Rumors suggested that 2K and Gearbox Software would reveal a new Borderlands game at this year’s E3/Summer Game Fest. Those rumors were right. We just got our first, brief glimpse of Tiny Tiny’s Wonderlands, a fantasy-themed spin-off of the popular looter-shooter. Featuring deeper character class customization and magic spells alongside wacky weaponry, Wonderlands looks like a Borderlands game we’ve never seen before.
This announcement shouldn’t have surprised us, even if it hadn’t been leaked ahead of time. Since its 2009 launch, Borderlands has not-so-quietly become an extremely big deal.
The Original Looter-Shooter Game
Looter-shooter games are all the rage these days. From The Division to Outriders, these action-RPGs pair perfectly with the addictive games-as-a-service formula. But when Borderlands debuted, the idea of bolting Diablo-style progression onto a co-op, first-person shooter was still very novel. In fact, Destiny was still five years away. To help people wrap their minds around the concept, the game’s marketing team came up with the appealing “Skyrim with guns” pitch. Travel the expansive world, find guns, finish quests, find even better guns. Repeat.
Borderlands also featured a distinct, cel-shaded art style that made it stand out in an ocean of brown shooters. Despite taking place in desert hellscapes, Borderlands remains strangely beautiful. Even now, few games look exactly like Borderlands. It’s why the Wonderlands trailer, full of dragons and flying unicorns and arcane sorcery, still feels tonally in line with previous series entries. Wonderlands’ visuals tell you it’s a Borderlands game before you need to see its title.
Speaking of tone, the only reason a Borderlands spin-off can suddenly have magic spells and Dungeons & Dragons references is because the franchise has never taken itself seriously. The madcap Tiny Tina (voiced by prolific gaming actress Ashly Burch) made her debut in Borderlands 2, which ratcheted up the colorful explosions and snarky (arguably obnoxious) dialogue. Wonderlands specifically harkens back to the imaginative Borderlands 2 DLC, Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep, that turned the game into a mythical, tabletop role-playing adventure…but with guns.
Now You See It…
By all accounts, people love Borderlands. Borderlands 2 sold a staggering 20 million copies. So why did the announcement of a new game still feel surprising, even though it shouldn’t be?
After Borderlands 2, the series entered somewhat of a hiatus. None of the games that came out were exactly “official.” We got the Pre-Sequel, developed by a side team. We also got Tales From the Borderlands, an acclaimed narrative adventure game from Telltale but a very different game from mainline Borderlands.
By the time Borderlands 3 launched in 2019, it had been seven years since Borderlands 2. Borderlands 2 received a free DLC episode to set the stage for the sequel, and remind people what was happening. Who is Handsome Jack, again? In addition, Borderlands 3, while competent, felt so similar to previous games that it didn’t seem to justify the wait. What good are billions of guns if they all feel the same?
Meanwhile, controversy plagued Borderlands’ developer Gearbox in ways that certainly lessened my opinion of the franchise. From the Aliens: Colonial Marines debacle to Battleborne to legal battles to whatever CEO Randy Pitchford was doing with that USB stick full of porn, Gearbox was in the news for all the wrong reasons.
Open the Vault
Despite Borderlands 3’s reception, today the franchise has never been stronger. Tiny Tina’s Wonderland launches in early 2022. You can play the original games on Nintendo Switch, a much better portable port than the shoddy PlayStation Vita version. After being delisted when Telltale shut down, Tales From the Borderlands has returned to digital stores. In total, the Borderlands franchise has sold more than 60 million copies. That’s a lot! Borderlands is a big deal!
And it’s about to become an even bigger deal. Tina Tiny’s Wonderlands is stacked with famous faces including Will Arnett, Andy Samberg, and Wanda Sykes. Ashly Burch herself has also become a bigger star in the past few years thanks to her work on Adventure Time, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Mythic Quest, and other pop culture properties.
Oh, and let’s not forget that Academy Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett is about to star in a Borderlands movie directed by Eli Roth. Alongside Blanchett as the siren Lilith, the movie has an A-list cast that includes Kevin Hart as vault hunter Roland and Jamie Lee Curtis as Dr. Patricia Tannis. Jack Black voices Claptrap, the robot companion.
In Borderlands, you and your friends tirelessly scour alien worlds in search of treasure, gunning down any scavengers in your way. Between Tina Tiny’s Wonderlands and the Borderlands movie, series fans are about to have all sorts of treasure fall right into their laps.
