Borderlands 3

In 2019 the term looter shooter is as common in gaming as Mario and Sonic, with massive AAA games like Destiny and Anthem thriving on the shoot and loot mechanic, but the true originator and granddaddy of the genre made its name way back in 2009. Borderlands was different, it was weird and it was bucket loads of fun and now, 10 years later, the master of the looter shooter returns for its third outing and to show all the other AAA’s how it’s truly done.

With Handsome Jack dead and the vault hunters from Borderlands 2 happily retired, a new group of hunters has emerged to line their pockets, shoot up everything and save various planets from the new threat of the diabolical Calypso twins. One of the biggest changes from the previous outing sees brand new villains who can best be described as the douchiest kind of live streamers of the future you could possibly imagine and it’s up to the new vault hunters to put an end to their tyranny and insanity. Borderlands 3 features four brand new hunters for the player to choose from, Moze the Gunner, Amara the Siren, FL4K the beastmaster and Zane the Operative, each with their own unique abilities and their own demented reasons for wanting to stop the twins.

Another big change sees the shift of location, in previous Borderlands games the objective was to save the planet of Pandora, but the scope has shifted and now you find yourself having to save an entire galaxy with numerous planets under threat from the Twins. Unlike in Borderlands 2, Sanctuary is not just a town anymore but a spaceship that you will use to travel to planets, buy guns, talk to various characters and just take a break from shooting various psychos. And speaking of guns, one of Borderlands strengths has always been its variety of guns and this game does not disappoint. The developers Gearbox claim that there will be over a billion variations of guns found around the world of Borderlands 3 from freeze guns to guns that shoot volcanos that then shoots fire, to a gun with legs that walks around and insults your opponents before shooting them in the face. It’s as mad and zany as ever.

The multiplayer configuration has also seen an overhaul by bringing in the popular ping system from Apex Legends as well as fine-tuning the loot system. Now you don’t have to argue with your friends who picks up the best loot after killing a boss, as the loot is tied to the individual player so everyone gets to have a go. As always four-player co-op is the best way to enjoy the game and nothing beats running around various planets, shooting crazy villains with crazy guns with three friends in tow. There’s no doubt that Borderlands 3 builds on the previous iterations and has improved tenfold to finally offer one of the most unique experiences in the looter shooter genre.