With a franchise like Borderlands hitting its fifteenth anniversary and sixth game, there is always the worry that the series has run its course. The longer it goes, the more tiresome the repeated characters or jokes, gameplay, and writing can be. At some point, you start wondering if they can actually keep surprising you, or if they’re just coasting on old ideas with a new coat of paint. With Borderlands 3, I’ll admit, I was starting to worry we’d hit that wall. The guns still felt good, the loot loop was starting to become a problem with the balancing of drops seemingly way off, and the chaos was pure Borderlands, but something felt off about it.
The pacing dragged, the jokes didn’t always land, and were overly cringy, and the villains were the weakest of the bunch we have had. They never once felt like they earned the attention they demanded. I had fun playing it, really, but it didn’t feel like the step forward the series needed. It was loud, sure, but not sharp. Big, but... Read more