Gearbox falls far short of Telltale’s mastery, but lays a very good foundation for further expansion of the Borderlands universe.
Narrative adventures are by no means extinct, thanks to games like Until Dawn, The Dark Pictures Anthology and The Quarry, champions of the horror genre, in addition to Life is Strange or the most recent As Dusk Falls, which takes the formula to the most cinematographic side possible, although the truth is that telltale games demise It left a huge void within the sector. Not all of them were successes in Telltale, they overexploited a formula that ended up precipitating their fall, but in their wake they left adaptations so beloved by critics and the public as The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us or Tales from the Borderlands.
To the surprise of many, myself included, Tales from the Borderlands stood out above the rest of “commissions” Telltale thanks to a really well written story, with great character development and all the hilarious humor of the Borderlands series, thus becoming one of the best games of the team. Eight years later, he arrives New Tales from the Borderlands, spiritual sequel of that game, only this time at the hands of Gearbox Software itself. The original creators of Borderlands have gone all out in capturing the essence of the original, but will it measure up to Telltale’s game in any other way?
New Tales from the Borderlands: all the information
New Tales from the Borderlands | |
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Platform | PlayStation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC |
Release date | October 21, 2022 |
developer | GearboxSoftware |
Gender | Action and adventure |
Idiom | Spanish texts |
Experience with New Tales from the Borderlands
No matter how big the fan base from Borderlands you know it’s going to be hard to convince an entire gaming community after picking up a series eight years after the last installment, even if the goal is to keep the keys to Telltale’s narrative formula while trying to give it a facelift in the playable and technical. All this with a new team which will mostly come from developing the main installments of the Borderlands series, first-person shooters that have little or nothing to do with a narrative game.
Despite all this, Gearbox Software has not only saved the furniture, it has managed to deliver one of the best spinoffs by Borderlands. It may not be on the same level as the original Telltale game, but it provides an excellent foundation for further expansion of the series in this way.
Three protagonists and all the Borderlands spirit
From its announcement we knew that New Tales from the Borderlands was going to have a hard time outshining Rhys and Fiona’s story that we live in the original Telltale game, and not because of Gearbox. Telltale simply signed one of his best works here.
For this spiritual sequel, Gearbox tries to remember the original with a very charismatic leading trio, with completely opposite personalities from each other, who fit perfectly on screen with the Borderlands universe. The team hits the mark with a good story, with its character development, drama, plot twistsetc., but where it really finishes off the job is in the sense of humor Borderlands house brand. It is a really fun game.
Chronologically, New Tales from the Borderlands takes place after the events of Borderlands 3 and follows the adventures of three characters: Anu, Octavio and Fran. Anu and Octavio are brothers, although millions of kilometers separate them. While she is a researcher and works on the Atlas space station, a corporation that Rhys commands, he is a street kid who goes from entrepreneur to hooligan when in reality he is a piece of bread who only tries to survive by eating tacos. The two opposite poles of Borderlands society.
On the other hand, Fran is the cranky owner of a frozen yogurt shop and Octavio’s boss. Fran has a traumatic past and some trouble controlling her anger outbursts, which makes her a very funny character as well. The path of the three characters crosses after a sudden attack by the Tediore corporation to the Atlas and Promethea station. Susan Pozofrío (little with the names), head of Tediore, seeks a power capable of ruling the galaxy.
As expected, these three misfits end up becoming the center of the universe and their survival depends on them, which will lead them to live an adventure with room for drama and plot twists, although the greatest quality of this New Tales from the Borderlands is its sense of humor. Both for the leading trio, and for supporting characters as Louie (L0U13)a killer robot, and Brock, a talking weapon from Tediore. They eat the scene with each intervention, hopefully a spinoff of the spinoff about the two of them.
On a purely narrative level, it may not be the most original script in the world, but the dialogue and situations are so devilishly funny that little details are forgotten. It’s pure Borderlands nonsensesomething that will make fans of the Gearbox series very happy, and despite this, it is capable of offering good character development and a more or less complex story in terms of sentiment.
The Gearbox twist to the Telltale formula
At the playable level, the truth is that things have not changed too much compared to the 2014 Telltale game. It is true that in this case we have new mechanics to lighten the narrative load and provide some customization, but we’re still left with an episodic narrative adventure that takes place almost entirely in the form of cut-scenes, punctuated from time to time by gameplay-type sections. point and click graphic adventure, but in 3D. I mean, exactly like the Telltale game.
Following the classic Telltale formula, during the course of the adventure we can speak on behalf of each of the protagonists and take decisions that will change the course of the adventure. Classic variables that slightly change the story, nothing too crazy. You will also have to pay attention to the QTE (Quick Time Events) that will appear from time to time on the screen to avoid any mishap. For my taste, too many QTEs, but it is a typical resource so that you have to have the controller in your hand and not leave it on the table while you watch “the movie”.
Besides, from time to time there are also certain Minigames thanks to Octavio’s Echodex. Minigames where you have to send spam by hitting a button, eliminate malware by shooting or cracking a password. In any case, it is an optional activity that can be skipped with a button.
Unlike the QTE, I think there are few moments to take control and play with the protagonists, the playable parts in the style of 3D point and click graphic adventure. They are generally developed in small spaces where it is necessary to solve some small very very easy puzzles. The main novelty is that these sections now incorporate new mechanics, such as containers to earn money and buy new outfits, inherited from the main Borderlands saga, or the game of the fishermen. It is a metagame with action figures of the Borderlands characters that works both as a hobby and as a collectible, because you will have to find all the figures.
The most cinematic Borderlands
Where Gearbox has indeed taken a huge step forward compared to the Telltale game is in technology. Not just because it’s a game made in Unreal Engine 4, with its 4K and HDR of rigor, good finish of materials, lighting or a nice bokeh effect. The key difference from the 2014 game is character animation and new facial expressions that manage to transmit much more weight to the scenes and the feelings that their characters want to express. It’s directed with a cinematic sense superior to Telltale’s game and any game in the main Borderlands series.
Artistically it remains as Borderlands as ever, although also as ever, its busy cell shading aesthetic causes texture loading delays in the scene change. Something that has been happening in Borderlands since the world was a world. At the very least, the loading times take good advantage of next-gen consoles when it comes to getting in and out of the game.
Borderlands is also synonymous with a good soundtrack, with experienced themes from well-known artists, but unlike the main series, this New Tales from the Borderlands comes only with texts in Spanish. Dubbing is only available in English or French.
Conclusions and note of New Tales from the Borderlands
If we get picky, it’s true that New Tales from the Borderlands isn’t as brilliantly scripted as the original Telltale game and it’s little ambitious in the playable beyond including certain 3D sections and some new mechanics, but personally it seems to me that Gearbox has taken the baton from Telltale very gracefully and I have really enjoyed this new proposal within the Borderlands universe thanks to its characters and its hilarious sense of humor.
Is New Tales from the Borderlands worth it? | |
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Conclusions | Undoubtedly, most fans of the Gearbox series will enjoy this New Tales from the Borderlands if they can put the comparisons to Telltale Games’ 2014 game aside. It’s a very good narrative adventure with great characters and a great sense of humor. A very grateful spinoff to revisit the Borderlands universe from another point of view. |
Perhaps Gearbox’s biggest challenge in presenting this New Tales from the Borderlands is fight against the shadow of one of the best games from Telltale Games, who dominated the genre not so long ago. The truth is that the team has managed to make a remarkable adventure that conveys the spirit of the Borderlands series very well and leaves the door open to continue watching. new stories from your universe in this more narrative format than the classic looter shooter from the main series.