This past weekend I wrote an article about a few things, new and old, I didn’t really love about my time with Borderlands 3, and that promptly got about 30x the views as the previous article I wrote about how much I loved the new shooting and movement mechanics.
So it goes, I suppose, but I’m back throwing away page views with another positive article, because in the end, I was extremely impressed with Borderlands 3 overall and I can’t wait to play it in September.
What strikes me as one of the most impressive components of Borderlands 3 is not just the gameplay improvement, but how Gearbox had every opportunity to “evolve” Borderlands into the live service model we’ve seen from rivals like Destiny, The Division and Anthem, and they are just…not doing that at all.
- Borderlands 3 does not have any shared world spaces outside of normal co-op group play, no open areas or hubs full of randoms.
- Borderlands 3 has not added any sort of PvP component that we know of.
- Borderlands 3 allows for split screen co-op play.
- Borderlands 3 can be played offline.
- Borderlands 3 can be paused when playing solo.
- Borderlands 3 appears to be doing standard, meaty DLC releases rather than trickles of roadmap content.
- Borderlands 3 has not added premium currency or loot boxes, sticking with seemingly mild cosmetic microtransactions (Randy Pitchford dust-up aside).
In short, it’s almost exactly like Borderlands 2, seven years ago, which is frankly amazing, given the space that Borderlands 3 now occupies, and how with all its other rivals, we’ve seen always-online, unpausable, microtransaction-filled, roadmap releases. Granted, I still like those other games despite all that, but man is it nice to go back to the way things were for a title like Borderlands 3 before the live service trend began.
I guess it’s possible that Gearbox could be hiding a few unwelcome turns under its hat we don’t know about, but everything I’ve seen or heard does indicate that all these major points should stand. And frankly, I’m a little bit stunned, considering this is the same Gearbox that was trying to double trend chase the MOBA and hero shooter genres with Battleborn just a few years ago. Maybe that’s how they learned this lesson, that what people really want is just…more Borderlands, and more Borderlands the way they remember it, not some “live” evolved version of it.
I have a sneaking feeling that Borderlands 3 is going to be one of the biggest releases of the year, bested only by the likes of Call of Duty and FIFA. The passion I’m seeing for the return of this franchise is immense, and the fact that we seem to be at a low risk of a disaster launch, the way so many games in this genre get released, should only help its cause. I do not know if it will turn into a golden, money-printed goose for 2K given that it doesn’t have tons of “ongoing revenue stream” potential if they stick with larger, less frequent DLC and minor microtransactions, but I have to imagine they won’t care all that much if BL3 ends up being a smash hit because it stayed true to its roots.
I don’t want to fully declare victory here because we need to see the final product and make sure that everything is as it seems. But so far, it’s all good news, and flashback to a simpler time when the pause button still worked and games felt complete at launch.
Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Read my new sci-fi thriller novel Herokiller, available now in print and online. I also wrote The Earthborn Trilogy.
