Total mayhem of the most welcome degree
BORDERLANDS 3 is a testament to the virtues of stubborness. Gearbox Software’s staunch refusal to reinvent Borderlands has lead to the most definitive release in the hallowed series so far. In lieu of delivering us the awkward ‘third album’, Gearbox have pulled out every stop and delivered a version of Borderlands that improves upon everything the previous game offered, while also addressing some criticisms levelled against previous titles in the roster.
If Borderlands was ever pretending to be anything but an appallingly addictive looter-shooter, any such pretense has now been totally dropped. The sheer diversity of weapons present and the uniqueness of each model lends a great deal of weight to Gearbox’s claims that Borderlands 3 features upwards of “one billion guns”.
Borderlands cel-shaded art style is a probably the gaming communitie’s biggest ‘marmite’ – you either love it or you absolutely despise it with a strangely vehement fervor. Of course, the latter camp will probably never come round to the cartoonish graphics, but if the rest may have felt like the art style was growing a bit stale, they will be pleased to behold the graphical and environmental overhaul in Borderlands 3.
Though you begin in familliar territory on the planet of Pandora, Borderlands 3 eventually opens up and introduces several new planets, each with their own jaw-dropping and, frankly, beautiful set pieces and unique environments. The new locations and consideration given to aesthetics is a welcome shift in attitude from a series that has never been memorable for anything aesthetics-related that isn’t the cel-shaded style.
As well as the mind-boggling weapon selection and the much-needed graphical update, Borderlands 3 impresses on many other fronts. Story-wise this is probably the best in the series yet. Indeed, many of the side quests are headand-shoulders above story missions in the previous games, with a seriously impressive amount of detail and content to immerse yourself into. Boss fights, as well, feel like Hollywood blockbuster versions of fights in previous games, which were already bombastic enough.
Overall, this is easily the best entry into the series so far. Borderlands 3 is total mayhem of the most welcome degree, further cementing Gearbox Software as one of the greatest and most consistent developers around.