Borderlands 3 Review - Give It A Chance

Review based on patch 1.29.

I went back to Borderlands 2 after finishing 3 just to compare the two and couldn't believe how much better Borderlands 3 looked and felt. Gun-play is smoother and punchier. I loved the design direction, new customization options, and being able to switch between elements on the same weapon. Each brand has its own gimmick and enemies have more of a reaction to getting hit. The environments are gorgeous and more varied compared to its predecessors. I had put off playing Borderlands 3 for years after hearing about its abysmal characters and poor performance. Apparently Gearbox managed to salvage this one with patches, although my play-through wasn't without a few hiccups here and there, and at least one crash.

After producing a legendary villain like Handsome Jack, I knew whatever came afterwards probably wouldn't be as good, and the BL3 twins are... unique. They are purposefully written to be cringe streamers that went from a life of complete isolation to being worshiped as gods by a cult of literal psychos. They're decent enough villains that are never properly utilized, if that makes sense. What I mean is, Tyreen and Troy never face "you", the player, only your allies. They have no personal involvement with the player, and the Vault Hunter (player character) is never rendered in any of the cutscenes or included in pivotal moments. The only personal interaction the Vault Hunter ever has with either of the twins is with Troy at the Jakobs Estate on Eden-6 when he Phasegrasps (magically restrains) them. Unlike Handsome Jack, the twins agenda isn't really against the Vault Hunter - its with Lilith, a character (among many recurring ones) that BL3 assumes you already have some familiarity with. I had played Borderlands 2 and the Tales series of games, but that was so long ago that I had a hard time recalling who many of these characters were, and likewise didn't much care when they died. I imagine a complete newcomer to the series would have an even harder time keeping up than I did.

The inclusion of a new child NPC called Ava, also gets a lot hate from the fandom for replacing her mentor Maya, who is a much more beloved NPC and former player character that gets killed off because Ava disregarded orders. Ava then blames Lilith (who wasn't part of that mission) for the incident. It wouldn't have been so bad if Ava grew as a person, but she never walks her words back or expresses regret. Instead, Ava gaslights Lilith into accepting full responsibility for the death of Maya. Lilith's sacrifice(?) at the game's conclusion is then framed as a redemption arc for what happened to Maya, and Ava is rewarded with something she hasn't earned. The story also hinges on every Siren being an idiot:

• Maya, who can stick people in unbreakable bubbles, decides to restrain someone with physical force.
• Lilith, who has the ability to teleport, gets restrained.
• Tannis, who can act as an AI to manipulate technology, somehow can't keep track of two kids who do nothing but live-stream.

That said, the dialogue for FL4K and Zane Flynt was quite amusing. Typhon, Balex, Clay, and Wainwright were great new additions to the roster of eccentric Borderlands characters. I also liked the power imbalance between Troy and his sister, and how that affected their relationship. When the scales were finally balanced, allowing Troy to be more assertive, I was expecting a divide in the cult or a betrayal. One was set up during the Eden-6 content and Tyreen straight up said "you're killing me!" during the Troy battle. It felt like something was at stake and it would have been a good time for Troy to kill Tyreen, either unintentionally or on purpose. Towards the end I was even entertaining the idea that their dad might talk them down when their actions increasingly appeared to be nothing more than a cry for attention. But someone higher up must have stepped in at some point because that doesn't happen. Tyreen remains the BBEG and only traces of a different narrative with Troy are left behind. Lots of hints of him turning on his sister and becoming the Big Bad, or a reluctant villain that changes sides are there. I am not even sure how Tyreen felt about Troy. Is she sad to have lost her brother? Happy to be rid of the "Leech"? Did she care about her blood-relatives at all? It isn't clear. I still had a way better time with Borderlands 3 than I was expecting, and the gameplay is so smooth that I am more likley to replay this over BL2.

For anyone that cares, my lingering questions after beating the game:

• Tyreen's powers are only capable of draining vault keys, not charging them. So why did the Crimson Raiders (Lilith's group) charge and open the vaults to begin with? By now the crew should know whats inside a vault. Why not break or safeguard the non-charged keys?
• Why didn't Tyreen and Troy destroy the Sanctuary ship? They broadcast to it and so must have at least a vague idea of where it is located.
• Why was Troy able to kill Maya, but Lilith just lost her powers? And why didn't Tyreen leech every Siren of their powers when she downed them at Nekrotafeyo?
• Why did Tyreen half-fuse with the Destroyer? Did something go wrong?
• What did Lilith even do at the last vault, besides putting a picture on the moon?

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