Ten years later, Borderlands 3 seems like more of the same. Is that so bad, though?

Borderlands 3 is upon us, and the reviews out in that location seem to exist mostly positive. After a couple of hours in, I idea I'd offer some early impressions on the game as someone who largely skipped Borderlands as a franchise since Borderlands 1.

So far, there doesn't seem to exist a whole lot new here, despite the first launching ten years ago. Is that a bad thing though?

Hit-and-miss performance

Borderlands has always been more about art mode than fidelity, and the third installment continues that tradition. The cel-shaded art way is unique and immediately recognizable. Whether or not y'all like it volition ultimately depend on your personal preferences.

The Xbox Ane X version of the game has an optional resolution style, which bumps upwards the sharpness while sacrificing 60 frames per second. Once again, information technology'll boil down to your preferences whether or not you lot adopt speed over sharpness, but Borderlands 3 struggles to maintain its target 60 FPS at Hard disk fifty-fifty in modest action sequences, which look blurry equally all hell. Ironically you may stop upwards with a smoother feel at thirty FPS, which is locked, and doesn't buckle nether the load.

For a game that isn't the most detailed in the world, it feels a fleck odd that they couldn't have poured a chip more than optimization into the game, if I'm having issues after simply a couple of hours in. The issues may be something to exercise with the new Xbox graphics API that lets games switch betwixt resolution and performance without re-opening the game, but it's difficult to tell without more technical information.

Borderlands-brand humour returns

Borderlands iii, and then far, seems to tread pretty familiar ground. Vault hunters go hunting for vaults in the Pandora desert wasteland, with a quirky bandage of colorful characters to guide you forth the way.

The sense of humour seems to be a bit of an caused taste, but that'll depend on your preferences. I find the writing to exist a flake cringe-inducingly unfunny, with the odd chuckle-inducing witticism or fourth-wall-breaking joke hither and there. The robotic FL4K player grapheme thankfully seems every bit tired of the writing as I practice, addressing characters with some welcome pessimism.

I oasis't gotten too deep into the plot as of nonetheless, but the warring bandit clans have banded together as part of a cult, led by two crazy twins. The game hints early on that it may open up up to more locations and areas, so I'm hoping that there'south more to the game than the familiar gray-brown plains that look straight out of the Xbox 360 era. The trailers certainly hint at that much, and thankfully, the gunplay is oh then satisfying that I'm hoping it'll be enough to hold my attending long enough to become at that place.

Borderlands iii'south gunplay excels

Borderlands has e'er been about ridiculous procedurally-generated guns and wanton violence, and even after a couple of hours in, the game seems to deliver large in this department. I've gotten a revolver sidearm that fires rockets, a shotgun that has RAGE 2-like physics knockbacks, complimented by a cyborg Spiderant pet that makes upwards FL4K's "beastmaster" specialty.

Even the low-level weapons with their express capabilities and jarring recoil produce gloriously gory results, splattering enemies into chunks with bang-up sound treatment and impactful physics.

Progression still revolves around looting chests and taking skill points, and the talent trees seem to have plenty of abilities that should assist keep combat feeling fresh throughout the campaign. Still, as a returning Borderlands player, I haven't experienced too much to go overly excited about yet.

Hoping at that place'due south more to information technology

It'south a bit odd to me that Borderlands 3 starts off virtually identically to Borderlands one, being led by annoying-for-the-sake-of-abrasive Claptrap through a drawing wasteland, fighting various Skags and Bandits in mass-produced white gasmasks. If you're a fan, maybe that's exactly what you were hoping for — simply I was expecting something fresh and unique afterward being abroad from the franchise for the all-time part of a decade.

Maybe the game will open upwards with some new features and scenery equally I progress further in, merely as of writing, I'grand asking myself if I desire to experience more of the same to get in that location.

Welcome back

Borderlands 3

Prepare for the fight of the galaxy

Borderlands iii looks to be releasing sooner than a lot of the states expected. Selection your new favorite Vault Hunter and get ready to save the worlds. No pressure or anything. Oh, and scout out for the wildlife.

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