I remember being super skeptical when i heard there was gonna be another hammerlock DLC, after the mess that was Big Game Hunt. Luckily all my worries were squashed the moment i booted up this wonderful DLC.

It's easily one of the best looking DLC's the borderlands franchise has to offer. The aesthetics used in Guns, Love and Tentacles is amazing, all that lovecraftian goodness really hits for me. And while the vibe is phenomenal it isn't the only thing going for it. The story while not anything special is reasonably engaging, and keeps you going along happily through out the DLC's runtime.

Borderlands 3 is a tough game to talk about. On one hand you have one of the lamest stories I've ever seen from a triple A game, it's laughable just how dragged out and cringey the whole thing is. And on the other hand you have one of the most addictive and fun gameplay loops i've ever played.

May as well start this off with the worst part of the game, which is by far the story and the humour. I know humour may be subjective but Borderlands 3’s humour is so stuck in 2010 that it is constantly making me cringe. Don’t get me wrong I had a good chuckle a few times but that's bound to happen when you have 30+ hours worth of jokes. The story isn't great either, hell it's not even okay, it's just plain bad. Maybe not the worst thing I've ever seen bad, but still pretty damn horrible. The main antagonists are super annoying and they make the already overly long campaign feel even more drawn out. In saying this the humour and story isn't why i play borderlands in the first place.

BL3’s gameplay is fucking fantastic! I've always loved the fast pace looter shooter, and BL3 may be the most fun I've had playing one. Adding in the ability to slide and vault makes the pretty good movement from the first few games something incredible. I know a lot of people don't like how often legendaries drop in BL3 but I loved changing up my entire loadout every few levels and still feeling like a badass. I’ve sunk so many hours into this game and it’s just because I love the gameplay so goddamn much.Also shout out to the soundteam on this one, every gun sounds so good!

This makes rating this game a nightmare, because it's both a great and terrible experience. But I do think for most games, gameplay is more important than the story for me!

Commander Lilith And The Fight For Sanctuary was a massive surprise when it was announced, i don't think anyone was expecting a new DLC for a game that hadn't seen new content in over 5 years. It was even bigger surprise that even after all this time the newest DLC that bridges the gap between Borderlands 2 and 3 is pretty good.

I like the level design in The Fight For Sanctuary each one of the new maps feel unique from one another and separate themselves well from any of the numerous maps added in other DLC. The story is largely the main focus of the DLC, and it's pretty good. The bridge between Tales Form The Borderlands and the mainline games is bridged with this DLC and i have extremely mixed feelings on Gearbox's version of Vaughn. I understand what they were going for, having Pandora slowly make him crazy, but it just feels like they dumbed him down and made him way to bro-ey. The villain of the DLC is actually pretty damn cool, and he gets a decent amount of time to shine. whether that be in multiple echo's scattered through the maps or him constantly antagonizing you through the echo. I like that he is taken mostly seriously, having a serious character in a game that is largely not serious give a nice contrast.

This is a nice way to cap of Borderlands 2 and explain some events before Borderlands 3. Even with my few issues with the DLC the good largely out weighs the bad.

I played Tales From The Borderlands when it first came out, and I'm glad to see that it's just as good as I remember. I’ve always been a fan of Telltale style games, in 2014 when I was 13 and found out one of my favourite studios was doing something set in the same universe as my favourite game, safe to say I was excited. Telltale mixes their own point and click style and the borderlands style almost seamlessly, and end up creating one of my favourite parts of both the Telltale catalogue and the Borderlands series.

Unlike the mainline Borderlands games the gameplay is by far the weakest part of Tales. The gameplay is basically just walking around and talking with a few quick time events sprinkled through. In my opinion it's not bad and works fantastically for Telltale games, but it's not exactly addictive. The story is what really hooks you.

Tales From The Borderlands uses a lot of what has already been established in other Borderlands games, and builds off of it perfectly. There are a few returning characters in small roles, nothing major. Handsome Jack once again makes a significant appearance but it's a nice bookend to his story (hopefully) and a great explanation of why Hyperion is no longer present in Pandora. The new characters are fantastic. I love the deuteragonists, both Rhys and Fiona are interesting characters who both fit in well with the existing Borderlands characters but also bring in a ton of new personality. The voice work is top notch, both Laura Bailey and Troy Baker are as fantastic as always, but a lot of the other people I wasn't super familiar with beforehand are also fantastic. I'm bummed that Fiona hasn't come back in the mainline games. I think she'd make a great playable vaulthunter.

Tales From The Borderlands is a fantastic entry in the Borderlands series. In all honesty I think it may have the best story in the franchise. If you're a Borderlands fan and you haven't picked this one up yet do yourself a favour and play it as soon as you can.

Catch a ride

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is a mixed bag, on one hand its basically just more Borderlands 2 which is great, but the whole thing feels really stretched out. In all honesty there is a lot to dislike about TPS, but there is also a lot to like.

Let's start this off with all the things that are basically the same as Borderlands 2. TPS is made in the same engine as Borderlands 2 so graphically it looks the same, still that charming cell-shaded style but no real improvement. I don't think this is a negative though especially considering it only came out 2 years after BL2. The Gameplay is mostly the same, you get a couple of new tricks like the double jump and the slam features from the o2 kits, which deepens aerial combat, which wasn't really a big thing in BL2. Also i noticed the guns don't feel quite as good as they do in BL2, it's not like they're bad they are still pretty good just not amazing.

The story is probably the most mixed up part of the whole game. We get to see how Handsome Jack became a villain which is pretty cool, but for some reason they stretched out the story way further then it should of been. It really feels like this was supposed it be a massive DLC that was stretched out to be its own game. The whole thing is mostly forgettable, but as an Australian i do kind of dig all the Aussie references and jokes.

The Vault monster in TPS is actually really good though. I was surprised considering the first 2 vault monsters aren't anything special, so to see an actual multi phase fight is a welcome surprise.

The Vaulthunters in the TPS are great. you can make some really interesting builds across the 6 playable characters and they are all pretty fun to play. The voiced lines is a welcome inclusion, even if it's minimal and doesn't change anything, having your character voice their opinions about whats going on is still really cool to see, and gives them way more character.

The Pre-Sequel is a solid inclusion in the borderlands series, It's not as bad as a lot of people make it out to be but its nowhere near the peak of the series.

I really wasn't expecting much form this since I'm not the biggest Claptrap fan, but Claptastic Voyage was surprisingly great. The setting of the DLC is one my highlights, nearly every map has a consistent theme with all the glitchy elements, but majority of the maps add enough in to feel different from one another.

I was shocked by just how good the story is, it makes me genuinely feel for Claptrap who before this i really just thought he was kind of fine. I never really hated him, but i didn't love him either. This DLC sees you go though several levels of Claptrap's subconscious, as you try to find a piece of Hyperion tech. Along the way you learn more about Claptrap and why he is the way he is. I really dug this story and it's a real shame that this was the one and only story DLC for The Pre-Sequel.

Gameplay wise not a whole lot changes it's still classic Pre-Sequel/Borderlands 2 game play. A lot of new enemies are introduced, even if most of them are just re-skins of older enemies it still feels pretty sweet to have a bunch enemies unique to the DLC. The bosses included are pretty great especially the last fight which has a bunch of phases that are all pretty different from one another.

This was one of the few Borderlands DLC/games i had never played before doing this massive retrospective type thing, and i'm absolutely stoked there was still some good stuff to experience.

I don't think it's as bad as The Underdome, but The Holodome isn't exactly worth your time either. The Holodome is another arena fighter styled DLC which isn't exactly my favorite thing in the world. For some reason the arena used in this is massive, which makes it a little tedious running back and forth trying to find all the enemies so you can finally beat the waves. The rewards in this are way better then the rewards in The Underdome, but they still aren't anything special. I really struggle to get into these types of DLC, they just kinda suck.

Borderlands 2 is one of my favorite games so this may be a little biased, but this game is amazing. It is truly a perfect sequel, it takes everything the first game did and heavily improves upon it in every conceivable way. writing this i truly don't know where to start, so i may as well kick it off with the graphics.

The stylized cell shaded graphics is something I've always loved about Borderlands, even when I first played it as a kid. I think the fact that the game is so stylized is the reason the game has aged so well graphically. I'm a huge fan of all the new environments they bring in with Borderlands 2, as I think that was one of the things the first game really lacked. it turns Pandora from a boring palette of browns and greys, to a world filled with colour. It really gives the planet a lot of character, and of course the original bleak and barren wastelands are still there, but often with a little something sprinkled on top.

I never really play a Borderlands game for its story, but Borderlands 2 actually has a pretty good one that is largely carried by its main antagonist Handsome Jack. I love the first time Jack talks to us on the echo and you understand immediately that he doesn't really take us seriously, taunting us and showing just how narcissistic he really is. Slowly throughout the story as the vault hunters continuously exceed Jack’s expectations and get on his nerves more and more, He starts to threaten you. No more jokes, no more taunting, just the pure hatred he has for the player character. I think the fact that Jack is an antagonist that is there from the very start of the story and continuously pops up, and commands your attention is brilliant. Especially compared to the first game where our main antagonist doesn't show up till the halfway mark and even then they never really feel imposing. Jack always feels imposing, this in part is due to the phenomenal voice performance from Dameon Clarke, who really brings this character to life.

Even though Jack is the best part of the story there is still a lot to like here. You have a large cast of likable NPC’s, some who return form the first game and a lot of new ones, who fit perfectly in this world. Bringing the vault hunters back from the first game and giving them a real sense of importance was a really nice touch, and giving them some actual character was an absolute treat.

Even though the game is 12 years old the gameplay loop is still ridiculously addictive. Shooting my way through enemies constantly switching up my loadout as I get new loot is stupidly satisfying . Not every gun feels unique but the system built does a good job of giving you a lot of guns that are memorable and fun to use. Even if you have horrible luck and get a bunch of loot that doesn't fit your build or playstyle, a good chunk of the missions have weapons that are actually pretty good and will get you through until you find something better.

Borderlands 2 is a wonderfully fun time even 12 years later. I’m happy that even after returning to the game after so long, that it still holds up and is just as fun as I remember.
I can proudly say Borderlands 2 is one of my favorite games of all time.

I Love Tiny Tina's Assault On Dragon keep so goddamn much! This is an amazing DLC, with a bucket load of new content. Let's this is off with the world, DLC 4 adds several new locations and each one of them feels wholly unique, multiple of which even changing slightly after beating the main antagonist. The new enemies are also super cool, adding in several new enemy types, that for most part actually feel pretty different from what was seen in the main game.

The Story is where the game really shines, the story they are playing is a classic TTRPG style one shot, but this is just a backdrop for what's really going on. Losing someone is rough, and coming to terms with loss is just as hard, so seeing a character like Tina come to terms with the death of someone she loves is actually pretty heartfelt. Tina is a character who from her first introduction i liked quite a bit, she wasn't exactly my favorite character or anything like that, but when i first played this DLC i was blown away, and she easily became one of my favorites. Borderlands may not be everyone's cup of tea, the humor is stuck in 2012 (even in the latest installments) and at times in can be quite cringey, but when it pulls away from this and gives you an actual series moment it really hits.

Put simply this game fucking rules!

Big Game Hunt is kinda lame.Don't get me wrong i dig the vibe, the whole 30's/40's intro is really cool and love to see a swamp aesthetic, but that's about it. The Maps are huge plains with not a whole lot in them, and they suck to navigate which doesn't help because vehicles are at their worst in this DLC, they just feel clunky and slow. The story is okay i guess, it doesn't last that long and i wasn't super pressed to finish every single side mission or anything like that. Nakayama has a few good gags but apart form that he's a little lack luster as an antagonist.