I'm one of those people that tells things the way I see them. I never write reviews to tell people what they want to hear for the sake of getting likes, and I never bash a game for the sake of attracting attention. Also please take into consideration that reviews are highly subjective and its solely based on my own analysis. With that said, I hate that it comes down to this as I was waiting for this game for some time now, but simply put, Boarderlands 3 just isn't that great. I played the heck out of it and even took the entire weekend off, finishing the game and clocking around 35 hours in such a short amount of time. With that said, I will now be selling the game.
In Borderlands 3 the player will once again have a nearly limitless array of guns to collect, sell, and use in combat, which makes every pickup potentially exciting. I will say that this time around the guns feel a little better in some regards, but a billion is far beyond the point of insane. While I would rather have a billion guns over 1 million, as a player I need other aspects to fall back on. I would take the 1 million over 1 billion without hesitation if other key game elements was raised up to the same level of quality. In other words, an "unlimited" supply of generating guns is not enough to carry the weight of the game.
The problem here is that everything is just so boring. Borderlands 2 had Handsome Jack, a will written villain. The Calypso Twins actions seem redundant, as the means of manipulating the media for their own ends is quickly forgotten. Even returning characters are forgettable. They will struggle to make any kind of impression but never match the characterization in Borderlands 2. Nothing is funny this time around but everything tries so hard to be.
A lack of creativity also hurts the mission design. Everything has been reduced to the act of going someplace, killing a few people, collecting a object and then returning. The missions feel stretched out in the dumbest ways, as if to pad the games length in the most unreasonable ways. Borderlands 2 had some of this in a few regards, but it had rhyme behind the reason. This time around nothing clicks and the writing is downright atrocious. Rage 2 got flamed for having bad writing and redundant missions, but rest assure that it is much more worse here.
Even simple tasks are annoying by how many sub-tasks and collectibles turn into busywork by having you run back and forth long distances across the map for no reason at all but to serve as padding to uttermost degree. The ship the player even uses as a central hub is frustrating with mundane tasks and its a chore to navigate. Almost every mission is painfully bland, never once leading to anything creative and interesting. Even more strange is even as a new game everything feels very dated, even the vehicles somehow manage to control worse than before.
One of the promising changes to Borderlands 3 is the ability to leave the planet of Pandora for different worlds, but each one is seemingly held back by the game’s underlying technology. Force fields that act as loading screens break up what should be an open-world experience, and the new planets feel more like a change in visual theme than an actual expansion into the outer worlds. The bosses are also horrible and entirely forgettable. If anything happens after leaving Pandora, I would say the backtracking gets even worse in the second half.
How about the combat? The AI is just flat out bad. I would say its just the same but in many cases its even worse than previous games. Nothing ever seems or feels engaging, it feels nothing has been done after all these years. The player has a few new skills but its not like the A.I ever requires you to use them, its all for show. All this time and technology and nothing has been improved, it simply blows my mind and I don't understand whats been being done after all these years.
All in all I would rate Borderlands 1 four stars, 2 I would rate five stars, and the Pre-Sequel I would also rate four stars, as I felt it was always a little underrated because it didn't have the larger scale of 2 or surpass it. Borderland 3 feels the weakest of the series and there definitely has been a drastic drop in quality. Maybe much of this is do to them losing their best creative director or there could be other factors I'm simply not aware of.
Final Verdict
If your craving for more Borderlands and cannot seem to wait for a price drop then this review sure wont stop you, just make sure you know what to expect. Our generation of game hardware is 10 times more powerful than the past generation, and the fact that this game is not even twice as good is distasteful. Even if your lacking a creative writer there are others out there, so this tells me one of two things. You for one just don't care, or you didn't even try, and the fact that you didn't try is the same as not caring. Borderlands 3 is a totally forgettable experience.
From the manufacturer
A Mayhem-Fueled Thrill Ride
Stop the fanatical Calypso Twins from uniting the bandit clans and claiming the galaxy’s ultimate power. Only you, a thrill-seeking Vault Hunter, have the arsenal and allies to take them down.
Lock, Load, and Loot
With bazillions of guns and gadgets, every fight is an opportunity to score new gear. Rifles that spawn fire-spewing volcanoes? Check. Guns that grow legs and chase down enemies while hurling verbal insults? Yeah, got that too.
New Borderlands
Discover new worlds beyond Pandora, each featuring unique environments to explore and enemies to destroy. Tear through hostile deserts, battle your way across war-torn cityscapes, navigate deadly bayous, and more!
Quick & Seamless Co-Op Action
Play with anyone online or in split-screen co-op, regardless of your level or mission progress. Take down enemies and challenges as a team, but reap rewards that are yours alone – no one misses out on loot.
Customer Questions & Answers
Customer reviews
Two Part Review: Product and Seller - *Pictures*
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2020
Product: First, Borderlands 3 lives up to the hype. It's much like the previous games in the series; an FPS/RPG jam-packed with comedic personalities. There are a lot of lower-rated (1-2) reviews on this game purely because they beat the user either finished the base story in a fast amount of time, there weren't enough weapons or the fact that, while advertised as such, the game features two-person local coop instead of four, to name a few. Below I have listed a few of the positives and negatives that I've experienced. Positives:+ More guns than previous games in series+ New, funny, and different villains+ Fun and interactive story+ Easy to join/leave other players' sessions in online play+ Four new and different playable characters+ 3 different customization trees for each playable character (12 base combinations)+ Returning characters from previous games in the series+ Great music+ Great ambient sounds+ Great weapon sounds Negatives:- Medium to long length (time) load screens- Laggy interface- A few small holes in the storySeller (BUYER BEWARE): *** Below is NOT a customer service review, it is meant to be an informative disclaimer to potential customers of Amazon for this specific product and should not be misinterpreted as a review on Amazon customer service as a whole *** Second, be cautious about buying this product from Amazon. I originally ordered the game from US Amazon using a US account and received a UK version of the game. This can be EASILY seen by viewing the back of the game cases. Not only is the regional icon "R2" instead of "ALL", as it is in the US counterpart, but the bar code, text coloration, text orientation, text content, and production location all deviate from what a US version should look like. Besides, the regional code on the game manual was "CUSA-08025". To further reiterate that this is the incorrect version, I ask you to please view the multiple flags that are not the US'. To confirm the differences, I have checked with a friend's copy of the game, which he received from Amazon... so it's incorrect AND inconsistent, and it is indeed completely different (This comes into play shortly). The importance of this issue is that a UK hard copy of the game can be played on a US-based PSN account AS LONG AS no DLC is purchased on the US PS Store. The DLC is completely incompatible and codes that accompany the game, like the golden weapon skin pack, are also incompatible with the US PS Store. I have contacted Amazon regarding this issue and they sent me another copy of the game, free of charge. The only issue is that, despite them confirming I ordered a US version, I was sent another UK version of the game. When contacted again, they said, quote, "At this time, there is no way we can guarantee you will receive a US copy of the game." immediately after letting me know that "You should have received a US copy because you ordered it from the US Amazon.". As it stands, Amazon has offered a refund but has made no further attempt to rectify the situation. Updates will be posted as they occur.
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2020
Images in this review
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2019
Platform For Display: PlayStation 4Edition: Standard
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2019
Platform For Display: PlayStation 4Edition: StandardVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2019
Platform For Display: PlayStation 4Edition: StandardVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2019
Platform For Display: PlayStation 4Edition: StandardVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2019
Platform For Display: PlayStation 4Edition: StandardVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2019
Platform For Display: PlayStation 4Edition: StandardVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2019
Platform For Display: PlayStation 4Edition: StandardVerified Purchase
Top reviews from other countries
luca
Se le borran los datos
Reviewed in Mexico on November 23, 2021Platform For Display: PlayStation 4Edition: StandardVerified Purchase
Sergio
Excelente producto
Reviewed in Mexico on November 8, 2020Platform For Display: PlayStation 4Edition: StandardVerified Purchase
Amazon Customer
Awesome game. For adults.
Reviewed in Canada on April 2, 2020Platform For Display: PlayStation 4Edition: StandardVerified Purchase
Adin
Buen producto
Reviewed in Mexico on December 13, 2020Platform For Display: PlayStation 4Edition: StandardVerified Purchase
ReviewerOfThings
Great
Reviewed in Canada on December 25, 2019Platform For Display: PlayStation 4Edition: StandardVerified Purchase
