With all the Borderlands 4 hype (and horror, because of the performance on PC), I decided to finally give the series a try, hopping into the title that kickstarted it all.
And, to be completely honest, y'all were right. I've been hearing for over a decade now about how Borderlands 1 and 2 were the greatest things on God's green Earth, and while I am yet to play the second one, I'm for sure going to stick with the series until all are done and dusted.
Looting like never before
I'm addicted to looter games, no matter what they are. Seeing colorful items drop left and right, their stats highlighted with green arrows indicating that they're upgrades over what you already have, induces a high in me that I cannot even begin to describe. Offloading all the excess loot at a trader, getting better gear, and grinding for hours is all too satisfying, and Borderlands has plenty of it.
Though a game from quite a while ago, and one definitely starting to set in stone all the ideas that'd shape the franchise, Borderlands drops loot like there's no tomorrow, with each and every enemy, box, chest, or hidden stash containing at least something of note. Whether it's money, ammo, or better guns, shields, and grenades, Borderlands puts a very strong focus on the looting aspect, and I just love it.
I've been playing it with a friend for the past few days, and I always want to get back into playing more, prevented only by real-life dread which we all have to go through day in and day out. But whenever in the game, I spend an ungodly amount of time fighting enemies at every corner, no matter how weak or low level they might be, all in anticipation of their dropping something worth our while.
And even when we know we won't get anything of note, the combat itself provides more than enough satisfaction, as I can't get enough of seeing heads pop, limbs fly off, and blood spray everywhere from just a single well-placed sniper shot.
This is amplified by the game's cartoonish art style, which I've absolutely fallen in love with, as it reminds me of a little old game called XIII from way back when. It also had this shaded, comic-book-inspired art direction that blends so well with violent action as found in Borderlands, and I can't wait to see how good it looks in subsequent, newer titles.
Characters and writing out of this world
Borderlands has the sort of unfiltered, uncaring type of writing that we'd rarely see nowadays. Swearing, clever jokes, and R-rated fun can be found at every corner and with every character. And even when it's not particularly mature, Borderlands has amazing dialogues, monologues, and voice lines that make you smile or laugh, and thus far, Claptrap is definitely number one in that respect.
He is just such a goofy character whose every appearance is memorable and fun, making me anticipate when he'll show up next. You find him at the most random locations, playing this sort of drama queen, yelling and screaming in the wake of combat, or pretending to be dying of exhaustion, mimicking all sorts of emotional distress, when in fact he just has a bolt loose.
I love him, he's adorable, and I can't wait to see more of him both in the original game and subsequent entries. And not only him—pretty much every character I've come across so far has been memorable, funny, and not just “that one NPC,” which is a phrase we use to describe the majority of characters in video games.
No, in Borderlands, all characters matter, whether they're crucial to the story or otherwise.
So, yeah, everyone was right, and I should have listened a decade ago: Borderlands is an exceptional game, with great characters, art, combat, gameplay, and, most importantly, loot.
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