New Tales from the Borderlands Review: "Astonishingly good at making you care about its people"

When you find yourself as excited to bump into supporting characters as you are to see the main ensemble, that's when you know an experience is onto something special. It's the Tediore lackeys for me. You know the type; the faceless, pointless footsoldiers that march to the beat of a lawless megacorp and exist for no other reason than to die, often horribly, at your hands. Except the faceless, pointless footsoldiers in New Tales from the Borderlands are not pointless at all. In fact, they're so enviably well-written – so reflective, responsive, individual, and wonderfully witty – that they became the highlight of the game for me. And that's saying something, given that a delightfully murderous sentient gun shares much of their screen time. 

Just between us, I'd been a little worried about New Tales from the Borderlands. I've not spent a lot of time in the Borderlands world, but I have dipped in and out, and I loved the time I spent with the original interactive adventure, developing an enduring fondness for Rhys, Fiona, and my dear, dear Loader Bot. 

But it was (sadly no more) Telltale Games, not Gearbox, who had developed that fascinating formula. And it was Telltale that fused thoughtful storytelling with accessible gameplay, delivering interactive stories that could make you burst into tears as easily as they could fits of laughter. It was so extraordinary, in fact, I feared Tales from the Borderlands' special kind of alchemy couldn't be replicated in any sequel, be it developed by Telltale or not. 

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FROYO YOLO

It's to Gearbox's credit, then, that much of Telltale's DNA remains in New Tales from the Borderlands. Quick time events (QTEs), dialog choices, heartfelt storytelling, its distinctive art style: they're all here. New Tales feels every bit a thoughtful homage rather than a shallow cash grab, not least because the characters you meet and the relationships you forge between them feel authentic and meaningful. Yes, you'll get to decide which of your pals to back up when the group is divided. Yes, you'll get to choose what withering one-liner you'll toss toward the droolin' lootin' monster before it dies. And yes, some of those decisions impact your story… even the little ones.

That said, I rarely felt that any of my crew were in mortal peril under my guardianship, and other than one peculiar scripted death that seemed at odds with the story itself, the couple of times I did miss a QTE – once for science; once, because I'm stupid – I was given a gentle Retry option instead of soul-crushing permadeath. Cue my surprise, then, when I examined my final Choices summary screen – yes, they're back too! – and I realized that survival is not a guarantee at all.

It's possible my favorable outcome was because I'd played using a fabulous new feature that gives you a head's up that a QTE is coming up. Quick Time Event Warning (selected from the settings menu) is a godsend if, like me, you have the reaction speeds of a limp lettuce, and routinely get lost in the long dialog and worldbuilding. This feature not only warns you when a QTE is about to appear, but it also tells you what kind of QTE it is going to be, giving you ample opportunity to prep your fingers in advance and be ready on the buttons, the stick, or the trigger. It's one thing to cause a catastrophe because you hit X instead of B; it's another to cause one because you mistimed grabbing a drink.

Because if it's not already clear by now: you will care about who lives and dies. Whilst this is a standalone title designed to sit alongside, rather than directly follow, the original as a card-carrying sequel, New Tales from the Borderlands is astonishingly good at making you care about its people. Even if they seem a little generic, maybe even predictable, at first blush. 

The story itself is a loose David vs. Goliath story, pitting three underdogs – a nerd, a street kid, and a fabulously perma-angry proprietor of a neon pink froyo diner – against the might of a cold megacorp. Add in Borderlands' signature blend of mayhem, vaults, treasure, monsters, and a generous dollop of psychos, of course, and you're in for an outrageously good time.

Law & Border(lands)

And the more time I spent with this unlikely crew, the more I found to love about them. From Fran's no-nonsense ferocity to Ock's gentle law-bending; Anu's delightfully nerdy outbursts and LOU13's refreshingly clear outlook on life (or death, as the case may be). My one complaint is that given New Tales from the Borderlands' extensive cast of secondary characters, it was a shame not everyone got the screen time they deserved.

New Tales from the Borderlands progresses just as you'd expect, a balance between point-and-click exploration, QTE sequences, and dialog choices. Whilst new-gen tech enables us to take in bigger and better set-pieces, populated with more people than ever, Gearbox rarely strays far from its predecessor's careful blueprint. 

Interestingly, there's a handful of mini-games sprinkled throughout your adventure, too, and whilst one is a mindless hacking game that brings very little additional value to the table, the other – a simplified but curiously enjoyable fighter – is surprisingly good fun, particularly as you work through the game, bettering your weary (and wonderful!) opponent and collecting additional figures, all of whom bring their own unique perks and buffs. And if neither of those mini-games sounds particularly appealing to you, I have good news: both can be skipped with a simple button press.

Although you'll rarely find yourself having to line up the perfect headshot (although from time to time, you may find yourself calling upon quick reflexes to pull one off), with life-and-death QTEs performance is important, particularly when you're only given a couple of seconds to make a snap decision. It's a shame, then, that I experienced slowdown severe enough to freeze my screen for several seconds at a time. On a couple of occasions, all audio dropped completely, too, although that only seemed to happen on Steam Deck. Most of the time, though, the main issues were around late asset and texture loading. 

I also encountered a peculiar issue where all the in-game screens – the flatscreen in a TV show's green room; Fran's boxy portable in the corner of the Froyo shop – played nothing but static-y snow, even when the audio suggested you were supposed to be seeing something on them. Game breaking? Not at all. But just because it didn't impede my progress in this playthrough doesn't mean you shouldn't bear it in mind for yours. 

Beyond that, though, it's hard to fault New Tales from the Borderlands at all. Simultaneously both full of heart and unapologetically in-your-face, it takes everything you loved about its predecessor whilst gently – almost invisibly – buffing the things you didn't like so much, too. What a treat. 

New Tales from the Borderlands was reviewed on PC and Steam Deck, with a code provided by the publisher.