Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is set to provide an explosive mix of Borderlands and fantasy in 2022. Also on board is an unusual type of environment that you haven’t seen as a Borderlands fan before.
This is Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands: Like Borderlands 3, the new spin-off Wonderlands will be a “first-person looter shooter” – fundamentally, Borderlands fans should feel at home. Explore crazy worlds, collect wacky weapons, shoot enemies to pieces – the typical Borderlands virtues also characterize Wonderlands.
However, the whole thing is garnished with a nice dose of fantasy. Effectively, we move through a tabletop world conceived by Tiny Tina, full of dragons, swords, and magic – and we also rely on magical abilities. So here we already see a difference from the usual Borderlands recipe.
In the latest trailer for the game, a feature can also be seen that you haven’t encountered in this form in Borderlands before: the so-called “overworld”.
The “overworld” works differently than what you know from Borderlands
If you played Borderlands 3, you will remember: Here you were either aboard the Sanctuary or moving across wild planets designed like an open world with separate sections.
Normally, you had to wander around on foot, or dash off in one of several different vehicles. In Wonderlands, that works only partially that way.
This is what makes Wonderlands different: Like in Wonderlands, a large part of the game is played from the familiar first-person perspective. The fights and the basic gameplay always take place in the familiar optics.
However, this is supplemented by the mentioned overworld. It is an open map that connects all the important locations of the game.
In the trailer from the last PS5 showcase, you can also see this briefly, between 0:59 and 1:06:
What happens in the overworld? In the overworld, your characters (and those of your friends when you play cooperatively) are displayed as small bobblehead figures that you can control on the game board. On this map, you travel from place to place.
However, it can happen that you are attacked in “dynamic encounters” on the board. This sounds a bit like Pokémon, as Creative Director Matt Cox explained to “GameSpot”.
“Small enemies can appear, whereupon you are seamlessly transitioned into a first-person combat. There you engage in a small battle, collect your loot, and come back out to further explore the overworld,” says Cox: “The overworld really functions – compared to earlier games we have made – as the large zone that connects all experiences together.” (via GameSpot)
In an explanation to PC Gamer, Cox further indicated that these encounters only occur “in the tall grass” when you stray from the main path to explore the world (via PC Gamer).
And it can be worthwhile: You can find 5 optional maps that are connected to the main story but tell small subplots themselves (via GameSpot).
Also, the overworld is a good place to take a closer look at your character in between. Because you can extensively customize your class, even externally. The chosen look is then visible in the overworld – albeit in miniature form.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands will be released on March 25, 2022. You can find an insight into why the game could be really exciting here.
