When Telltale Games announced that their next IP following The Wolf Among Us and The Walking Dead was Borderlands, it was met with some confusion. The Borderlands series is known for ARPG and FPS gameplay set on the dangerous planet of Pandora and people weren’t sure how Telltale was going to handle things.
Episode one definitely sets the precedent with a story that moves the Borderlands universe along but fans may be left out in the desert on this one.
(The following analysis will be talking about episode one of Tales from the Borderlands. There won’t be any major plot spoilers but we will be talking about the basics. As with all Telltale Games, I won’t be looking at every episode but look for a wrap up post when the season is over)
Con (Wo) Man:
The story of Tales from the Borderlands is all about what happened after Hansom Jack’s death at the hands of the player from Borderlands 2. The Hyperion Corporation has been shaken up and everyone is trying to rise to the top including Rhys: A low level employee looking for the promotion he deserves.
When things don’t go his way, he finds himself on Pandora hunting for a vault key and runs into the other playable character Fiona who is a con woman. The two reluctantly team up and the game switches between the two different stories. Each character takes a turn as the narrator retelling what happened from their point of view to a mysterious person at the start of the game.
The use of the Borderlands IP is well done despite not coming from Gearbox with familiar characters and new situations to flesh out the world. As a loose sense of permanence, you can find money hidden around that can be used at specific points to buy things or bribe people. Telltale was promoting that items found in Tales would eventually lead to unlocks in the Presequel.
Interacting and examining objects provides more of the Borderlands’ charm and Telltale’s writing.
The voice acting continues to be great with Troy Baker and Laura Bailey voicing Rhys and Fiona respectively along with new actors joining the series and a surprise guest making their return.
All in all this is more of Telltale’s MO and fans of their games should get a kick out of the new series, however fans of Borderlands may be disappointed as the gameplay they are used to is not here.
Out of Ammo:
Despite taking place in the Borderlands world that is known for killing, killing and shooting, Tales from the Borderlands has no gunplay. Combat takes place mostly during QTE segments with very little control of the player outside of the specific actions. While characters will pick up guns and there is combat , there is no FPS gameplay whatsoever here.
Keeping with Telltale’s adventure games, you can make choices both big and small that impact the characters around you. While this level of control is interesting, having played both The Walking Dead and Wolf Among Us, I’m not expecting a huge difference in the story based on my actions.
And that makes me wonder just who the audience is for this game? Adventure game fans wouldn’t have played the Borderlands series before and wouldn’t know the world and plot while Borderlands fans are used to the exciting gameplay and the story as the wrapper not the main course.
Characters from the previous games do show up, but this story is very much about Rhys and Fiona and the new cast.
I enjoyed the game but then again I’m someone who played both Borderlands and Telltale’s games which I don’t know if that makes me the standard audience or an exception.
Shootout:
Tales from the Borderlands is an interesting collaboration between two very different studios. The plot has the Borderlands’ charm and may be enough to convince fans to try out what is really the next story in the universe. If you can keep an open mind and not care about things like shooting,classes and loot, you’ll find a great story that is sure to be a wild ride.
