New Tales From The Borderlands Review – Dead Psychos Tell No Tales

Gearbox itself controls the sequel to Tales From The Borderlands, a surprisingly successful new Telltale-style adventure.

This is our second visit to the Borderlands universe this year, following the role-playing style spin-off. Little Tina’s WonderlandHowever, as die-hard fans of the franchise know, New Tales From The Borderlands is a very different beast compared to its shooter-based siblings. This is a narrative-driven graphic his adventure, effectively a sequel to 2014. Tales from the Borderlandsalthough it was developed by series creator Gearbox Software, not by Telltale Games.

It’s a more polished and imaginative production than Telltale’s original, and boasts a completely new, self-contained story, so it doesn’t feel like a sequel. Like almost all planets in , it takes place on Promethea, a desolate and scruffy place ruled by Anarchy.

Promethea, or the spaceship that orbits it, is home to the weapons-manufacturing MegaCorp Atlas (a name that anyone who’s ever played any kind of Borderlands game knows) and the three you control. One of the characters is based there. Anu is a scientist with strong pacifist tendencies, and she’s trying to build a gun that doesn’t actually kill people, so it wouldn’t be a big surprise if she got her bag soon enough.

Meanwhile, in Promethea, he encounters Anu’s adopted son, Octavio. He is a paranoid street hustler and petty thief who is obsessed with becoming a self-proclaimed entrepreneur. Supposedly, he has a job, working for a third character, Fran (Fran’s Frozen, he’s his 40s owner of Yogurt), and has been trapped in a hover chair since childhood. and was fed up with anger issues.

Another invasion of Promethea took place the moment Anu received her call to action. This time it was by Teddior, a mega-corporation of weapons manufacturing. She manages to escape Atlas’ headquarters and hook up with Octavio, Fran, and the deadpan assassin bot LOU13 on Fran’s frozen yogurt (essentially reduced to rubble by a previous invasion, but only when Fran tells the insurance adjuster that he’s his own). I couldn’t help because I didn’t love myself).

In the epic Borderlands tradition, all three main characters are complete losers. Fran is old, unloved and unsuccessful. Octavio is a complete flake. Anu is nervous, awkward, and has just waved goodbye to a career that has given her a sense of self. However, they are surprisingly likable and have some useful skills, at least when it comes to gaming.

Octavio can speak all four legs from the Arcturan MegaDonkey and can hack things through his wrist phone. Fran’s hover chair has freezing spray and a robotic punching arm. Anu has science goggles that can scan hidden objects and the ability to activate gadgets by tapping them in the right places.

These abilities lead to a variety of gameplay beyond the usual staples of the genre. In other words, you can shape how events in New Tales from the Borderlands unfold by choosing the right dialogue choices, like pressing buttons or swiping the joystick to negotiate quick-time events. It also pays tribute to the Borderlands shooter tradition, with static his aiming him sequences, boss fights, Octavio hacking him minigames, and more.

Vaultlander toy-fighting mini-games are also regularly held, but annoyingly, they’re ridiculously easy to win. Puzzle sequences let you explore and loot typical Borderlands objects such as safes, crates, and trash cans. This can be spent on character costumes, even though this is clearly not intended for action or exploration games.

As with most Telltale-style games, the gameplay tends to be slow, subdued, and punctuated by so many cutscenes that the idea of ​​a Borderlands spinoff always seemed strange. Despite the better-than-expected script, some of these cutscenes feel endless.

Narratively, however, the new story from Borderlands is far superior. , with a lot of really funny moments due to the well-written and unique nature of the characters.

The storyline is split into 5 episodes, all of which are available as soon as you pick up the game, with a total negotiation time of around 10 hours. Discordant and requiring long detours, the plot builds to a satisfyingly important crescendo. It’s a thing.

Tales From The Borderlands is already one of Telltale’s best games, but it’s definitely better than the actual Borderlands game. That tradition continues with New Tales From The Borderlands. It’s the most intelligent and, narratively speaking, the richest game Gearbox has ever built.

However, for a game that lasts just 10 hours, a good chunk of it could easily be classified as filler, and even this at £35 seems expensive. It’s a shame because it’s marketed to a decidedly more mature audience than the average Borderlands game, but at this price point, it’s primarily of interest to existing fans only.

Formats: Xbox Series X/S (reviewed), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and PC
Price: £34.99
Publisher: 2K
Developer: Gearbox Studio Quebec
Release date: October 21, 2022
Age Rating: 18

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