ASH PLAYS: Borderlands 3

Taking place approximately seven years after Borderlands 2, the return of Borderlands is here and what a great instalment to the series. However I’ve been putting this off since November every time I commit I end up putting it down for something else, which I can already confirm is a big mistake. After months of putting this game off I finally sat down with Borderlands 3 and this is what I have to say about this trigger happy, humour filled game.

Borderlands 3 has introduced four new vault hunters – Amara the Siren, FL4K the Beastmaster, Moze the Gunner, and Zane the Operative, with these four new classes and joining Lilith’s Crimson Raiders as new recruits sent to investigate the Children of the Vault cult and their mysterious leaders.

I’m currently playing through True Vault Hunter mode on Mayhem 1 which for anyone wondering what on earth that means, it basically means I have been through the game once and difficult settings can be adjusted with Mayhem to increase loot and so on with a higher risk. This for me is when Borderlands truly starts, the first play-through you simply grind through and collect what you can and take the story in, everything gets exciting afterwards I promise.

Classes on this game are really based on if you’re playing on your own or with friends, that’s how I felt towards the classes. My first play-through was FL4K the Beastmaster, perfect for solo with a companion to be set offensive or defensive. The second play-through however I picked Zane the Operative and this class really got me into the game more than FL4K, figuring out the builds on the skill trees and seeing how ridiculous you can push that DPS (Damage Per Second). I may add for those who may have not played Borderlands before, yes this is a very RPG focused game, with character stat building, weapon stats and perks all becoming very important later on in this game when you start to attempt the DLC, Proving Grounds (Enemy waved based missions) or The Circle Of Slaughter for example. I can not stress enough how the end game of Borderlands 3 is really when it becomes a truly incredible game.

The game boast six massive areas to explore, all with their own completely unique designs and aesthetics. My first play-through I really took my time to appreciate the level designs and really dug into the side missions (you should anyway that’s where the best loot comes from).

Let’s talk about the insane roster of arsenal on Borderlands 3, I was absolutely amazed by the amount of detail and likeability the game has gone through to make that excitement of loot drops feel again in a game, knowing it could be a legendary with it’s own unique name, perks and damage was a highlight for me. The game doesn’t shy away from using humour either which I admired, for example getting a legendary grenade called Fish Slap, a fish that deals melee damage, figure that one out…

If that isn’t for you that’s okay, the game does cater, just get The Anarchy shotgun and look like a badass, the game really does make an effort with those finer details. As mentioned before, side missions are important if you want to experience the game properly. For example, the Rick and Morty themed side quest, South Park etc, there are so many nods in the game to familiar characters which added to the enjoyable and immersive experience of just doing side quest after side quest for hours, getting lost and just waiting for that next familiar face or reference.

I haven’t talked much about the feel and the gameplay in general, don’t expect Call Of Duty FPS (First Person Shooter) controls on Borderlands, that simply isn’t what this game aims to be. Once getting into the game I found it fluent, but it is a clunky FPS game as far as FPS goes, but this is primarily an RPG game I feel. I can understand why some would not take too lightly to this and be put off by the game but if you’re all about the grind and love RPGs, I strongly suggest going through this game. I’d like to add try to playing online or with friends if possible, the game rewards you kindly with extra XP and better loot. Also, the way the game is laid out, I do feel it needs that co-op to reach it’s true and full potential.

I have not included the DLC in this review but I will add a new review to this, once I have played through all the DLC to date.

Rating: 8/10

And that rounds off our next guest column from Ash! Be sure to follow Ash on his socials and stay tuned to Distorted Sound next as we bring our next column in our Ash Plays series!