PlayStation 5 Review Code Provided by 2K
Tales From The Borderlands is arguably one of the best narrative adventure games in existence. It has heart, shock value, and some of the best writing on either side of the Mississippi. The critical and fan acclaim for the game was unanimous, and it seemed a sure thing that it wouldn’t be long before Telltale Games was underway on a sequel. Alas, that was not meant to be.
Fast forward seven years and Gearbox, the people who make the core Borderlands games, revealed that they were actually making a new Tales From The Borderlands. In fact, they were even calling it New Tales From The Borderlands. There was excitement. There was hesitation. There were tears. Not mine, of course, but I’m sure somebody cried.
But after playing through New Tales From The Borderlands, I’m not ashamed to admit I did cry. Because this game also has heart, shock value, and some really good writing. It also makes some strange choices that result in both its best moments and biggest disappointments. While not a perfect follow-up, it nevertheless manages to capture enough of the first game’s magic to warrant its own existence.
Story
As a narrative game, the story is where New Tales From The Borderlands really struts its stuff. It’s an interactive novel, providing you with just the right amount of control over where the story is going while also delivering a predetermined plot. It’s a tough line to walk, and NTFTB manages to walk it with an impressive level of poise.
The story revolves around three nobodies named Fran, Anu, and Octavio. In fact, they’re such losers that the game itself constantly reminds of you this. Fortunately, they’re entertaining losers, so you aren’t stuck with a bunch of boring dorks for roughly ten hours.
Our tale begins on the planet of Promethea, a location that might be familiar to anyone who played Borderlands 3. This world is only just starting to recover from a vicious invasion by the Maliwan corporation, and it’s here we meet our three, intrepid heroes: Octavio, the smooth-talking business tycoon who’s actually just an overeager street kid; Anu, an anal-retentive scientist who spends way too much time inside her own head; and Fran, a badass pansexual who slings frogurt from her high-tech hoverchair.
The actual plot of NTFTB deals with the usual Borderlands fare: world-ending aliens, hostile corporate interests, and just enough fart jokes to not be totally crass. It’s a ridiculous ride, but Gearbox’s latest venture also manages to capture the heart of what makes Borderlands such a special franchise.
The characters are endearing, the emotional moments are well-earned, and, in a shocking turn of events, dramatic scenes aren’t always punctuated with a silly bit of humor. Intense, heart-wrenching moments are allowed to just be upsetting. While there is a brief lull at the midpoint of this adventure, NTFTB brings it home with an unexpected and bold finale.
Gameplay
As a narrative adventure, the gameplay isn’t really the focus of a game like this. And that shows, as there’s not a whole lot to do outside of selecting dialogue options and hacking into your friends’ private accounts. And yet, choosing how each character responds to a situation does have a surprising amount of impact on the rest of the story.
Dialogue choices have been a staple in this genre of video games for a while now, and NTFTB does an admirable job of holding up that legacy. The writing is top-notch, and each line is delivered with a little extra spice that the written text doesn’t provide. While this can sometimes lead to the unfortunate side effect of unintended consequences, it still results in a very fun experience.
Exploration sequences, though, were more hit-or-miss for me. Sure, it’s cool to find thousands of dollars lying around and maybe find a hidden Vaultlander figure, but these moments felt like unnecessary distractions that slowed the pace of the story way down. Some of them also required puzzle-solving to complete, which could have been cool if each character didn’t control like a train.
The Vaultlander minigame that pops up throughout the story is another strange addition that I could have done without. The narrative explanations for it are hilarious, but the minigame itself is painfully simple and unenjoyable. It takes all the worst aspects from the game’s quick-time-events and adds in a fighting element that is just mashing a single button.
The actual story and narrative-choice aspects of NTFTB were so good that I found myself wishing that they just made up the entire game. And that’s a shame, as the original Tales From The Borderlands had that incredible finger-gun shootout that showed just how good an action sequence in a narrative adventure can be.
Audio and Visual
Gearbox has really stepped up its visual capabilities over the past few years, and NTFTB feels like another step forward for its art teams. Character models and animations have never looked this good in a Borderlands title before, and it has me extremely excited for how this developer can push themselves with their next game.
It should also come as no surprise that the music in this game is utterly fantastic. Both the scoring and use of licensed songs is masterfully done, but Borderlands games have been at the forefront of the creative use of music since 2010. Each episode opens with a wonderful, thematically resonant tune, and the background music is always suitably mood-enhancing.
What Could Be Better
There’s just no need for odd gameplay mechanics that detract from what makes a game like this so special: the story. Hone in on narrative gameplay elements like dialogue choice and story ramifications before adding odd minigames and lackluster exploration sections. And if those additions are important, they should feel that way. Give them more significance in the plot to make them feel less like an afterthought.
Also, Episode 3 shuts down almost all of the narrative momentum, and I’d like to see future installments keep the same energy from start to finish. The opening two episodes introduce fascinating characters, dangerous circumstances, and ancient mysteries, while the third episode spends the majority of its time in a silly gameshow. It’s just kind of a mood-killer, and I hope a sequel can kick off its Act 2 with a little more narrative cohesion.
Verdict
New Tales From The Borderlands is a welcome return for the vaunted spinoff series. While it doesn’t quite reach the heights of the original title, it does introduce some incredible new characters and story threads that I was excited to explore. Gearbox has proven that they have the chops to pick up Telltale Game’s torch, and I can’t wait to see where they take the franchise next.
New Tales From The Borderlands is now available on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.
