Borderlands 3 Moxxi's Heist DLC reveals the surprise return of a playable character

Borderlands 3: Moxxi's Heist of the Handsome Jackpot is out tomorrow but you can start vicariously playing it right now. The latest episode of The Borderlands Show, an online talk show from 2K Games and Gearbox, includes just under 20 minutes of a team of four taking on the early parts of the DLC. While you could already catch the first 13 minutes, this playthrough is edited down to give you a broader look at the DLC, including a surprise appearance from a familiar face. The gameplay starts at about 6:50 into the video.

Spoiler warning: If you'd rather go into Moxxi's Heist knowing as little about the story as possible, don't read the next two paragraphs!

Once they shoot their way through a courtyard in the Central District, the Vault Hunters are approached by a hooded figure. He pleads with the Hunters not to shoot before pulling back his hood and revealing the face of Handsome Jack. The Handsome Jack who built this casino, was the bad guy in Borderlands 2, and is definitely dead. But seasoned Borderlands fans already know what's going on here.

We're actually being reunited with Timothy Lawrence, the surgically modified Handsome Jack body (and face) double who was a DLC playable character in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. That game took place between the events of Borderlands and Borderlands 2, and since then we haven't heard much from old Timothy. Looking identical to one of the system's biggest, deadest villains probably hasn't made his life easy.

Beyond meeting up with some old friends, the video shows more of the casino's interiors and introduces some new enemies; watch out when you go to hit the slots, because some of them may be Mimic Machines that want to kill you (instead of just wanting to bankrupt you).

You can hit the casino soon if you're playing on PC, PS4, or Xbox One, but players of the Borderlands 3 Stadia version will need to wait a while longer.

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.

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