Borderlands (1, 2, 3, The Pre-Sequel, TftB)

[Catgirls are Love]

I've had similar experiences. They seem like they'd be up my alley but something about the repetitive gameplay and lolsofunneh tone slapped on everything makes it hard for me to be invested. I actually beat 1 and all its dlcs and felt like the series moved in the wrong direction with 2, says Jack, everything about him was great.

My largest gripe about 2 was the guns. In the first game, you'd mostly find vendor trash but every time you went to clean out your inventory you'd usually find at least one gun/other thing than was an improvement over what you were using (assuming you didn't swap to it the moment you found it) thus you kept progressing in power. In the second game, you'd find a lot more weapons that were statistically better than what you were using but had some other quirk or oddity that made them basically useless. I've played through the first game a few times but I can never be bothered to play through the second, and I don't think I even made it halfway through on my longest attempt.

 

[Tanner Glass]

I've had similar experiences. They seem like they'd be up my alley but something about the repetitive gameplay and lolsofunneh tone slapped on everything makes it hard for me to be invested. I actually beat 1 and all its dlcs and felt like the series moved in the wrong direction with 2, says Jack, everything about him was great.

I think because it's a mix of two genres (Action/Fast Loot RPG and First Person Shooter) but the Action RPG parts never materialize into anything drastically fun.

The characters never really "feel" more powerful and the longer the game goes on, the more the enemies feel like HP sponges. While early on you can one-shot/headshot most normal enemies, you'll need to put full magazines into most enemies not long after. Compared to say, Diablo 3/PoE/whatever - this is completely backwards and why most people bounce off. This only gets drastically worse on the "higher" difficultly levels.

The loot is complete garbage and even the "good" loot is extremely samey. They are all guns that have very minor/unimportant quirks and none of them give you anything resembling a "new" ability. Compared to D3/PoE - where items are frequently useful and powerful ones can drastically change how you're playing the game currently.

Most enemies, in addition to being HP sponges, have the exact same capabilities as you (ie - they're able to shoot you at the range you can shoot them from). You, the player, have a shitty health/shield pool and almost 0 defensive options and no safe ways to engage with enemies (no, not even a sniper rifle. Even at Max Sniper Distance you will be shot by enemies with Pistols and Rifles). The "almost 0 defensive options" means that some active skills will grant you ~6 seconds of breathing room every time they're active - even if they just give the enemy something else to shoot at.

It's a really cool idea on paper, but Gearbox never actually got it right which is why it's one of those games that people like, but very few play obsessively.

 

[Some Lurker Too]

Spoiler: gameplay sperging

I dunno what you're putting your skill points into but I've never had issues with health and shields. I hardly ever go into FFYL and I Leroy Jenkins into fights mosta the time - I just put points into hp, shield and health regen and go for VHs with turrets or companions (Roland, Axton, Jack, Zane). Stay in motion with good high fire rate weapons - luv COV and Skulldugger - and keep an eye on the mini for where baddies are.
I may not have skills, but I have fun!
As for snipers, this wasn't a problem for me in 2. I loved clearing bandit camps from afar w headshots - sure, nomads, goliaths, and other big guys take a few hits but most go down in one, and a couple stray pistol bullets are nothing. Yeah, you're gonna get hit, every encounter's a horde of enemies and stealth ain't really a thing. 3 really nerfed Sniping, only good one I've gotten that'll actually ohko on crit was the Wedding Vow or w/e, which made me so damn sad. That and the Maliwan guns needing to charge, they went from my fave manufacturer to my least fave, every Mali I got in 3 was immediate trash.
Either way, yeah, it ain't everyone's game. I just like shooty many bullet real fast-like as a tank, and the humor in 2 (...yeahhh mostly Jack can't lie love that asshole) hit a sweet spot for me. BUT I'm also someone who genuinely enjoyed TPS and 3 despite everything, so take my opinions as you will

ANYWAYS I have Wonderlands, I've finished all but the most recent DLC (and a couple ~secret~ bosses and challenges). I've got my issues with it but I had plenty fun playing it, s'basically a reskin of BL3's mechanics featuring 2's Tina (who actually feels pretty damn in-character, surprisingly). Short, though, with short DLC afaict. Character customization is pretty limited even after you unlock a shitload of cosmetics, despite having so many things you can change.

If you've got any questions about the game ask away and I'll answer as best I can, but my overall reccomendation is wait till the price goes down if you're gonna buy.

 

[Peasant]

I think because it's a mix of two genres (Action/Fast Loot RPG and First Person Shooter) but the Action RPG parts never materialize into anything drastically fun.

The characters never really "feel" more powerful and the longer the game goes on, the more the enemies feel like HP sponges. While early on you can one-shot/headshot most normal enemies, you'll need to put full magazines into most enemies not long after. Compared to say, Diablo 3/PoE/whatever - this is completely backwards and why most people bounce off. This only gets drastically worse on the "higher" difficultly levels.

The loot is complete garbage and even the "good" loot is extremely samey. They are all guns that have very minor/unimportant quirks and none of them give you anything resembling a "new" ability. Compared to D3/PoE - where items are frequently useful and powerful ones can drastically change how you're playing the game currently.

Most enemies, in addition to being HP sponges, have the exact same capabilities as you (ie - they're able to shoot you at the range you can shoot them from). You, the player, have a shitty health/shield pool and almost 0 defensive options and no safe ways to engage with enemies (no, not even a sniper rifle. Even at Max Sniper Distance you will be shot by enemies with Pistols and Rifles). The "almost 0 defensive options" means that some active skills will grant you ~6 seconds of breathing room every time they're active - even if they just give the enemy something else to shoot at.

It's a really cool idea on paper, but Gearbox never actually got it right which is why it's one of those games that people like, but very few play obsessively.

Those are valid points, but personally I could be fine with all of it were it not for the fact that progressing in this game is agonizingly slow. Even when you know what you're doing, the majority of your playtime will be spent jogging towards objective markers, and God help you if you're a sperg like me and feel compelled to tick off every side quest. The enjoyment is there, but it's spread thin over many hours of doing fuckall interesting, and the stingy loot in the sequels makes it worse.

Grinding Gear Games made a great decision when they ditched the traditional multiple playthrough ARPG progression and made Path of Exile one contiguous campaign all the way to endgame. I think Borderlands would be far more tolerable if it did something similar, and given the huge amount of side content compared to more standard ARPGs, the time required to take a character from beginning to endgame would be roughly equivalent.

 

[Edgeworth]

It'll also be fucked if they don't have Troy back to voice Rhys.

To be fair, Ray Chase did a fine job and Troy's fallen off the bandwagon hardcore. At this rate, I actually believe Randy over him with the whole "they didn't invite me back" debacle; Troy's always been bad about not reprising his roles.

OT: I also have zero expectations for Tales, which is a shame because Rhys is one of my favourite characters ever in media. BUT if they get the writers from the TT season in for this one, I think it'd be fine. Tales only had a couple moments where I groaned at what the conversation was about, and that's a much smaller number than any of the actual games.

 

[Mega Black]

My largest gripe about 2 was the guns. In the first game, you'd mostly find vendor trash but every time you went to clean out your inventory you'd usually find at least one gun/other thing than was an improvement over what you were using (assuming you didn't swap to it the moment you found it) thus you kept progressing in power. In the second game, you'd find a lot more weapons that were statistically better than what you were using but had some other quirk or oddity that made them basically useless. I've played through the first game a few times but I can never be bothered to play through the second, and I don't think I even made it halfway through on my longest attempt.

This is really pretty much it I think, upon some reflection. The whole 8BAJILLION GUNS shtick was never really a great idea and its only gotten worse as the number of nonsensical modifiers and 'quirks' has gone up with the franchise. Rather than expand the RPG elements in other directions, adding bullshit like 'fucks up your aim to an insane degree until you fire 50 rounds through the fucker' has never not made testing out new weapons a fucking chore, and hunting for loot more tiresome than it was engaging. In the first game, finding a purple weapon at least carried a higher chance that I'd actually want to use the gun. In the second I get tired of wanting an assault rifle to just do what it's supposed to do without having to hunt for one.

I think because it's a mix of two genres (Action/Fast Loot RPG and First Person Shooter) but the Action RPG parts never materialize into anything drastically fun.

Yeah, and the regular shooting isn't exactly top of the line either. Perfectly serviceable, and in the era of hallway milsim shooters but with better playing FPS on the market right now I always struggled to go back and play 2 when I could pop in something else and play a shooter or an RPG without having to deal with the unwieldy hodgepodge of mechanics Borderlands is inundated with.

 

[Power Glove]

Spent the last week playing Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. Couldn't hold a candle to the Bortderlands 2 DLC, and was pretty mediocre at times. I miss the batshit crazy Tina from BL 2. It felt like a very low effort game.
The "dungeons" are just the same combat arenas over and over, with a different scenery. The DLC for BL 2 had a huge emotional connection, was fun to play and it fit perfectly within the main game and the plot for it. They could have done so much more with this, so much more.

 

[The Doom Slayer]

Shit from the new TFTBL leaked. It does not fill me with confidence so far.

 

[Destro's Last Stand]

Oh man, please don't have the writers of 3 in this, I am a masochist for even playing this series past 2. The first Tales was really good, I liked it.

 

[TVB]

Any updates on Eli Roth's Borderlands movie yet? I'm very curious honestly.

 

[The Doom Slayer]

IMO this looks like shit.

And seems a lot of people agree...

 

[KEKMUHLORD]

IMO this looks like shit.

And seems a lot of people agree...

View attachment 3640186

Jesus fucking Christ those 3 main characters look awful. Giving me heavy Saints Row 2022 vibes.

 

[TVB]

Any updates on Eli Roth's Borderlands movie yet? I'm very curious honestly.

I guess no one's gonna answer my question.

 

[The Doom Slayer]

I guess no one's gonna answer my question.

I didn't really hear anything else after the casting announcements.

 

[Cactus Concerto]

Shit’s odd. Went from not knowing about Borderlands to playing Tales, loving it, playing Borderlands 2, loving that, and living to see sequels to both. Back to not giving a damn. Full circle.

This is almost painful. Tales was one of the heights of Telltale; seeing it regurgitated like this is sad.

Why make a Tales game without the original gang, or members of it? They didn’t all appear or get fully mentioned in BL3, they had the opportunity. Call it Old Tales from the Borderlands and have it be Fiona and her crew before meeting up with Rhys. Why the fuck are you doing this at all?

I haven’t played/followed BL3 so forgive me for asking but why the fuck are we in a modern-looking city? Jack had his little paradise but it didn’t feel like if I walked out of my apartment the environment would immediately greet me.

Tales had a checklist cast—ambiguously mixed girl, two black girls, short soy boy, stupid yet charming white boy, antagonistic white man former love interest who’s an asshole. Badass antagonist female. Adorable robot companion. But despite that, they breathed beyond their appearances almost immediately. It didn’t feel like a cast put together solely for diversity points, though things maybe weren’t as streamlined in the woke factory when Tales dropped.

That aside, Borderlands already has cripples, fat chicks, and dark-skinned women. The newest addition is the non-binary looking thing I can’t make heads or tails of in this trailer—why this cast?

And I know why. Gearbox has long since been swallowed by the tides and their target demo with this bullshit eats up visual novels more than a mainline BL game but fuck.

I always wanted a proper sequel to TFTBL by Telltale. Long since let go of that pipe dream but this really is a thousand nails in the coffin. Shit’s bitter as fuck.

 

[Hammr2]

Shit’s odd. Went from not knowing about Borderlands to playing Tales, loving it, playing Borderlands 2, loving that, and living to see sequels to both. Back to not giving a damn. Full circle.

This is almost painful. Tales was one of the heights of Telltale; seeing it regurgitated like this is sad.

Why make a Tales game without the original gang, or members of it? They didn’t all appear or get fully mentioned in BL3, they had the opportunity. Call it Old Tales from the Borderlands and have it be Fiona and her crew before meeting up with Rhys. Why the fuck are you doing this at all?

I haven’t played/followed BL3 so forgive me for asking but why the fuck are we in a modern-looking city? Jack had his little paradise but it didn’t feel like if I walked out of my apartment the environment would immediately greet me.

Tales had a checklist cast—ambiguously mixed girl, two black girls, short soy boy, stupid yet charming white boy, antagonistic white man former love interest who’s an asshole. Badass antagonist female. Adorable robot companion. But despite that, they breathed beyond their appearances almost immediately. It didn’t feel like a cast put together solely for diversity points, though things maybe weren’t as streamlined in the woke factory when Tales dropped.

That aside, Borderlands already has cripples, fat chicks, and dark-skinned women. The newest addition is the non-binary looking thing I can’t make heads or tails of in this trailer—why this cast?

And I know why. Gearbox has long since been swallowed by the tides and their target demo with this bullshit eats up visual novels more than a mainline BL game but fuck.

I always wanted a proper sequel to TFTBL by Telltale. Long since let go of that pipe dream but this really is a thousand nails in the coffin. Shit’s bitter as fuck.

Short answer: this isn't made by Telltale.


Long answer:
Since you haven't played BL3, I'll try to clear it out a bit.
1) Rhys does appear in BL3 as quest giver kind. Also, he has a small appearance in New Tales trailer.

2) Borderlands 3 has people going to space now, so travel to different planets and all. As you've seen the trailer, the whole place isn't happened on Pandora, the planet for entire Borderlands before 3.
Since there are multiple Vaults and Vault Keys, not all of them are on Pandora, they are scattered around the universe.

3) The video description, it's pretty obvious what kind of story they want to write here.


4) I can't really tell you when did Gearbox gets woke, but it's pretty obvious from them since Borderlands 3. With one of the vault hunter, robot one called Fl4k is non-binary and his pronoun (they/them) is enforced on Gearbox forums. Anyone disagree/don't follow, they'll be banned.

Gearbox forums is dead now, you can't even checked multiple threads about it.

Some people would say probably around Borderlands The presequel, with how Athena's lover, Janey Spring being loudly "I'm a lesbian" first time meeting her if you are playing Athena in that game. I didn't really notice it, because English isn't my native language, the whole conversation didn't/wasn't that bad for me playing that game.

There are probably some more few progressive/woke things in Borderlands 3, but I don't notice much beside horrible story overall, me skipping all side quests don't help either. Maybe this little bit of your vault hunters compliment Ellie "fat body" looks "strong".

Then whatever the character creation in Tina Wonderlands with "Body type" instead of "Male/Female".

 

[Raging Capybara]

A series of games well known for its terrible writing releases a visual novel. Amazing.

 

[Gravityqueen4life]

started playing borderlands two again after installing some mods. its a decent game if you mute the in game voices and have something play in the background.

 

[TVB]

I didn't really hear anything else after the casting announcements.

Last time I heard, Eli Roth started production sometime last year. Is it really set to come out?

 

[ChucklesTheJester]

IMO this looks like shit.

And seems a lot of people agree...

View attachment 3640186

God I feel like throwing up knowing they defiling borderlands even further. At this point the series was a corpse with 3, the DLC was just gearbox preforming necrophilia on BL's lifeless body.

This game looks like it going further trying to bring it back to life, failing, and then shrugging and fucking the corpse again anyway despite it being left out in the sun after it died.