Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Reviews
Loot-a-licious
The appeal lies in the game's simplicity as much as it lies in its alluring wackiness, crazy characters and superb atmosphere. What I often enjoy in Borderlands games is the narrative, which tends to mock itself in so many deliciously unique ways. With entertaining story-driven missions and will all the available content, I think it's safe to say that Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is a pretty safe buy. The next addition to the series, however, definitely needs to move things forward. Yep, we would be very sad if the franchise would just end here.
Borderlands the Pre-Sequel is everything you should expect from a Borderlands game. While the gameplay additions mix it up slightly, it often feels like a huge expansion rather than a stand-alone release. The quality is fantastic, the comedy is hilarious. There's more loot than you can wave a Dahl shotgun at, plus all the pulse-pounding bullet-spewing carnage you could hope for, but 2K Australia pulls back at the precipice of brilliance.
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel refreshes gameplay through some new mechanics and a whole new story, including a cast of familiar characters and brand new characters, while diving into the events that lead up to Borderlands 2. Fans of the series can look forward to plenty of new content and locations to explore, all while acquiring plenty of guns and equipment throughout, including a new weapon type and new equipment type. The game can feel focused on multiplayer at times, however the game is still a fun and enjoyable experience regardless, and will definitely give people the best bang for their buck, especially those who wish to know more about the Borderlands universe.
If Borderlands 2 was an example of the series coasting under its own momentum, the Pre-Sequel is something of a master class in how to refine the series into a step forward. The underlying game isn't that different and it's filled with the same humor that you've come to expect, but the change of setting and the polishing of the gameplay have done wonders. The game seems more reliant on a central plot than the series is normally known for, and through it, you learn how Jack became such a horrible person. If you're like me and thought the Pre-Sequel is just another game in the series, then Claptrap's class isn't the only "Mistake." For being the third game in a franchise and with a name that implies it to be more of the same, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is a surprisingly fresh experience.
Worth playing for Borderlands fans and newbies alike.
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel isn't without its issues, but it's still a fun game. Mostly everything about Borderlands 2 is present in The Pre-Sequel with a few changes, some good and some bad. Overall though, with the excellent gameplay, somewhat higher difficulty and challenge, and the excellent dialogue and narrative by characters both old and new, fans of Borderlands 2 will likely get the same amount of enjoyment out of The Pre-Sequel.
While I admit I had many reservations about Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, I'm very, very pleased with the end result. While there are still some glitches — we had a boss get stuck in the open, unmoving and invulnerable to attack, and some odd interactions with plot NPCs holding quest items out into walls and Fast Travel stations, for instance — it's well-polished, and the errors don't crop up enough to really be a bother.
Borderlands 2 felt like a huge step on from the original, and it was more colourful, with interesting characters and intense situations. The Pre-Sequel seems to try so, so hard to keep up, but this is not Borderlands 3, and the game – and everyone who plays it – knows that.
If the new additions in The Pre-Sequel! don't ultimately matter, then this is essentially an add-on to Borderlands 2, spread out over desolation. "The Blue Danube" never actually plays, but if it did, it would no longer signify marvel, only déjà vu, the nagging feeling that you've done this before, and it was better the first time.
If you've ever played a Borderlands game, this is mostly more of the same. If not, it's a solid albeit unspectacular shooting and loot-hoarding.