I love the Borderlands series, although I feel that part three doesn’t quite live up to the first two. One of its highlights was without a doubt the release of Tiny Tina Raids the Dungeon, the crazy 2013 expansion that turned Borderlands 2 into an RPG starring Tiny Tina or Tiny Tina.
That’s why I really wanted to play Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, a title that turns this expansion into a game from head to toe, with more elements from the world of role-playing games, now flavored with elements of the JRPG. With a wonderful introduction, it makes us a beginner in this role-playing game so new that it has no color, no personality … It has nothing.
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This, of course, leads to a much deeper character creation system than we’ve seen in any Borderlands. There are six different classes to choose from, as well as a typical RPG progression system, with which stats such as strength, intelligence and others can be modified. In general it’s a very good system that allows you to mix attributes in a way that wasn’t previously possible in IP. Personally, I plunged into creating a scratch while my partner chose to play as Sepulcronato because he’s into black magic.
Half of the classes have a companion very similar to what happened with FL4K in Borderlands 3. This obviously seems like a system that Gearbox is quite familiar with, but I have to say I wasn’t convinced in Borderlands 3, and it’s not here either. In this franchise, the battlegrounds can be full of intensity and things on the go, and with three teammates and a plethora of enemies, I don’t think adding four more AI-controlled teammates will do much.
Well, after the initial presentation of the game’s basics, the adventure’s antagonist, The Lord of the Dragons, superbly interpreted by Will Arnett, is also introduced. One of the big issues I had with Borderlands 3 was that his main enemies were very boring, especially compared to Borderlands 2’s Handsome Jack. The Dragon Lord has a very strong personality, and Arnett keeps improving him to unimaginable heights achieved.
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Tiny Tina herself, as previously mentioned, is the master of this massive RPG and is seen and heard quite a bit throughout the adventure. Although she can be a bit over the top at times, she’s still a wonderful character who brings a lot of humor to the table. He’s constantly telling you what’s going on, with great empathy, concocting the most macabre situations (that you as a player have to endure) and not sparing in poking fun at your questionable decisions. That the writers have spent a good deal of time on the classic paper-and-pencil RPG is something that shines through on a number of occasions, and while I haven’t played for a long time myself, I recognize some of the things that pop up here. Why not let the players undo a failed decision if it’s good for the story, how is the master supposed to act, if the players want to do something completely different than intended, how about a little cheating?
RPG twists and fantasy themes are at the forefront of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. For example, there’s an “overworld” in the style of old Japanese RPGs, and even some random battles and stuff like that. The world map is a much more fun way to get from mission to mission and from place to place without having to use vehicles to travel vast distances through wasteland. That said, there’s no doubt that this is Borderlands in fantasy disguise. Reloading your shotgun with magic gunpowder or your pistol that shoots arrows doesn’t change the fact that it’s somewhat identical to Borderlands 3 in gameplay. Gearbox tried to shake up the concept a bit by adding a melee weapon and magic (essentially, just like the class features in Borderlands 3), but in the end even these changes change things very tangentially.
In other words, those who know Borderlands will quickly recognize and appreciate it. As a Borderlands veteran, and while I know how they work, I find the menus much less well explained and it’s not always clear what a weapon or other item does. All of this may sound like criticism, of course, and I think it is to a certain extent, but at the same time the series is phenomenally entertaining and its action mechanics are top-notch. It may be a bit dated, but it’s still fun to seek out and find new weapons and gear by looting the battlefields. However, I would like to point out that the adventure is unfortunately not very polished. There are too many bugs and it doesn’t work as well as it should. I don’t think the music is particularly memorable either.
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Also, I feel like the franchise’s humor has lost steam since Borderlands 2 (which isn’t nearly as far along). I won’t spoil the fun of discovering all the fun on your own, but there are some pop culture references and parodies that made me laugh because they have just the right amount of wit and happen without the developers’ permission rub it must be envisaged, like the fact that random battles are activated only in the tall grass, as if this were a Pokemon!
All in all I think there are a lot of things in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands that work very well. The voice actor for Lord of Dragons is absolutely perfect, Andy Samberg and Wanda Sykes also contribute as co-players, the world is fun to explore, the combat is action-packed and there are many secrets to seek out. Also, looting guns never gets old. But it also seems like being a little more approachable would have served him well and should have risked more innovation. It’s “just” Borderlands in a nice fantasy shell, after all, and I expected more.
