Borderlands 4 is expected to finally be released in 2025. Until then, you can still have fun with the other titles in the shooter series. MeinMMO editor Nikolas Hernes wanted to catch up on a part he had actually avoided for almost 3 years. And it was worth it.
First of all, I have to say, I love the Borderlands series. I started with the second part, immediately caught up on the first one, and also bought Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and Borderlands 3 at release. I have logged over 1000 hours throughout the entire series, and I still enjoy playing parts 2 or 3 every few months.
However, that was different with Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. When the game was released in 2022, I had no interest in the fantasy spin-off of the loot shooter. I love the DLC that this idea is based on, but I always thought it was just a stretched-out version of it.
In 2024, Borderlands 4 was finally announced. In light of this, I decided to take the plunge and catch up on the last part of the series that I had not played yet. And what can I say: I was actually wrong.
Gameplay is as fun as expected
What kind of game is Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands? At its core, it is a classic Borderlands shooter. Instead of a dirty sci-fi world, there are classic fantasy themes. Outside of that, you shoot with regular weapons, which sometimes look like a crossbow. Instead of grenades, there are spells.
The pure shooting and looting is also, as usual, quite fun. You have the same movement and weapon handling as in Borderlands 3. Unfortunately, I didn’t like some projectile types at all, but that’s probably a matter of taste.
The skill tree was surprisingly fun. There is no fixed character anymore. You choose a class and later on pick a second one and combine the skills. I especially liked builds with a lot of elemental damage.
My initial problem was rather the setting. I am not the biggest fantasy fan, and the start of Wonderlands initially put me off. It simply felt like the Tiny Tina DLC from Borderlands 2 again. Even the first side quests felt like throwaway content.
But once I had completed the initial missions, I was surprised. The further areas and quests, especially the optional ones, were a lot of fun.
A giant beanstalk and the Witcher were my highlights
In a larger side quest, you are supposed to throw a bean man into a town. This causes the town to change and a giant beanstalk to emerge. Exploring this area was a lot of fun for me. Especially since it always presents a larger side quest, which is sweetened by short, other quests.
One of my favorite quests was a parody of the Witcher, who is presented in the game as an unfriendly guy whose personality is mainly defined by the fact that he can do everything and is a big womanizer.
However, the main quest is also charming. The new characters Valentin and Frette, who play a DnD campaign with Tina, are charming and you enjoy listening to their comments. I also liked smaller gags from the DnD universe. In one quest, for example, Tina has to come up with something completely new because the players are not taking the path she planned. A fate that many Dungeon Masters probably know well.
Additionally, I was surprised that there is a lot of visual variety, at least if you want to appreciate the Borderlands style.
But there is also criticism
I really like Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands now. I also want to check out the endgame. But there are also some criticism points that could annoy you while playing.
- The overworld map was unnecessary. Conceptually, it is quite cute, but gameplay-wise, it is pretty unspectacular. The random encounters always felt like foreign bodies, which I skipped after the first time.
- The endgame in Wonderlands mainly consists of chaos ranks. You go through small dungeons and battles and can get good loot after a run. Personally, I enjoy that a lot because it reminds me of games like Diablo. But more than small arena and boss fights, which get harder each time, they are not.
The biggest criticism point is probably the DLCs. Borderlands is known for offering extensive DLC campaigns as additional content. This is not the case here. The DLCs are new thematic dungeons, items, and challenges that you can run through. Completing them once takes a maximum of 30 minutes. There are no new stories.
This is wasted potential because the great DnD template offers many, often smaller, campaigns that present you with new scenarios.
Despite all the weaknesses, I enjoyed Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands very much. It is entertaining and has many strengths that I love about the Borderlands series. I would have liked to have experienced it at release and delve into secrets and new builds with the community. For me, the game doesn’t come close to Borderlands 3, let alone Borderlands 2, but it doesn’t have to.
Wonderlands, despite many criticism points, is a good game that can mainly sweeten the waiting time for Borderlands 4 for you. Especially in co-op with friends. MeinMMO author Max Handwerk has created a list of all Borderlands games ranked for you: 6 games to Borderlands ranked
