Borderlands 3, (Almost) One Year Later

Right now, I’m fondly recalling the massive amounts of hype for Borderlands 3 in 2019. With the previous mainline game having been released seven years prior, its return was desired by tons of gamers after exhausting the massive replayability of Borderlands 2. Upon its reveal, the new vault hunters, enemies, and locales looked positively stunning, and Borderlands 3 was on everybody’s minds for a while.

I had a blast cruising through the main story in my playthrough last September, but once things wrapped up and no squad to play with, I found myself with a fair bit of burnout as the frenetic pace of my crusade left me wanting to flock to the other games in my backlog. When the time finally came for the first DLC to release, I thought: “Was it worth it to reinstall dozens upon dozens of gigs just for a few more hours of gameplay?”

And so, I held off. Not until recently did I find the urge to fire up my Gunner, so I dove back in. The relearning period with Borderlands 3 was actually pretty rough. With an involved UI and tons of crazy skills in the tree, I had to comprehend just how to fight in this unique FPS. I was thrilled to remember that I had picked skills that let my ammo regenerate while in use, had a shield that increased my move-speed by 10%, had tons of passive damage boosts, etc.

That’s one of the things that makes Borderlands so engaging and entertaining: the random element. While not a roguelite game in level design, the vast amount of outside factors at play, like a small chance to ignite enemies or deal corrosive damage, makes encounters a thrill ride. I can look past the cringe-worthy dialogue if it means I get to blast some baddies with an unfathomable arsenal at my fingertips.

I bought the Super Deluxe Edition without a second thought because the track record for Borderlands DLC is outstanding. 2 had some of the most enjoyable story DLCs in the seventh generation of gaming, especially with Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep. I’ve immersed myself in the first of 3‘s DLCs, Moxxi’s Heist of the Handsome Jackpot, ahead of the release of the final season pass DLC, Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck, which looks to dive into the psycho’s psyche.

Gearbox does such a good job of keeping players, well, playing. The satisfaction is both visual and auditory, with the higher-rarity guns glimmering and making a pleasing sound when dropped. This tactic is quite similar to a slot machine adorned with flashing lights and making a lot of noise upon a win. The franchise that innovated looter-shooters has made it just as addictive as ever and I’m guilty as charged.

It was a bold tactic to release this game as a timed Epic Games Store exclusive last September, but you’ll also see a “Very Positive” rating on the Steam store after its launch in March. One look at howlongtobeat.com states that Borderlands 3 and all its DLCs tally up to almost 70 hours in a playthrough where side missions are involved (and they always should be in a Borderlands title) so it’s worth grabbing Borderlands 3 now if you’ve held off!