Borderlands 3
Weapons free
released OUT NOW! Reviewed on Playstation 4
Also on PC, Xbox One Publisher 2K Games
If the notion of a gun that shoots out more guns doesn’t instinctively leave your trigger finger twitching, chances are Borderlands 3 won’t be up your alley. It may not even be in the same neighbourhood, frankly, as Gearbox’s third mainline entry in the now decade-old shooter series is built entirely with the Borderlands faithful in mind. That means more crass humour, co-op oriented first-person combat, and a frankly absurd number of firearms in the form of randomlygenerated loot. But the distinctions which elevate Borderlands 3 above its predecessors are certainly far from negligible.
Gearbox has used the intervening years since 2012’s Borderlands 2 to ameliorate its looter shooter recipe to perfection, all while still throwing in new ingredients for added flavour. Almost every fan-requested feature lacking from previous games is here, including gun customisation, talking protagonists, and the ability to traverse new planets beyond Pandora. Better yet, it looks and runs like a dream, with first-inclass gun mechanics and that spunky cel-shaded art style as effective as ever.
It’s only in the storytelling where Borderlands 3 stumbles, thanks to a new pair of villains, the Calypso Twins, who fail to justify their purpose as enemies worth rooting against. The pair are cult leaders inspired by the influencer generation, and the joke is overplayed to the point of pantomime, though their irritating antics aren’t enough to spoil the rest of the campaign entirely, itself rife with meta-commentary, inventive side quests, and deftly formed characters. Irksome antagonists aside, this is a sequel that knows its audience, providing generous helpings of that same, inimitable brand of organised disorder, spoon-fed on repeat and best served with friends. Alex Avard
This is a sequel that knows its audience
Rapper (and videogames fan) Ice-T makes a bizarre cameo as a sentient pink teddy bear with serious anger issues.