PLATFORM: PC, PS4/5, XBOX ONE/SERIES (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Back in 2013, the Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep DLC was greeted with enthusiasm by Borderlands players. Starring Tiny Tina, who herself has been a fan favourite since her first appearance in Borderlands 2, it takes the familiar Borderlands potty-mouthed looter-shooter formula and transports it to a new Dungeons & Dragons / tabletop RPG setting in which players create their own custom character from a range of six different classes and attempt to save the world from the evil Dragon Lord.
Borderlands has never been one to shy away from its own absurdities, but Wonderlands goes all-out to take things completely over the top at every opportunity. If you want a chin stroking cerebral shooter then this absolutely isn’t it – from the second you load up the game and choose your character (from a list of wild and unusual classes that includes stabbomancers, graveborns and brr-zerkers, amongst others), you’re dropped feet first into the realms of the ridiculous, and there’s very little chance of experiencing anything other than riotous nonsense for the entire length of the game. Wonderlands‘ humour is a marked improvement from the jock-level japes of Borderlands 3, and will go down a storm with anyone with even the most rudimentary knowledge of the fantasy / horror genre and tabletop games that take the brunt of most of the laughs.
Gameplay-wise, it’s very much “Borderlands with a new coat of paint” – the only things you really need to do are run around, shoot things, collect loot and manage your inventory to make sure you’re always using the most powerful and effective weapons available. It’s a shame that the menu screens haven’t yet been made a bit more user-friendly (they’ve always been a bit fiddly and cumbersome to use), but it’s a small price to pay for a light-hearted and often laugh out loud funny adventure that will definitely come in handy for those who need to blow off a bit of steam by blasting countless monsters to smithereens.
As always, there are tons of guns to play with, and the usual formula of “find a favourite and stick with it until something better comes along” is very much in full effect. However, given that we’re now playing inside (or on top of?) a massive tabletop RPG, Wonderlands adds a few new fantasy-themed tricks to its arsenal. Along with looting tons and tons of guns, you’ll also find melee weapons, magic spells and pieces of armour, all of which have unique properties and can be used by any character regardless of which class they are. In addition, skill points can now be added to specific stats, and you’re eventually able to mix two different class types together. Between all of these changes, there’s a huge amount of customisation options and plenty of ways to mold your character to fit the way you want to play the game.
It’s a handsome looking world, brought to life by a stellar (and enthusiastic) voice cast that includes big names like Will Arnett, Wanda Sykes and Andy Samberg, and while the campaign might be shorter than those found in the main series, there’s still plenty of post-game content to keep you going after the final credits have rolled. There’s no way to escape the fact that Wonderlands is a bit of a one trick pony, but if you’re familiar with previous Borderlands games then you already pretty much know exactly what you’re letting yourself in for – shooting, looting and plenty of big laughs. Wonderlands doesn’t take itself too seriously, and neither should you – just sit back, blast some skulls and enjoy one of the wildest rides that the series has to offer!
