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Battleborn

Battleborn is inconsistent but still has an opportunity to shine
Battleborn Game Cover
66%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
optimization, monetization
63% User Score Based on 6,428 reviews
Critic Score 69%Based on 41 reviews

Platforms

Xbox Series X|SPCPlaystation 5CloudPlaystation 4Xbox OneXboxNVIDIA GeForce NOWWindowsPlayStation
Battleborn Game Cover

About

Battleborn is a single player and multiplayer hack and slash game with fantasy, comedy and science fiction themes. It was developed by Gearbox Software and was released on May 2, 2016. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

"Battleborn" is a hack-and-slash game with a stellar cast of 30 unique heroes in a fantasy setting. The game offers a variety of playstyles, from local and online multiplayer to single-player mode, all with gorgeous visuals and a healthy dose of humor. With a weekly rotation of free heroes and the option to purchase and upgrade, the game is highly replayable and provides plenty of grinding for those seeking an in-depth experience. However, be prepared for some bugs along the way.

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63%
Audience ScoreBased on 6,428 reviews
story505 positive mentions
optimization143 negative mentions

  • Unique characters with diverse abilities and personalities, making gameplay engaging and fun.
  • The game features a humorous storyline and enjoyable co-op campaign, reminiscent of the Borderlands series.
  • Despite its low player base, the game offers a fun experience for those who can gather friends to play together.
  • The game was overshadowed by Overwatch at launch, leading to a dwindling player base and long matchmaking times.
  • The always-online requirement prevents players from accessing single-player content after the servers shut down.
  • Many players feel the game was poorly marketed and mismanaged, resulting in a lack of support and updates.
  • story
    2,572 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story aspect of "Battleborn" has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its humor and character dialogue reminiscent of the "Borderlands" series. However, the campaign is criticized for being short, repetitive, and lacking depth, consisting of only eight missions that often involve similar objectives like escorting or defending points. While the story mode offers some replayability through different character interactions and loot, many players feel it ultimately falls short of expectations, especially when compared to the expansive narratives found in other games.

    • “The story mode has funny dialogue which reminds me a lot of Borderlands.”
    • “The characters, humor, and story are all so good.”
    • “The story was good, characters and their abilities were unique and interesting.”
    • “The story missions are all defend a certain point then fight a boss.”
    • “The story mode is very anticlimactic, like... the most effort done on the game was artwork and they forgot about content and gameplay which by the way is unbalanced as well when you play pvp.”
    • “The story mode isn't very long (compare to borderlands 2) but sometimes is very challenging.”
  • gameplay
    1,116 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of Battleborn is characterized by a unique blend of first-person shooter mechanics and MOBA elements, offering a diverse range of characters and abilities that encourage strategic play. While many players appreciate the engaging and chaotic nature of the gameplay, some criticize its complexity and the steep learning curve, particularly for newcomers. Overall, the game is praised for its fun mechanics and character variety, though it suffers from issues like matchmaking and a dwindling player base, which can detract from the experience.

    • “The gameplay, how it feels, the variety, the perfect balance of complexity of MOBA & simplicity of FPS, the characters' personalities and the whole artistic design of characters, worlds, sound, art, and the art style & graphics, the music... it's probably my most favorite game.”
    • “The gameplay is fun, the characters are unique and interesting, there is plenty of content to the game.”
    • “The gameplay is fast-paced, exciting, and greatly varied depending on what character you play as.”
    • “My main qualm with the gameplay was that accessories to equip for stat changes have no downside, putting new players at an additional disadvantage.”
    • “The game had its flaws like having a real-time player progression made of time-consuming choices that took up the entire screen interrupting the FPS gameplay.”
    • “Boring, repetitive gameplay that offers very little challenge or enjoyment.”
  • humor
    790 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in "Battleborn" is heavily influenced by Gearbox's signature style, reminiscent of the "Borderlands" series, featuring quirky characters and witty dialogue that often elicits laughter. While many players appreciate the game's comedic elements and find them engaging, some critiques point to moments where the humor feels forced or repetitive, leading to mixed reactions. Overall, the humor is a defining aspect of the game, contributing to its charm and appeal, particularly for fans of Gearbox's previous titles.

    • “Such good characters, great Gearbox humor... bring it back!!!!”
    • “The humor is a bit silly and the story and characters' personalities mostly extend to quips during battle, but thanks to the style, the whole thing is a very coherent and even gripping experience which was the high point of the game for me.”
    • “The characters are unique, fun, and the whole game has a good sense of humor to it, keeping things interesting.”
    • “It's not great, as the never-ending dialog in missions gets so overwhelming that you stop listening entirely, the escort missions go so fast that you hardly even have a chance to stop and pick your skills, and the so-forced-it's-cringey gearbox humor stopped being funny 3 games ago.”
    • “The humor might be cringey, poorly written/executed and cliche.”
  • graphics
    573 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of Battleborn have received mixed reviews, with many praising its vibrant, cartoonish art style reminiscent of Borderlands, which is seen as both appealing and unique. However, players have also criticized the game's visual clutter and performance issues, particularly on AMD graphics cards, leading to a chaotic experience that can hinder gameplay. Overall, while the art style is appreciated for its creativity, technical optimization remains a significant concern for many users.

    • “It's a very stylized aesthetic that just will not age.”
    • “The stylization of the world and graphics makes the game still look good today.”
    • “The graphics are beautiful, the game is smooth, beautiful and a ton of fun.”
    • “The visuals were overly cartoony and the writing and humor felt forced and consistently fell flat.”
    • “The graphics are even on the highest setting, not very impressive.”
    • “The graphics are horrendous, the gameplay is horrendous, and nobody is playing this online.”
  • optimization
    369 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The optimization of the game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many users reporting severe performance issues, particularly on AMD graphics cards. While some players have experienced stable performance, others have noted significant frame drops and stuttering, even on high-end systems. Overall, the game is considered poorly optimized, with many recommending waiting for further updates to address these issues.

    • “The game is also pretty well optimized, and I say that from personal experience; I don't even meet the minimum requirements yet I run the game on a stable 60 fps.”
    • “Despite the high PC requirements, it runs smoothly on my computer that only barely meets the requirements (just remember to turn down the resolution, kids).”
    • “Performance has been improved a lot, visual clutter got toned down a lot, and it's overall just way better.”
    • “It ran like unoptimized crap in the latter levels, showing an obvious push by the higher-ups to get the game out ASAP.”
    • “The game is poorly optimized, don't trust the 'system requirements' (store page); I had an i5 4670k + HD 7850 + 8GB and the FPS was awful, averaging 20 FPS with every setting on low.”
    • “The performance on my system is absolutely abysmal.”
  • monetization
    211 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization model of the game has drawn significant criticism, particularly for introducing microtransactions in a full-priced title, which many players view as excessive and exploitative. While some microtransactions are cosmetic and optional, the timing of their introduction—shortly after launch—has left many feeling betrayed, especially given the game's already high price and the lack of a robust player base. Overall, the combination of poor marketing, a crowded release window, and a confusing monetization strategy has contributed to the game's decline in popularity.

    • “Oh, there are in-game purchases, but it's all like $5 or less.”
    • “Honestly, this game only has two problems: matchmaking and microtransactions. But I, for one, don't care if a game has microtransactions for purely cosmetic items, which is what this game has.”
    • “There are already microtransactions in the game, so far only cosmetic, but there will be more as soon as this game hits free-to-play.”
    • “Gearbox has, in my opinion, ruined a great series with Borderlands 3 through the honestly excessive monetization, and they have shown all they really care for is money by announcing the Battleborn shutdown.”
    • “Microtransactions in a $60 game.”
    • “Adding microtransactions in a full-priced game after release is just a dick move.”
  • grinding
    153 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it excessively tedious and repetitive, particularly when it comes to unlocking characters and gear. While some enjoy the grind as a means to explore different playstyles and character builds, others feel it detracts from the overall experience, leading to burnout and frustration. The necessity of grinding for achievements and character unlocks, combined with a lack of engaging content, has left many players dissatisfied, especially in comparison to other games in the genre.

    • “Not too grindy.”
    • “A bit grindy.”
    • “The dialogue is great, the action is chaotic, and the coop is fun but not tedious.”
    • “At least everyone who played it after it went free to play didn't lose anything but time as the game was pretty grindy.”
    • “There was so much grinding necessary for achievement and currency just to unlock one hero.”
    • “The main downsides are the grinding required to unlock characters, abilities, and gear, and the small PC community making it hard to find games during non-peak hours.”
  • replayability
    141 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with many players praising its fun co-op missions, diverse character roster, and randomized dialogue that enhance replay value. However, some reviewers express disappointment over the limited number of story missions and the need for additional content to fully capitalize on its potential for replayability. Overall, while there are enjoyable elements that encourage repeated play, the game's structure and content limitations leave some players wanting more.

    • “This game is fun, funny, and highly replayable, with a fantastic set of characters, and the sort of snarky writing you'd expect from the makers of Borderlands.”
    • “The skills each character can upgrade are very varied and add a lot of replayability, especially when paired up with gears.”
    • “The dialogue is different every time, with about five different pieces of dialogue per 'section' of a mission, hugely adding to the replayability.”
    • “At the end of the day, my time with the co-op only makes me wish they would've focused entirely on it, giving us some sort of 25+ mission campaign stocked with replayability instead of the just-barely-able-to-call-itself-a-campaign package that we got.”
    • “After first playing, I was extremely let down by the fact that while there is some story, it was limited and left very little replay value to be desired, even after the more difficult modes had been released, and the game at its core was more focused towards a PvP aspect.”
    • “The replayability would go up if there was more content to replay.”
  • character development
    99 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development in the game is marked by a diverse and imaginative array of character designs, which many players find visually appealing and unique. However, while the character designs and abilities are praised, some reviewers note a lack of depth in character progression and storytelling, leading to a feeling that the potential for deeper character development is not fully realized. Overall, the character design is a standout feature, but the accompanying narrative and development aspects leave room for improvement.

    • “The writing was charming, and the character designs were incredibly varied and felt lively for the amount of playable characters on the roster.”
    • “They really did a good job with character development and they blend that extremely well in game.”
    • “Interesting and unique character design with enough complexity in the character development trees (helixes) to see any seasoned MOBA player happy - as each character has 20-30 skills and bonuses to choose from as they level up over the course of a game.”
    • “There's not enough character development to care about it.”
    • “While there is a solid game at the core of Battleborn, the story, the dialogue, and the character designs seem to be a mess.”
    • “Plus, because the game is built to primarily be a 3rd-person MOBA, the character development in the single player lacks depth or long-term progression.”
  • music
    84 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising the catchy soundtrack and memorable intro, often likening it to a stylish music video. However, some players criticize the use of rap music in cutscenes as mismatched or subpar, and note that the overall in-game music can be forgettable or poorly integrated during gameplay. Despite these criticisms, the combination of music, voice acting, and artistic design contributes positively to the game's atmosphere and character appeal.

    • “The gameplay, how it feels, the variety, the perfect balance of complexity of MOBA & simplicity of FPS, the characters' personalities and the whole artistic design of characters, worlds, sound, art, and the music... it's probably my most favorite game.”
    • “This game may have been overshadowed by Overwatch, but it's got colorful characters, a unique universe and lore, a great soundtrack, and fun, replayable co-op missions.”
    • “The music is lovely, the voice acting is of a high level, even the German voices did a movie-quality performance!”
    • “Something orchestral or at least actually sung with music instead of rapped would have gone much better with it.”
    • “The cutscene during the prologue mission is a bit too long, and the rap music did not match up well with what was going on in the scene.”
    • “The story mode is stupid and the animations are very poor, music choice in the cutscenes was garbage and unfitting.”
  • stability
    52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The stability of the game has been widely criticized, with numerous players reporting persistent bugs, glitches, and performance issues that detract from the overall experience. While some users have noted that the game runs well on certain systems, many others have encountered game-breaking glitches and optimization problems, leading to frustration and a sense of abandonment by the developers. Overall, the game's stability is seen as a significant drawback, overshadowing its enjoyable gameplay.

    • “It runs great, even on AMD cards.”
    • “Battleborn is great, fairly bug-free for me (specs on profile).”
    • “Good game, no glitches (not that I've seen or heard of), fun multiplayer adds replay value.”
    • “Battleborn seemed okay at first but constant game-breaking glitches ruined the experience.”
    • “Every single aspect of this game is riddled with bugs and glitches, and I've just had about enough of putting up with this level of incompetency from these devs that have clearly abandoned this game.”
    • “This game is buggy af, not recommended right now.”
  • emotional
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game elicits mixed responses, with some players finding moments of genuine connection and sacrifice, while others criticize the writing and character depth as lacking. While certain characters resonate deeply, evoking feelings of empathy and humor, others are perceived as cringeworthy and forgettable, leading to a sense of disappointment in the overall narrative experience. The game's emotional impact is ultimately overshadowed by its perceived shortcomings in story and character development.

    • “No more will we get to fight Arachnis the Spider King or the touching moments of Geoff's brave sacrifice.”
    • “Heartbreaking really since the writing is great and the comedy is spot on.”
    • “Battleborn is a beautiful game with charming, heartfelt, funny characters.”
    • “Boring story with very little resolution or depth.”
    • “Boring story, awful graphics, forgettable characters, bad map design.”
  • atmosphere
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is often compared to that of Borderlands, featuring a humorous and comic-fun style that enhances the overall experience. While some players find the atmosphere enjoyable and engaging, others criticize it as bland or weak, particularly in terms of story. Overall, the combination of vibrant characters, humor, and art style contributes to a fun and entertaining environment, especially in cooperative play.

    • “This could've been something good; it even had the humor and the atmosphere of Borderlands, which could've been used to get more people and push the game forward.”
    • “You'll get used to it, and in combination with the humor and the fun atmosphere, you'll enjoy your stay.”
    • “Battleborn offers a wide variety of content for its asking price, and uses great characters, great humor, great gunplay and swordplay, and a great atmosphere and art style to give us one of the most fun games I've played in a while.”
    • “The general atmosphere feels bland and lacks depth.”
    • “After 9 hours of co-op play, the atmosphere remains weak and uninspiring.”
    • “The game has a similar atmosphere to Borderlands, but it doesn't capture the same charm.”
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33h Median play time
74h Average play time
8-90h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 69 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Battleborn is a hack and slash game with fantasy, comedy and science fiction themes.

Battleborn is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and others.

On average players spend around 74 hours playing Battleborn.

Battleborn was released on May 2, 2016.

Battleborn was developed by Gearbox Software.

Battleborn has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its optimization.

Battleborn is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Gigantic, Battlerite, Awesomenauts - the 2D moba, Awesomenauts, Tom Clancy's The Division and others.