The Transformer

This shield only has two perks, but both of them are incredible for absorbing very particular forms of damage. For starters, any electrical damage you receive when equipped with The Transformer will instantly be converted into your shield’s life bar, while there’s a 40% chance that any enemy bullets will also be absorbed into the magazine of your own active weapon. 

Those are some seriously impressive buffs, but catered to very specific situations. If there’s a boss with electricity-based attacks, for instance, The Transformer is a life saver, but more well-rounded shields might be better to have equipped for the rest of the time during your adventures. 

Mind-Killer

Can we just take a moment to appreciate how badass this Legendary shotgun look. Designed by Maliwan (a.k.a. the only weapons manufacturer with a fashion sense), the Mind-Killer is a seriously sleek killing machine, but we know that looks only account for so much in Borderlands 3. 

The Mind-Killer offers a 20% buff to weapon charge speed, which means you won’t be having to wait so long to fire up each powerful energy shot before pumping it into a bad guy for a (hopefully) one-hit kill. That extended magazine size, too, is not something to sniff about. 

Ultraball

True to its name, the Ultraball is essentially what happens when a dog’s chew toy is crossed with contact explosives. When first chucked, the item is a single throwable, but splinters into dozens of mini (yet not less dangerous) bouncing bombs upon its first contact, all of which can travel several yards before eventually exploding, hopefully next another target. 

Best deployed as a last minute get out clause when surrounded by enemies, crowd control is the Ultraball’s forte, and one of the most powerful grenades we’ve seen in Borderlands 3 thus far. 

Cloud Kill

Cloud Kill is a legendary submachine with serious bite, and a returning weapon from Borderlands 2, complete with its high fire-rate but now upgraded with Maliwan’s new bespoke charging tech. 

This bad boy fires off caustic energy rounds so powerful that it can sometimes be hard to handle, making the Cloud Kill best for use up close against damage eating enemies like the Maliwan heavies. Still, Cloud Kill has a decently sized reticule that gives it some element of range, but – more than anything – it just looks and feels amazing to use. 

Annexed Ferocious Lyuda

We’re pretty sure that some of the stats on this Legendary Vladof sniper rifle are randomised, as is the “Annexed Ferocious” descriptors in the name, but the Lyuda itself is definitely out there and up for grabs in Borderlands 3, if you’re lucky enough to stumble across it as a random loot drop.

The gun fires off two sniper bullets per shot, making a well timed headshot on a standard foe almost guaranteeing an instant kill. Don’t be fooled by its decreased accuracy, either; you can easily hip fire the Lyuda’s bullets into enemies from a distance, making it great to whip out for a chance at Second Wind when downed. 

Diamond Butt Bomb

This particularly flamboyant throwable is inspired by Handsome Jack’s faithful Butt Stallion herself (whereabouts still unknown), and homes in on the closest target when chucked with deadly efficiency. 

Not only that, but the resulting explosions casts out a tide of mini butt stallions in the process, creating a wide radius of damage that’ll hit anyone else caught in the shockwave. There’s a lot of neighing, silly music, and rainbows, too, so what’s not to like? 

Deluxe Badass Combustor

One for the loot hoarders, the Deluxe Badass Combustor increases both the rarity of your drops alongside a 10% experience boost when equipped, though this applies only to the level above its own requirements (i.e. if you have to be level 9 to equip it, then it loses its XP and loot buffs once you hit Level 11). 

The shield also lets out a area-of-effect blast when broken, dealing serious damage to anyone caught in your vicinity at the time. That, plus its elemental resistance and low-end recharge delay, turns the Deluxe Badass Combustor into a prime pick-up, especially during the later stages of the game when intervals between levelling can last for several hours at a time. 

Stuffed Quadomizer

This RPG has a chance to be dropped by a certain boss around mid-way through the campaign, but to say any more would be to spoil the events of the narrative itself. In any case, the Quadomizer fires out multiple waves of radioactive energy balls with each shot, with a splash damage radius that likely can’t be equaled by any other weapon in the game. 

While it does eat up 2 rounds of RPG ammo per shot, making it a costly weapon to use, those damage stats are worth the expense. It’s even got a weapon zoom buff, if you’re wanting to go long range on a kill, too. 

Smart-Gun XXL

Guns with legs aren’t a rare sight in Borderlands 3, but guns with four legs and a brain? Now we’re talking. When thrown to reload, the discarded Smart-Gun XXL transforms into a mobile spider turret that fires off rounds until its out of ammo… at which point you’ll probably want to throw the next one into the action. It has a tasty chance at dealing Corrosive damage with every shoot too, and also happens to look like a handheld Cthulhu with blood pouring from its eyeballs… so that’s neat. 

Eridian Fabricator

The already infamous “gun that shoots guns”, the Eridian Fabricator fires out 10 guns on a full magazine, all of which will be at least Uncommon in rarity. Each shot uses 10 pieces of your hard-earned Eridium as ammunition, however, so the trade-off isn’t zero-sum. 

Best enjoyed with friends (because, let’s be honest, who needs that many guns?), the Eridian Fabricator is obviously hopeless at combat, but a great tool to keep in your inventory whenever you stir up a hankering for a new weapon. 

Hyper-Hydrator

A water pistol with an electrified punch, this firearm has two alternative modes, the first being a “Squirt ‘Em” spray that covers the enemy in water, and the second being a “Shock ‘Em” taser that pumps bitesize jolts of lightning through their veins. 

Safe to say, you’re going to want to use the water pistol first, as this increases the damage of the electrical output when “Shock ‘Em” mode is fired towards a drenched foe. Hyper-Hydrator also has a heightened splash damage radius (geddit?) and impressive handling stats that make this a must-have for your inventory. 

Sanctified Batty Blast Master

This is one is, naturally, only of interest to those playing as Moze, The Gunner, but – boy – is it a lucky find if you do happen to pick this Class Mod up during your Vault Hunting travels. Firstly, lets talk about that Splash Damage, which can be be buffed by up to 100% the longer you fire without reloading – perfect for anyone dealing primarily in explosive rounds or when using The Bear mech with its grenade launchers or missiles. 

Then, on top of those adds to damage, health, and resistance, we’ve got two extra perk points awarded for Fire in the Skag Den (bonus incendiary damage to all splash damage dealt) and Vampyr (restores health for every enemy hit by a grenade). Talk about Legendary. 

Hazardous Sellout

A gift bestowed by the wonderful Ms. Moxxi herself, the Borderlands 3 Hazardous Sellout (opens in new tab) not only spouts out voice lines from Pandora’s most famous bartender whenever you get a kill, but fires off explosive rounds with a seriously large Area of Effect capabilities thanks to its +100 perk on splash damage. 

You also have the option to switch between Corrosive and Incendiary elemental damage via the pistol’s alternative fire modes, while its 20% buff to charge speed also makes it perfect for last minute melee attacks. 

One Pump Chump

Stop everything you’re doing and hunt the One Pump Chump down, as it’s quite possibly the deadliest and most powerful shotgun in the game, if not the best weapon overall. Better yet, it’s easy to find, dropped specifically by One Punch Man in Lectra City as part of an Easter egg to the infamous anime show of the same name. 

Just look at bonus buff to both its damage and critical hit damage, alongside that increased reload speed and 50% chance to not consume ammo when fired, and try not to faint in awe. For some perspective; I was still using this Level 13 weapon at Level 20. That’s how powerful it is. Also, we’ve got a dedicated Borderlands 3 One Pump Chump (opens in new tab) guide that tells you how to get it!

Primeval Meditative Phasezerker

Another Legendary Class mod, this time for Amara, The Siren, the Primeval Meditative Phasezerker is all about upping the amount of damage this Vault Hunter can do with her unique phasing powers. 

On top of both the additional perk points for Anima (enhanced status effects), Conflux (higher chance to inflict elemental damage), and Clarity (health regeneration), the Mod gives Amara a Max Rush Stack whenever she uses an Action Skill, which increases her weapon damage and cooldown rate. 

Handsome Jackhammer

The Handsome Jackhammer is a rather obvious reference to past Borderlands games, and it’s also a very powerful legendary gun. Every time you reload this SMG, it throws the weapon like a grenade. But that’s not all; when it explodes, it bounces five times for five consecutive explosions, all while firing bullets haphazardly.

For comedic effect, there’s also a series of Handsome Jack voice lines you’ll hear while using the gun. Sure, it gets tiring after a while, but it’s brilliant at first.

Infinity Pistol

A returning legendary from the last game, the Borderlands 3 Infinity Pistol (opens in new tab) is an incredibly rare drop. It does exactly what it says in that it has infinite ammo and you can fire it endlessly, never having to reload. If you grab it at level 50, it’ll also deal a decent amount of damage, making for a truly incredible gun.

Check out our Borderlands 3 review (opens in new tab), or watch our Borderlands story recap (opens in new tab) video to catch up on everything that’s happened so far. You can also get yourself the Hellfire SMG by killing the Borderlands 3 Jabbermogwai boss.

Borderlands 3 tips | Borderlands 3 Shift Codes | Borderlands 3 patch notes | Borderlands 3 legendaries | Best Borderlands 3 guns | Best Borderlands 3 character | Borderlands 3 bosses | Borderlands 3 Typhon Logs | Borderlands 3 Eridian writing | Borderlands 3 ending | Borderlands 3 One Pump Chump | Borderlands 3 Zane | Borderlands 3 Amara | Borderlands 3 Moze | Borderlands 3 FL4K

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Gearbox revealed Diamond Keys in a new update on Borderlands 3’s upcoming Director’s Cut (opens in new tab), which is set to arrive on April 8. They work sort of like the Golden Keys you can earn by staying tuned to the Borderlands social media accounts, but they’re even more lucrative. Rather than keeping your head on a swivel for Insta posts, you can earn Diamond Keys as a reward for leveling up the new Vault Cards coming in the Director’s Cut content – Gearbox says Diamond Keys will be very rare, but it sounds like they’ll be worth the wait.

Once you get your hands on a Diamond Key, you’ll be able to use it at the new Diamond Armory located beneath the Bridge on Sanctuary III. Activate the Diamond Chest with the key, and shutters on the three surrounding walls will open to reveal a buffet of gear. The trick is, you can only pick one item off of each wall – that’s one shield, one weapon, and one grenade – and you only have a limited amount of time to make your choice before the shutters will slam shut again. If you’re too wracked by indecision to make all your picks in time, you’ll receive a random item from the walls you didn’t pick.

Then you get one last reward as the Diamond Chest itself finally opens, revealing a Legendary piece of gear. To sum that all up, one Diamond Key gets you four pieces of gear, including at least one Legendary.

The new Vault Cards will also unlock new cosmetic gear, and even once you clear all their unique rewards, you can keep leveling them up indefinitely for more Eridium and Diamond Keys (as well as higher-leveled versions of the stuff you already got).

The Borderlands movie has cast its own Tiny Tina, and it looks like shooting (the camera kind) could start soon.

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The first event started today, January 21 at 9 am PST / noon EST / 5 pm GMT, and it’s titled “Clear Skies.” It gives each enemy in the Borderlands 3 Designer’s Cut mode a chance to drop better loot, and it also slows down the Murdercane (that’s the perpetually closing circle) so you have more time to find the best loot possible.

Then “Extra Extra Extraction” will take its place at the same time on January 28. During this mini-event, Air Drops will be much more likely to include DAHL chests, which are themselves more likely to contain gear that’s exclusive to Arms Race. Then you can take more of your loot home with you by loading it into Extraction Stations with an increased number of slots – anything you don’t extract will be lost at the end, as usual.

“Gear Rush” picks up on February 4 and brings the Arms Race Events to a close on February 11 at 8:59 am PST / 11:59 am EST / 4:59 pm GMT. This mini-event makes Rare Chests more likely to appear, and it also beefs up the green DAHL chests scattered around the map with more Arms Race exclusive items. The Murdercane will start closing more quickly, so you’ll want to roll through those points of interest ASAP to make the most of the chests.

Each new mini-event will go live via a weekly hotfix, so make sure your game is up to date on the title screen before you hop in to play.

See what else is headed your way with our big guide to new games 2021 and beyond. 

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The full list of game sales can be found here (opens in new tab), but here are some of the highlights from Epic Games’ big Summer Sale.

Maneater (opens in new tab) just came out a couple of months ago, and it’s already on sale for 25% off its usual list price. For a limited time, you can start your adventure as a vicious, nondiscriminating, and eventually bio-electric bull shark for just $30. Our own Rachel Weber lovingly deemed Maneater a “single-minded machine of delightful destruction.”

Better yet, our 2019 Game of the Year (opens in new tab) is currently half off its normal price. Control (opens in new tab) is a profoundly innovative, mind-bending adventure from Remedy, the minds behind Max Payne, Alan Wake, and Quantum Break. And with this year’s Foundation DLC (opens in new tab) adding a substantial amount of new story to the base game, now’s as good a time as ever to check out one of last year’s best titles.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (opens in new tab) is sitting at one of its lowest prices ever at $19.79, a 75% discount from list price. The sprawling, open-ended RPG set in ancient Greece is a culmination of everything that makes the Assassin’s Creed series great, and it’s the perfect time sink to get lost in while you wait for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (opens in new tab). Likewise, Assassin’s Creed Origins is on sale for just $12, an 80% discount.

Other goodies include Borderlands 3 (opens in new tab) for $30 (50% off), Red Dead Redemption 2 (opens in new tab) for $48 (20% off), and Far Cry 5 (opens in new tab) for $9 (85% off).

Looking for something 100% off to play? Here are the best free games (opens in new tab) we could find.

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“We just love those two characters so much that it made sense for us,” says Rancourt, when asked why Wainwright and Hammerlock were chosen to be the stars of this DLC. “And we knew that they were fan favorites as well.”

The trailer has some serious HP Lovecraft vibes, as well as the usual Borderlands 3 mayhem. 

“We took inspiration from Eldritch Horror as well, and one of the main things we wanted to do at the start is put the love back in Lovecraft,” says Rancourt. “We added this contrast in the environment we were building as well, so we’re going to see those huge atmospheric landscapes with fog in the distance obscuring the vision of the player. Then when you’re going to go into the interiors it’s going to be darker, grittier, and there’s going to be enemies lurking in the shadows to keep the player on the edge of their seat.”

Check out our full list of Borderlands 3 Shift codes (opens in new tab), or watch our Borderlands story recap (opens in new tab) video to catch up on everything that’s happened so far.

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However, if you’re struggling with some of the really tough bosses in Borderlands 3, then we can help you out, with a number of useful tips and pointers to take down the bad guys in our Borderlands 3 boss guide.

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Killavolt

You’ll come up against Killavolt in Lectra City, when you get to the end of the aptly named “Kill Killavolt” quest for Moxxi. He can be a right pain in the backside though, so follow our Borderlands 3 Killavolt (opens in new tab) guide for some tips.

Captain Traunt

Captain Traunt is the boss at the end of the Athenas planet, and he’s a combination of all three types of heavy enemies; incendiary, corrosive, and shock. You have to fight him in an enormous courtyard with a number of smaller enemies spawning throughout the fight, so our Borderlands 3 Captain Traunt (opens in new tab) guide has some helpful tips for you.

Katagawa Ball

Skywell-27 is a fantastic planet to run around and explore, but right after Rhys sticks it to the man and blows up Zanara, ol’ Katagawa – who you’ve only heard on your comms until this point – emerges in control of an enormous death sphere. Called the Katagawa Ball, it can prove to be a seriously tricky fight if you don’t know exactly what to do. Our Borderlands 3 Katagawa Ball (opens in new tab) fight has a number of tips you can use to get through it.

Check out our Borderlands 3 review (opens in new tab), or watch our Borderlands story recap (opens in new tab) video to catch up on everything that’s happened so far. You can also get yourself the Hellfire SMG by killing the Borderlands 3 Jabbermogwai boss.

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“Flakker was greatly outperforming other shotguns due to the number of projectiles and the high rate of fire. We initially believed the resulting projectile spread would cause most of the explosions to miss the target, however this turned out to be false, so we reduced the projectile damage and allowed the weapon to only fire once per magazine. This change encourages players to capitalize on different stat bonuses to maximize the weapon’s damage output,” reads the patch notes (opens in new tab).

Among the extensive list of weapon adjustments, the Lyuda was also heavily nerfed. Due to a bug that was causing the Lyuda to fire an extra shot whose fix affected base damage, Gearbox has reduced the weapon’s critical damage bonus by 30%. Meanwhile, a bunch of guns were buffed for balance, including the Sickle which will now reload 25% quicker; the Infiniti, which will now do a whopping 40% more damage; and the Jericho, which had a similar damage increase.

Several vault hunters have also been adjusted for balance. Iron Bear’s health has been increased by 50%, Digi-Clone’s health has been increased by 100%, and all pets have had their health increased by 50%.

This isn’t the first patch to Borderlands 3 that significantly alters the stats of weapons and hunters, and we expect to see more of these patches in the near future and long beyond.

Check our guide on every shift code you need to unlock the golden chest on sanctuary 3 (opens in new tab). 

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Early technical analyses from groups like Digital Foundry (opens in new tab) found that the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X versions of Borderlands 3 regularly dip below their targeted frame rates in both resolution and performance mode, with resolution mode on Xbox One X delivering the stablest 30 FPS experience. Base model PS4 and Xbox One consoles, on the other hand, struggle constantly. 

We’ve played Borderlands 3 on PS4, PS4 Pro, and PC (specifically, on a PC above the game’s recommended specs), and we’ve run into performance issues on all three. The frame rate consistently dips during combat or vehicle sections, and it utterly nose dives in multiplayer whenever a player opens their Echo menu or examines an item (which is quite often). PC players have also reported (opens in new tab) that merely aiming down a gun’s sights can cause stuttering, and we’ve experienced this ourselves as well. 

FPS dips aside, platform-specific problems abound. On console, online multiplayer and local split-screen can render Borderlands 3 all but unplayable due to intense menu lag and bizarre, unchangeable settings. Where Borderlands 2 allowed for vertical or horizontal split-screen, Borderlands 3 only supports a horizontal orientation, meaning the screen is split into two halves stacked on top of each other. Countless posts on the Xbox (opens in new tab) and PS4 (opens in new tab) Gearbox forums say that this renders text illegibly small. Sadly, in a statement to Comic Book (opens in new tab), a representative from publisher 2K said that “there are no plans to add vertical split-screen at this time.” 

Those are just the technical issues; we haven’t even gotten to the bugs. Player names sometimes disappear in multiplayer, quest markers often vanish from the map, FL4K’s pets randomly stop moving, sometimes your inventory just moves items around, and the fast travel menu often bugs out and limits your choices – and those are just bugs we’ve experienced firsthand. More worryingly, several players have reported crashes (opens in new tab), lost progress, and corrupted saves (opens in new tab). Lost saves seem to be especially common on PC, though they may be due to hard drive or cloud save issues. 

It doesn’t help that these issues weren’t spotted earlier due to Borderlands 3’s bizarre review arrangement. Simply put, the majority of publications, especially UK-based ones (like us), didn’t receive Borderlands 3 review code until the day of or the day before its release. As VG24/7 (opens in new tab) reports, 2K says this was due to security reasons. Stranger still, the few publications that did get early access were locked to an early, non-release PC build of the game which was only accessible via supplied Epic Games Store accounts. This resulted in initial reviews that were limited in more ways than one. Needless to say, we’re working on our Borderlands 3 review now and will have it ready as soon as possible. 

In Twitter replies (opens in new tab) to disgruntled users, Gearbox said it is aware of many of these issues and working on fixes, but it’s unclear when those fixes will arrive. We’ve reached out to Gearbox and 2K for more information and will update this story if we hear back. If you’re already playing Borderlands 3 and you’re among those experiencing issues, your best bet is the dedicated support page (opens in new tab). You may also see some improvement by lowering your FOV, disabling in-game social and network notifications, or playing in fullscreen mode using Directx11 if you’re on PC. These are only patchwork solutions, of course, and it’s clear Borderlands 3 is in dire need of some proper updates. 

Here’s the (initial) Borderlands 3 review round-up (opens in new tab). 

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The trailer begins with Lilith the Siren, Commander of the Crimson Raiders and overall badass. She’s recruiting you to help fight the Calypso twins, but you’ve gotta choose what kind of Vault Hunter you’re going to be first, so she lays out your options – Moze the Gunner, Zane the Operative, Amara the Siren, or FL4K the Beastmaster. Lilith gives you some details on what each character is capable of, but there are deeper dives on the official Borderlands site (opens in new tab). 

Next, everyone’s favorite annoying robot, Claptrap, pops in to remind you to hunt vaults in style and to stop by Quick Change machines in-game to change up your look. He’s quickly disposed of by Marcus, who picks up the guide to walk you through the buffet of weapons you can use in Borderlands 3.

“What’s a vault hunter without guns?” he asks. “You want elemental death machines to freeze your enemies solid or burn them alive with fire. You want tracking bullets, guns with legs, guns that never have to be reloaded.” Yup, he knows the way to a girl’s heart. There’s even the promise of “artifacts that give you crazy-ass alien powers.” Where do I sign up?

Borderlands’ own Nigel Thornberry, ehem, Sir Hammerlock steps in to break down the other planets you can explore in Borderlands 3, which is a big departure from previous games. Sanctuary 3 is your base, but it’s a spaceship that will let you visit planets like the classic Pandora, new city-planet Promethea, serene Athenus, and the “reptile-infested swamps” of Eden-6, which Gearbox’s narrative director Randy Director just described as “space Florida” at the Inside Xbox Gamescom event. I sincerely hope there are space gators. The promise of planet exploration is huge, and Sir Hammerlock assures us that it will bring new adventures and fearsome foes. 

Finally, enter Ellie for a breakdown on the newest vehicles and their extensive customization options, from new paint jobs to mountable rocket launchers. After this trailer, you’ll be more than prepared to help Lilith take on the Calypso twins and their Children of the Vault cult. 

Borderlands 3 is dropping September 13 on Xbox One, PS4, and PC. 

For more on your future as a Vault Hunter, check out Borderlands 3 release date, characters, trailer, and everything we know (opens in new tab). 

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Read more

Borderlands story recap (opens in new tab): Catch up on the history of Pandora in time for Borderlands 3

Since former Gearbox exec David Eddings is no longer working at the studio to play the character he helped personify, the role has fallen onto the voice box of actor Jim Foronda, now doing his best impression of Eddings doing Claptrap (and rather successfully, I have to admit). 

In a weird way, this subtle change is emblematic of Borderlands 3’s design ethos as a whole; same same, but different. For its long anticipated sequel, Gearbox hasn’t so much reinvented the Borderlands wheel as it has merely chiseled away at the contours, forming something rounder, smoother, and slightly more palatable to those previously put off by the series’ rough edges. 

That timeless, cel-shaded art style remains as distinctive as ever, for instance, but has nevertheless been varnished with a fresh coat of richer shades and textures. Pandora’s familiar pantheon of enemies are all here, too, except now you’ll run into Tinks instead of Midgets, and fire off elemental rounds of Radiation as opposed to Slag; just two examples of the game’s more sensitive approach to its internet humour. Even the series’ country western infused soundtrack is back, pulsing with bursts of atonal twangs and percussive punches, yet offering variant riffs on the melodies that came before it. 

The limited scope of these changes might seem negligible, but that’s entirely the point. While some sequels must adapt to succeed, Borderlands is one of the privileged few that merely needs to double down on the gold it first stumbled upon back in 2009. My recent hands-on with Borderlands 3, in which I played through the first three hours of the game, confirms Gearbox has indeed left that winning formula alone for the most part, and – with the exception of a few sour notes – it’s still looking to be paying off in dividends. 

Trials of the hunt

Let’s get those sour notes out of the way first, as there’s every chance that the final product will filter them out over time, beginning with its gameplay pacing, a (quite literally) long-running problem of the series to date. Any seasoned Vault Hunter can describe in great detail what it’s like to be forced into extended periods of wandering from one objective to another over barren stretches of land, often with nothing but the odd enemy mob to keep things interesting, but the TL;DR is that it’s not much fun.

Simply a case of not enough butter spread over too much bread, Borderlands 3’s creative director Paul Sage promises the sequel has addressed this problem with new features like the exploration-based Crew Missions. And yet, even during my brief time with the game, I couldn’t help but notice that these long-instances of empty traversal haven’t been abolished altogether, though they’re certainly less frequent, with a good chance they’ll be ironed out completely over the course of the campaign. 

Then there’s the villains. Borderlands 3 was always going to suffer from the Vaas Effect, the impossible task of having to follow up a character as despicable and hilarious as Handsome Jack, but new antagonists The Calypso Twins are barely making an impact as it is. They’re cult leaders versed in the streamer ethos (Geddit? Because internet fan bases are like cults! Ha ha!), but the joke starts to wear thin from their very first appearance in the story. 

Troy and Tyreen’s millennial mannerisms also make them about half as threatening as they should be, while the initial signs of a tragic backstory colour them with more empathy don’t quite redeem the pair in the early hours, either. As stated, both of these noticeable quibbles could well turn out to be non-existent once we’re knees deep in Borderlands 3’s core loop of rhythmic gratification; it’s just a question of how far they sodden the overall experience. 

And boy, is that core loop working in all the right places. Gunplay, thanks to a variety of nips and tucks behind the scenes, feels phenomenal, finally making Borderlands 3 feel as robust a shooter as its equivalent competition. 

A hybrid between an FPS and an RPG, previous games often felt like they had made compromises to the expected standards in both of those genres purely to ensure they had one foot firmly in either, but that no longer feels like the case. As a shooter, combat is punchy and to the point, making me excited for the prospect of Borderlands spin-offs with more competitive dynamics (which, as it happens, Sage admits he is completely on board for). 

Land of the free

Likewise, Borderlands 3’s role-playing elements are neither overly convoluted nor needlessly shallow. I finally had the opportunity to play as FL4K, the already adored Hunter class who can call in one of three tamed pets at will, and they’re one of the best examples of how this sequel is built up for the fans first, not least in the way that their play style caters to lone wolves who prefer the company of a Skag to that of a friend. 

Again, it’s the little stuff that makes a big difference here, from being able to freely switch between our skill tree’s primary Action Skills to the new Augments that widen out the parameters for self-expression through combat, all of which compound into a progression system that’s putting player agency first. If you never understood the fuss around Borderlands, or were alienated entirely by its frequently juvenile tone, it’s looking unlikely that Gearbox’s third entry is going to change your mind. For those fully invested in the fate of Pandora, though, that will come as music to the ears. Borderlands 3 is, simply put, more Borderlands, now Borderlandsier than ever before, with extra helpings of Borderlands sprinkled in for good measure. 

This design decision, along with the promise of a more ambitious endgame inspired by the looter shooter ‘Games as a Service’ titles that the series inspired in the first place, easily gives Borderlands 3 a healthy shot at being the game everyone is still talking about come 2019’s end. And, as best evidenced by Claptrap’s minor but not imperceptible transmutation, the best part is that Gearbox has barely changed a thing. 

For more, check out the first 14 minutes of Borderlands 3 opening gameplay (opens in new tab), or watch our Release Radar below for a guide to everything else out this week. 

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