The hype train for Borderlands 3 has been barreling down the track for most of this year, nullifying the potential that any other game this month might have had this month for a moment in the spotlight. Borderlands fans are a passionate bunch, almost to an alarming degree, and to you I say: welcome back to Pandora, enjoy your shooty shoots and toilet jokes.
It’s easy to say “If you like Borderlands you’ll like Borderlands” because really, not much has changed. Nor should it, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with giving people what they want. If Borderlands isn’t your cup of tea, however, it probably still won’t be.
With that being said, allow me to address those of you who might be a little Borderlands-curious. Those with even a fleeting memory of a time you may have possibly had some fun with your friends shooting psychos in the wasteland. Borderlands 3 may be more of the same, but it’s all the tightest, most refined version of Borderlands you can get.
I have never been a huge fan of the gunplay in Borderlands, but Borderlands 3 feels pretty damn good. Hip firing in chaotic moments is viable, something I never felt was really the case in previous entries. Further, matching elemental types to the armor, shield, and enemy types gives the game a healthy amount of strategy both in loadout composition and in the moment on the battlefield.
The weapon variety is just absurd. when they touted a billion guns at E3 I blew it off as 999,999,999 slightly different damage value and reload speed on assault rifles. No, seriously, theres a billion friggin’ guns. I switch guns like an addict in Borderlands 3, they’re practically valueless and meant to be replaced every 5 seconds as far as I’m concerned. I pick up every gun I see and use it for an encounter before immediately switching it out for something completely different. This experimentation is just non-stop and I intend to keep switching for the whole game. If I find something I absolutely love, maybe I’ll use it for 10 minutes, but then it’s gotta go.
The other headline for BL3 is the different planets you’ll be visiting. I’ve seen 3 of the 4 planets now and I really appreciate how drastically different each one looks, even the map layouts are distinct and interesting on each planet.
The ship, on the other hand, is a bit of a nightmare to navigate. The mini-map is a mess and the layout is a labyrinth. I’m sure I’ll eventually figure out where everything is, but I have a pet peeve for confusing hub worlds.
The biggest problem I’m having right now is that even with the XP boost I got from the Deluxe Edition, rushing the main quest line (the game reviewers curse) has caused me to fall 2 levels behind all my enemies and gear drops and there is no indication that I’m catching up. This probably won’t be a problem if you do side quests here and there, but the first side quest I did led to run through the exact same mission I just finished and fight the same boss at the end that dropped the same gun. Ain’t nobody got time for that.
Full review will be up as soon as possible. I’m definitely enjoying Borderlands 3 more than Borderlands 2, even if every joke makes me want to take away computer lab privileges from the middle schooler that wrote it.
