Loot shooters are a genre with complicated prerequisites. Not every title could impress as much as Destiny 1 and 2, and yet many games attempt the project and fail miserably. I will now introduce you to a game that had the potential to overshadow Destiny 2 – but the developers chose to let it die.
Which game is it? There aren’t many loot shooter options on the market anyway, and those that should have provided competition to Destiny 2 are either forgotten or dead.
But what if I tell you that there was indeed a title that could have overshadowed Destiny 2, yet was simply left by the developers despite its high potential? I’m not talking about Anthem or anything like that; I’m talking about Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands features a magical, wacky world in a fantasy setting, offering not only a cool story but also a lot of classes, an absurd character creator, and a wide range of weapons and spells for you to chase. Despite such a solid framework, the game was left behind, and I still wonder why.
An open world, cool story, humor, and a lot of absurd guns!
To be honest, I was never a real Borderlands fan. My start was with Borderlands 3, and that was even the only game by Gearbox that I played. However, when I heard about Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, I became interested.
I felt that this game could be a good replacement for Destiny 2, considering that every player can create their hero, choose a class, level it up, and finally grind unique gear.
So I dived into the game, purchased it, and played it right on day one. One thing upfront: Tiny Tina is not made for every player. The game doesn’t take itself seriously, has a lot of humor, and tries to make you laugh with every quest. Despite this, the game remains cool because it isn’t too serious.
No matter if you’re fighting whiny skeletons or crafty goblins, the absurd voice lines of the enemies always bring laughter and grinning faces – myself included.
When it comes to weapons, there are many options to make your enemies’ lives hell. Either you cast deadly spells or throw explosive baguettes around you. There are plenty of guns in the game that are so absurd that you want to try them all.
During my gameplay, I actually thought, “this game is so good; there must be more DLCs with additional areas, missions, weapons, and armor coming,” but they did not. The game faded into irrelevance, and when they finally announced a DLC, I was speechless.
What has become of the game? Basically nothing. Gearbox announced three “DLCs” for 10 € each, each bringing a new boss and loot. Once you defeated these bosses, new areas appeared in the repetitive endgame content of the Chaos Chamber.
Essentially a DLC that you can complete in just a few minutes. Not only other players but also I was disappointed because I had seen greater potential. A DLC with a significant map expansion, a new main quest with a villain, new weapons, and possibly fresh classes.
Since Tiny Tina doesn’t take herself seriously anyway, there would have been plenty of room for new content to be added. This isn’t the case with Destiny 2 and its serious storyline. I was very disappointed and still am because the developers shelved such a great game too quickly.
Despite the disappointment, Tiny Tina Wonderlands still resides downloaded on my hard drive in the hope that a good DLC will be released, even though I know that it will likely never happen.
What do you think of Tiny Tina’s? Do you find the game cool, or were you not drawn in by the setting? Feel free to leave your thoughts on games where you saw more potential!
