Tales From The Borderlands: Episode One - Zer0 Sum Reviews
Tales from the Borderlands Episode 1 is a hilarious, fantastic start to Telltale's trip to Pandora
'Tales From The Borderlands' brings the franchise's trademark humor to a new genre - even if it's not what Telltale fans have come to expect.
Telltale avoids a complete flop with a more engaging second half and a well-done finale
Tales from the Borderlands is a beautiful new twist on the Borderlands experience with lovable leads and breathless action sequences.
Everything I'd expected from Telltale's take on this franchise, executed with such skill that it's hard to find anything to complain about...It's an enjoyable, violent and well-crafted introduction to the series. Episode Two can't come soon enough.
By seamlessly weaving creative humor, some of which is entirely player-driven, into a narrative that constantly leaves players guessing, "Zer0 Sum" is as good of a pilot as we've seen in an episodic game. Regardless of where Rhys and Fiona's ridiculous journey take them next, hysterical one-liners, tense moments, and intense struggles are sure to follow. The biggest question here isn't whether or not Tales from the Borderlands is worth your time; it's when will Telltale's incredible run finally come to an end?
Tales From the Borderlands might not pack the emotional punch of The Walking Dead at its best, or the style of Wolfamongous in full swagger, but it's bloody good fun.
Tales from the Borderlands' first episode is a fantastic introduction to what is sure to be an amazing franchise.
An exciting opening to a series that could end up being Telltale's best yet. There's something here for everyone.
Previous Borderlands titles have taken us from Pandora, to the moon, and back, but the first episode of Tales from the Borderlands has already shown that there are plenty of other places in the Borderlands universe that we have yet to explore.
A very promising start to what is mechanically just another Telltale adventure, but where the comedy and characterisation feels very different to their more recent games.
When Tales from the Borderlands was announced, I honestly wasn't sure what to anticipate, but with one (quite long, but well-paced) episode, Telltale have sold me on another one of their ideas. It's shares a lot of DNA with both Borderlands and the usual Telltale adventure games, and yet it's nothing like them at all. It's one of their best offerings, and a refreshing new direction for both a game series that had begun to go stale and a gameplay formula which had started to feel repetitive.
Aside from the disappointing lack of puzzles and limit on exploration, Tales from the Borderlands: Zer0 Sum is excellent. Where the first episodes of other Telltale series can start off slowly, Tales maintains high energy throughout. Its consistently funny writing and duo of unreliable narrator protagonists set the stage for a great overarching story, and it feels very much like it belongs in the Borderlands franchise. If the rest of the season maintains this level of quality, Tales from the Borderlands will be up there in history with the other great recent Telltale adventures.
Gearbox's first-person shooter RPGs translate surprisingly well to a dialogue-driven adventure game – at least when the focus is on the dialogue
Tales from the Borderlands: Episode One is just one (relatively) big nudge in the ribs to all Borderlands fans as if to say "did you get that reference? Did'ya?" Luckily, in true Telltale style, there's something good for the rest of us as well. It's a solid first episode that brings in anticipation for episodes to come.
Telltale has given us an excellent first chapter in what is gearing up to be one of their best series. While it had its hit and miss moments with the humor, and some of the choices outside of dialogue were less than impressive or nonexistent, I loved getting a different view of Pandora and the Borderlands universe. Putting you in the shoes of people who don't have the mindset of 'shoot-and-loot first, ask questions later' brought an experience that I didn't even know I really wanted on Pandora. I thought that I was content with how Borderlands told its stories, but Telltale proved that there is another side to hearing the tales of the vaults with a superb inaugural episode that barely lets up and ends on a note that left me wanting so much more. Let's just hope they can keep up the pace, humor, and bring more choice to the action for the other 80% of the season.
Zer0 Sum is a great start to the series. It brings Borderlands to life in promising new ways, it's genuinely funny, and it has a terrific cast. The choices one makes are naturally not as gut-wrenching as those found in Telltale's darker games, but that doesn't really matter.
Tales from the Borderland: Episode One is light on challenge but makes up for it in a big way with story and presentation. This is a great opening chapter to the series regardless of your familiarity to the Borderlands world.
Tales from the Borderlands: Episode 1 – Zer0 Sum is quite possibly the strongest debut episode in Telltale Games' storied history. It combines a frantic pace with some genuinely funny dialogue, and offers more than enough fresh gameplay systems to make it stand out from the rest of the studio's output. Short of not being a fan of the Borderlands franchise, this an incredibly impressive outing – and the fact that it's not riddled with bugs is just the icing on the cake.