At a gameplay event for Borderlands 3, our author Leya had the opportunity to spend five hours in the game and conduct an interview with developer Paul Sage. He explained why Gearbox did not want to have any new features in the loot shooter.
The background: Gearbox invited various media representatives to attend a gameplay event for Borderlands 3. It was possible to play through the entire prologue with the character FL4K and experience the first story missions.
Part of the event was an interview with Paul Sage, who has been determining the direction of Borderlands 3 since the beginning of development. We from MeinMMO were present at the event and I, Leya, will now tell you why Borderlands 3 does not bring any new gameplay elements, although one would expect that from a sequel.
Borderlands 3 offers no major surprises
So far, I have spent about 10 hours in Borderlands 3 at various events. I took my time to enjoy the first hours and missions and also got a good first impression of all the characters. In the predecessor, Borderlands 2, I spent several hundred hours.
I have been having a lot of fun with the third part. I like the playable characters and the humor of the game is cynical, sarcastic, dark – as always.
Why Borderlands 3 doesn’t surprise: While playing, I noticed that nothing really changes. Borderlands 3 is just more of Borderlands. There are actually no major surprises that could be called an absolute “game-changer”.
Other games often go the route of bringing something big and surprising with new parts or major updates. Warframe, for example, receives gigantic space battles. The reveal of this update was a huge surprise that players are now looking forward to.
Borderlands 3 is different.
“Wanting something new can be a trap”
Just after I completed the prologue of Borderlands 3 at the event, I was invited to the interview with Paul Sage. I felt right at home in the game and was having fun.
However, the fact that there are absolutely no elements in Borderlands 3 that bring something new kept bothering me. Because Gearbox often likes to mention that Borderlands 3 should be much bigger and better.
I asked Paul Sage why there is actually nothing new in Borderlands 3:
Often, when you work on a sequel, there is this expectation: What completely new element should we include in the game? What kind of “game-changer” are we building in?
However, if you approach things that way, you fall into a trap. You risk forgetting all the things that make a game really good. The developers then try to create something that is somehow different.
For us, it was really important to take the things that make Borderlands what it is and improve them. We don’t want to bring anything new to the game just for the sake of having something new. We want the franchise to feel fresh and new through improvements.
Paul Sage, Creative Director for Borderlands 3
This is how Borderlands 3 is supposed to feel fresh: Paul further explained that the focus was clearly on comfort improvements in the game. These are precisely what should ensure that Borderlands 3 feels somehow new.
There are indeed a lot of comfort improvements in the game. Whether it’s a map that is displayed in three dimensions or NPCs that can now revive you. There are so many small innovations that actually feel fresh and modern from my own experience. Borderlands 3 has lost a lot of the clumsiness that still existed in its predecessors.
What exactly is meant by bigger and better? Gearbox keeps talking about how Borderlands is now going to be “bigger and better”. But if there are no mechanics that change the game in any way, what exactly is meant?
As Paul Sage explained, bigger and better actually refers primarily to improvements of existing systems. They wanted to make the strong points of Borderlands even stronger.
Here’s a summary that, in my view, gives Borderlands 3 this “bigger and better” factor that Gearbox talks about.
This is how Borderlands 3 gets bigger
More extensive side quests: While playing, I noticed that especially the side missions have gained much more depth. There were some side quests that lasted longer than the actual main quests. And they are not artificially stretched in length. Rather, there is more story in the side quests and the NPCs now have more character; they engage in conversations with you.
Going to new planets: We are leaving the planet Pandora for the first time and going to new worlds, like Eden 6. However, it’s not that the planets were introduced just to have something new in the game. The planets have always been part of the story.
The reason we are heading to new planets with Borderlands 3 is simple:
Borderlands 3 is the game where everyone on the team felt that now was the right time [to explore new planets]. We’ve shown the players Pandora, we’ve explained the universe, and now it’s time to expand that universe.
We also had the technology for a new generation of consoles. This enables us to create more environments now.
Creative Director Paul Sage in the MeinMMO interview
I also believe that you need the foundation to appreciate going to other planets.
More weapons: There are even more of the crazy weapons that Borderlands is known for. New also means that they actually have properties and are not just reskins.
This is how Borderlands 3 gets better
Major overhaul of features: From my gaming experience, I can confirm that the features have really been improved. Sometimes it’s just tiny details that enhance the gaming experience.
In the “Fight for your Life” function, you have the chance to come back if you “die”. This can be achieved by killing an enemy or being revived by someone else. In Borderlands 2, you could barely move. Now in the new and third part, I can move quite quickly and have a higher chance of just getting an enemy.
Check out fresh gameplay from Borderlands 3
What kind of video is this? At the event, it was also possible to record the gameplay. In collaboration with our colleagues at GameStar, we recorded a video that also includes initial impressions of the game.
