On Friday, September 13, it’s finally here – Borderlands 3. MeinMMO author Robert has been looking forward to this for what feels like the past 15 years. Just now, a game comes in between that really nobody had on their radar: Remnant: From the Ashes. What remains is confusion and the question: Where did the hype go? Should I really have to play Borderlands 3 on Friday?
This feeling is something everyone has surely experienced: You wait a very long time for something very specific, and when it finally arrives, the anticipation just vanishes. Anticipation is the best joy, but it can also completely disappear due to unforeseen events.
In my case, this unforeseen event is Remnant: From the Ashes, a game that until its release never appeared on my radar.
This Remnant: From the Ashes was supposed to just pass the time until the release of Borderlands 3 finally came. It was a filler game for me.
The problem: I’m currently having so much fun with Remnant that the upcoming release of Borderlands 3 feels like a curse. Like a flood of Christmas gifts where you don’t know which gift to dedicate your time to first. It’s a luxury problem, but one with real consequences.
And you really want to play Borderlands 3 now?
That’s why Remnant is so good: As a Dark Souls enthusiast, Remnant: From the Ashes has everything I always criticized about the Souls series: A sophisticated co-op mode, focus on ranged weapons, and at least a minimally easier setting (after all, one is not getting any younger, reflexes are fading). Although the worlds are not as beautiful and especially not as well-thought-out as those from the Souls series, the big plus is undoubtedly the co-op mode.
Level differences are balanced, enemies scale along, and joining friends’ instances or public lobbies is simple and quick. Due to the randomly generated level instances, the replay value is impressive; there’s something new to discover around every corner.
My colleague, with whom I’ve been adventuring since the early Crota days in Destiny, finally asked the fateful question: “And do you really want to start with Borderlands 3 right on Friday?”
Just four weeks ago, I would probably have asked him if he was joking. Currently, I can’t answer this question. After all, Borderlands 3 does bear a not insignificant “shared blame”.
Borderlands 3 looks like more Borderlands
Why Borderlands 3 doesn’t excite me right now: The first reviews of Borderlands 3 are online, the opinions are mostly excellent.
The general tenor, however, is that Borderlands 3 is primarily more Borderlands. Major innovations are absent.
If someone has already played a lot of Borderlands in Borderlands 1 and 2, do they need more Borderlands right from the start?
My anticipation would surely not have received such a big blow with Remnant if Borderlands 3 were indeed more than just Borderlands. The widely praised approach of the tried-and-true turns out to be a fun killer for me because of Remnant.
In terms of antagonist (Handsome Jack), Borderlands 2 cannot be beaten anyway, whether Claptrap will remain the fantastic, humorous sidekick is to be seen.
Not that I get misunderstood here: I expect a fantastic game with Borderlands 3, but thanks to Remnant: From the Ashes, I no longer feel the urge to dive into Borderlands 3 right at release.
Remnant: From the Ashes offers me exactly the new gaming experience that I probably won’t get with Borderlands 3. Besides, I still have so much to do in Remnant:
- I still miss so many weapons
- The new adventure mode increases the replay value even more
- and already in the coming week, new story content is supposed to appear. I haven’t even dared to tackle the harder difficulty levels yet.
Too much to do, so little time. And it gets even worse. To top it all off, the next big Destiny 2 expansion Shadowkeep starts on October 1. Even more Christmas gifts that I probably won’t unpack just yet.
What do you think? Do you have similar thoughts regarding the current release calendar? Or are your priorities crystal clear?
