, he can fight at a great distance.
The next character – operative Zane – a fast and high-tech cyborg. He uses a small drone in battle, knows how to set a protective dome and distracts the attention of enemies with his digital clone.
Unlike other characters, Zane can use two active skills at once, which allows the player to experiment with various combinations of skills.
Having tried each hero, I opted for Amara. The new siren specializes in short-range battles. The girl uses six additional ethereal hands, which allow her to capture and immobilize the target or use various AoE attacks. In the beginning, her skills seem too situational, but after mastering several new skills, it becomes clear how strong she is. Developing a “green” branch in a skill tree, Amara receives accelerated regeneration, instant revival with a full life, as well as several abilities aimed at strengthening melee attacks. She is an excellent Tank class and, with a certain buildup, can “absorb” a large amount of damage.
After choosing a hero, we are brought up to date. It turns out that the Scarlet Raiders are doing very badly – all because of the Children of the Vault gang, whose leaders are the Calypso twins.
Gameplay, Quests, and Loot
Despite the high density of events and humor, the story is quite simple. It has several twists and even a dramatic scene, but the gameplay dominates in Borderlands 3.
It is also worth noting that each quest and dialogue is saturated with humor and references to other media projects. For example, in one of the missions, it is necessary to catch enemies in special areas in the manner of Pokemon.
With jokes and gags, the developers overdid it a bit and at some point, constant jokes begin to pass by and cease to cause any emotions.
After several introductory missions, the player gets to the spaceship, which travels between the planets and serves as a base for the hero (aka city of Sanctuary in Borderlands 2). Here you can replenish ammunition, upgrade your equipment, get additional tasks and even change the character’s appearance.
Now not only coloring but also other elements are changing. For example, Amara can change her hair or put on a hat. This is not mandatory, because the game is played in the first person, and the plot is presented in dialogs as in Half-Life. Sometimes there are cutscenes, though the player is not shown there. You can see your character only in the menu. However, other players can see your character in-game during coop.
In addition to changes in appearance, on the ship, you can reset all the skills of a fighter to redistribute points. This is convenient and allows you to find various more successful combinations of abilities without having to start the game from the very beginning.
The story campaign is made in the style of classic shooters when you get each next main mission immediately after completing the previous one. Developers dilute numerous shootings with small platforming sections and road trips.
During travels on the first planet, Pandora, the locations are not much different from what we saw in the previous Borderlands games. However, after moving to Prometheus, the game begins to shine with new colors – the location is a huge futuristic metropolis in the style of Niihama from the Ghost in the Shell. The city is populated by warring organizations, which at some point leads to a series of epic battles. Here you can perform a very funny additional quest, in which the warring factions beat each other’s coffee house.
The developers did a good job with a variety of locations, so after the cyberpunk-like Prometheus and the dismantling of the two armies, the player goes to Athens. As the name implies, everything is done in the Greek style. The zones are more chamber-like and rather resemble classic corridor shooters of the 90s.
The next planet, Eden-6, impresses with vast expanses, where the wild jungle and impassable swamps are perfectly combined with the surroundings of the American wild west.
Running through beautiful places, you will destroy a large number of enemies. Here we come to the most important parameter in shooters – shooting 😊. This aspect of Borderlands 3 is well developed. First of all, it is worth noting the ballistics of shells that fly out of a variety of barrels. The trajectory of a bullet even with similar guns can be very different.
For example, one shotgun shots in small bursts with a small spread of ammunition, the other – waves of energy that must accumulate before firing.
Moreover, each type of weapon can be equipped with additional modifiers that change the shooting and aiming mode. The weapon can have two modes, one shoots a burst of radioactive shells, the other – single with the effect of corrosion.
There are very unique patterns. I found a cannon that attaches to the forearm like a shield, and from the side, it looked like the hero was shooting with his hand. Other finds looked like a miniature catapult, which threw several bombs at once in an arc.
Borderlands 3 pays great attention to detail. Each modification and shooting mode are equipped with their own animation. If necessary, the hero will swing the scope with his hand, switch the toggle switches with his finger and tilt the weapon, if the additional element is on the side. It can be seen that the developers approached the project with all their hearts.
This is also evident from the names of the weapons. They parody epic names from Diablo and other similar projects. This was pretty fun to find and with humor characterizes a particular project from other media companies.
Enemies, like guns, also delight in variety. Depending on the situation, the character will be confronted by psychos, soldiers, robots, dinosaurs, and many other animals. Each type of enemy has several variations of equipment and sizes. Some opponents require a special approach. One enemy can be immune to cold, others to corrosion. It is also worth considering that each barrel has different parameters for piercing armor, energy shield, and living flesh, so you need to complete the character with these features in mind.
The game has boss battles, which also vary. The simplest are the wild animals that come to the rescue of their brothers when you significantly reduce their number. The leaders of the pack are distinguished by the increased size of the body, survivability, as well as more powerful attacks.
You are also chased by mini-bosses in various tasks and quests. They are more serious opponents than animals, and often have unique design features. Such enemies will cause a lot of trouble if your equipment does not fit their weak points.
Of course, the most dangerous are story bosses. Often the entrance to them is separated from the rest of the world by a narrow opening leading to a large arena. To defeat such an enemy requires not only properly selected equipment but also attentiveness in the study of their actions. It is important to quickly respond to what is happening and seize moments for an attack.
Fights with such opponents are always different and interesting. Someone activates electric traps, someone uses sound waves, from which it is necessary to dodge. There is also a boss who creates clones and attacks from sniper positions, and the player must figure out the correct target and shoot before the enemy.
Since you can drive a car in the game, one of the bosses is a huge car, which must be fought with the help of transport.
The main difference between Borderlands 3 from the previous games in the series is the updated structure of the world. Characters are now able to climb ledges, which made the gameplay more interesting.
There are side quests related to terrain exploration and platforming. For example, to turn off the radio tower, you need to climb to the very top, and for this, you need to think through the route of your jumps on various, sometimes not obvious, ledges. The introduction of new mechanics greatly refreshed the gameplay and allowed it to diversify.
While exploring the surroundings, you can stumble upon an NPC that has an additional quest for you. Sometimes a simple assignment with the search for an object in another part of the location can turn into a massive fight with a witch who grows mutants. Other side missions tell short, but interesting and funny stories.
However, sometimes developers cheat and offer tasks where you need to fight the boss with whom you have already fought. Or clean out the territory in which you have already been. However, such missions are very rare. In general, side quests are quite exciting.
In any case, the result of your actions will be piles of fresh loot. Almost every defeated enemy leaves some valuable item next to him. It can be not only guns but also armor modules or modifiers for skills. The latter gives an increase in the performance of a particular hero skill. Developers constantly motivate the player to change guns and use different combinations of them. Legendary weapons may linger in hands longer than ordinary and rare items, but in general, inventory updates occur quite often, which is good news for every fan of loot in games.
Graphics
Graphically, the game is prettier than the last game of the series. Models and surroundings have become more rounded. The amount of detail and special effects has increased.
The PS4 Pro and Xbox One X offer two settings: performance and quality. In the first case, we are talking about 60 frames per second in 1080p resolution, but FPS drops appear here and there anyway.
When choosing the Quality option, the Pro/X consoles start to give out 1800p – the picture becomes more smooth and pleasant, but the frame rate is limited to 30 FPS. In this mode, developers also did not pay due attention to optimization, therefore, frame rate drawdowns are also observed quite often. At the same time, they seem more significant than in 60 FPS mode. So, the verdict here, if you can play it on PC – play on PC rather than console.
Multiplayer and Coop
Of course, to play such a game is always more interesting with a friend in a co-op. There are several options for this. You can sit together on the same console in split-screen mode or invite up to three players online. The maximum number of players in a party can be four. You can also open your game to everyone and pick up random people from the network.
Besides, there is a separate option that regulates the procedure for receiving prizes. By default, each player will receive their loot, but you can turn on the Rivalry mode and dropped guns will be available to everyone immediately.
Soundtrack and sound effects
In the end, I want to note the music. This project brought together a magnificent composition of composers. Here you can hear the tracks of Jesper Kyd (Borderlands 1/2, old games of the Hitman series, Assassin’s Creed 2), Michael McCann (Deus Ex: Human Revolution / Mankind Divided, XCOM: Enemy Unknown) and several other authors.
Music always emphasizes the surroundings and dynamics of events. Walking around Prometheus, you can hear the ambient with distant piano sounds in electronic processing. The echo effects and measured pace give this futuristic city the necessary monumentality. At some point, something like a lighthouse and trance can play.
In turn, a piece of completely different music awaits us on the planet Eden-6 – there, against the backdrop of the jungle, you can hear the motives of American folk with some intersperses of country.
Borderlands 3 turned out to be an excellent cooperative looter-shooter without obvious innovations, but with a lot of content and a variety of everything. Shoot enemies, travel planets, explore locations and collect loot in a fun and interesting way. Especially with friends online. Frame rate subsidence can be annoying, but in Borderlands 3 I want to continue playing even after several tens of hours, and this is the main thing. Great game overall.