New Tales from the Borderlands

33%
Game Brain Score Based on 818 reviews
  • story
  • humor
  • gameplay
New Tales from the Borderlands Game Cover
I can't rave enough about how much I loved playing New Tales from the Borderlands. It's likely the most I've ever laughed while playing a video game - with the previous champion being Tales from the Borderlands.
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"New Tales from the Borderlands" is a narrative-driven adventure game set in the chaotic and humorous world of the Borderlands universe. Players control three unlikely heroes as they navigate a web of loyalty, deception, and danger in pursuit of a powerful alien artifact. The game features point-and-click mechanics, multiple-choice dialogues, and a choice-driven narrative that alters the story's outcome. Your actions will have consequences, and the fate of the galaxy rests in your hands.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Epic Games
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

33%
Audience ScoreBased on 818 reviews
story92 positive mentions
grinding9 negative mentions
  • The game features beautiful graphics and animations, showcasing the Borderlands art style effectively.
  • Some characters, particularly L0U13 and the Tediore soldiers, provide humorous moments that resonate well with players.
  • The game offers a unique narrative experience with multiple endings based on player choices, adding some replay value.
  • The writing is often cringeworthy and lacks the charm and wit of the original Tales from the Borderlands.
  • Main characters are generally unlikable and poorly developed, making it hard for players to connect with them.
  • The pacing is inconsistent, with long stretches of dialogue that feel drawn out and tedious, detracting from the overall experience.
  • story461 mentions

    The story of "New Tales from the Borderlands" has received mixed reviews, with many players expressing disappointment compared to its predecessor. While some appreciate the humor and character dynamics, others criticize the writing as weak, filled with clichés, and lacking meaningful choices that impact the narrative. Overall, the game struggles to capture the charm and depth of the original, leaving many fans feeling that it falls short in delivering a compelling story.

    • “Developed by Gearbox Software and released in 2022, this sequel introduces a new cast of characters while maintaining the series' trademark humor and choice-driven storytelling.”
    • “Their story revolves around a high-stakes quest involving a mysterious alien artifact, a lost city, and a series of increasingly ridiculous mishaps.”
    • “Each of the new protagonists is distinct and well-developed, with their own personal stakes and quirks that add depth to the story.”
    • “The plot is almost insultingly bad; every turn can be seen a mile away, and the poor voice actors were given a garbage script. I feel like given a well-written game, it would have been amazing.”
    • “The dialogue is god awful about 95% of the time. There are a bunch of terrible, mind-numbing mini-games that I wish I could remove from my memory, and I could tell every plot point from about 25% of the way through.”
    • “The story itself is not very exciting, and the characters unfortunately seem very flat.”
  • humor236 mentions

    The humor in "New Tales from the Borderlands" has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it genuinely funny and in line with the series' trademark style, while others criticize it as forced, cringeworthy, and inconsistent. Many noted that while certain characters and moments elicited laughter, the overall writing often fell flat, leading to a perception of unfunny and repetitive jokes. Overall, the humor seems to be a divisive aspect, appealing to some fans of the franchise while alienating others who expected a higher standard of comedic writing.

    • “The writing remains sharp and humorous, capturing the essence of the Borderlands universe while introducing new comedic elements and emotional beats.”
    • “Overall, the writing with the characters is only shown in brief moments throughout the entire game, it is cluttered with small haha funny moments that are awful jokes that it makes serious moments like death and actual human reaction non-existent.”
    • “It's funny, and doesn't take itself too seriously, like any Borderlands game.”
    • “Most of my problems with the dialogue in this game come from how painfully unfunny and obnoxious it is.”
    • “The protagonists can feel 'quirky' and annoying a lot of the time, and some jokes are straight up not funny or made at the wrong time (like in serious moments).”
    • “One of the most unfunny, painful, and tone-deaf experiences on the market.”
  • gameplay84 mentions

    The gameplay of "New Tales from the Borderlands" has received largely negative feedback, with many reviewers noting a significant decline in quality compared to its predecessor. Players criticize the lack of meaningful interaction, excessive reliance on quick-time events, and a narrative that fails to engage, resulting in a linear experience that feels more like a movie than a game. While some acknowledge improvements in mechanics and graphics, the overall consensus is that the gameplay is shallow and unfulfilling, detracting from the potential of the story.

    • “In terms of gameplay, it's your usual Telltale play-style; however, unlike any other Telltale game, this one actually has multiple endings, and those endings rely on the choices you make and how high each character's relationship level with each other.”
    • “A very fun and unique gameplay experience, and while it drags a bit during the middle, overall I found this experience to be both unique, funny, and enjoyable.”
    • “The gameplay of New Tales is definitely more polished.”
    • “The gameplay is similar to the original Tales from the Borderlands, just with way worse writing and almost half a dozen little minigames that feel like pointless filler.”
    • “Additionally, while the core gameplay remains focused on dialogue and choices, it sometimes lacks the urgency and variety that might have enhanced the experience.”
    • “The characters are all annoying, there's very little meaningful interaction, and there's a lot of mechanics that exist for seemingly no other reason than to just add fluff content to make the game last longer.”
  • graphics58 mentions

    The game's graphics have received widespread praise for their vibrant cel-shaded art style, which fans of the series appreciate. Many reviewers noted the visuals as a significant improvement over previous titles, highlighting the clean textures and polished animations. However, some critiques mentioned that while the graphics are strong, they cannot compensate for the game's perceived shortcomings in storytelling and character development.

    • “Graphically, the game continues with the cel-shaded art style that fans of the series will recognize and appreciate.”
    • “The visuals are vibrant and comic-like, perfectly matching the tone of the narrative.”
    • “The animation and visuals are great, the voice acting is amazing, and the humor is genuine.”
    • “Didn't get past the first minute because I couldn't get over how they butchered the classic art style.”
    • “The only upgrade here is the graphics, everything else is downgraded, everything.”
    • “The only true improvement over the original is the graphics and fluid cinematics, but that isn't enough to save a game that has crappy writing all over it.”
  • music54 mentions

    The music in the game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many players expressing disappointment in the soundtrack compared to previous titles in the Borderlands series. Critics describe the music as generic, forgettable, and poorly integrated into the gameplay, lacking the memorable and impactful selections that characterized earlier games. While a few players found some songs fitting, the consensus is that the overall musical experience fails to meet expectations, detracting from the game's atmosphere and emotional engagement.

    • “All in all, if you're a heavy Borderlands fan and you can look past how silly some things are, it's a really enjoyable story and the music selection was really fitting. Overall, on a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it a 9/10; basically perfect for me, just a little too goofy sometimes.”
    • “Tales has such an awesome selection of music, from intros to outros and everything in between; it was absolutely perfect.”
    • “I will say on a positive note - I enjoyed the song choices, especially TWRP, that fit right in.”
    • “The soundtrack is generic muck and the only vaguely likable character is a barely controlled murderhobo psychopath in a hoverchair.”
    • “But in New Tales, the music is so awful and unremarkable it's straight up a disgrace.”
    • “The music is so weak and noiselike, both the score and the montage intros.”
  • emotional33 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the sharp writing and occasional heartfelt moments, while others criticize the overall lack of emotional depth and character development compared to previous titles. Many found the attempts at emotional storytelling to be forced and unconvincing, leading to a disconnection from the characters and their arcs. Overall, the game struggles to balance humor and emotional weight, resulting in a varied experience that leaves some players feeling unfulfilled.

    • “The writing remains sharp and humorous, capturing the essence of the Borderlands universe while introducing new comedic elements and emotional beats.”
    • “Telltale knew how to make a story with quick time events, emotional pull, and moments in the game that really made you feel something for the characters.”
    • “Its cute, silly, and doesn't take itself too seriously but still has great heartwarming and tearjerking moments throughout all five episodes.”
    • “Abysmal writing, boring story, unlikable characters.”
    • “Boring story, annoying characters, and so many plot holes.”
    • “Uninteresting and plain, boring storyline.”
  • character development30 mentions

    Character development in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players expressing disappointment over the lack of depth and growth for key characters, particularly Rhys, whose transformation has been criticized as a betrayal of his original persona. While some characters, like L0u13, are noted for their engaging development, others are described as bland stereotypes with minimal progression. Overall, the narrative struggles to deliver the emotional connections and impactful character arcs that fans expected, especially when compared to previous entries in the series.

    • “The game's strength lies in its engaging narrative and character development.”
    • “I enjoyed the character development and their relationships and motivations.”
    • “Despite being plagued by more than its fair share of problems, the writing was some of the best that I've seen out of Borderlands in a bit, and the character development and worldbuilding in the game were fantastic, save for some schlocky moments.”
    • “1 female lead that is a consistent train wreck, with almost 0 character development until the last episode.”
    • “Two out of the three new main characters are just bland, ugly, and boring stereotypes with no character development (Anu and Octavio).”
    • “The character development and overall plot just seemed to fall flat in general.”
  • grinding9 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and unengaging, with repetitive minigames and a lack of depth that detracts from the overall experience. Players find the necessity to replay sections for achievements and different endings particularly frustrating, especially due to the inability to skip previously seen dialogue. While some appreciate the humor and occasional enjoyment from side games, the overwhelming sentiment is that the grinding elements make the gameplay feel slow and painful.

    • “I don't feel as engaged with playing, especially when I learned about the whole 'grindy' aspect of the game.”
    • “Additionally, the Vaultlanders minigame you'll have to play through several times is tedious and a chore to get through as it has no depth to it.”
    • “To add to that, if you're trying to go for all endings, that obviously means playing sections of the game again, but that's simply tedious as they removed the option to skip dialog, so you're forced to sit through scenes that by a certain point you've already watched a few times just to get to a choice and select something different.”
  • optimization8 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while technical issues like stuttering and texture pop-ins have been addressed, users report lag in the menu and some content may have been cut for performance reasons. Despite these drawbacks, the audio, visuals, and overall performance are generally well-received, contributing positively to the gameplay experience.

    • “The performances are good, but they're certainly not fun to listen to.”
    • “Technical issues like stuttering, hitching, and texture pop-ins.”
    • “The menu would frequently lag, which is confusing since it's literally the start menu of the game; surely that should be optimized.”
    • “By the looks of it, some content was cut or removed for better performance, technical reasons, or isn't working on Steam Deck.”
  • monetization6 mentions

    The monetization aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players feeling it is a cash grab that fails to deliver on the quality of its predecessor, while others found it surprisingly enjoyable despite initial hesitations. Critics noted that the game's marketing did not accurately represent its content, leading to disappointment regarding character involvement and overall value.

    • “This just felt like someone sold me a knock-off at the market after advertising its likeness to the prior installment.”
    • “- total cash grab (not worth whatever MSRP it was, I only paid like $2)”
    • “- despite being all over the teasers and advertisements, the sidekicks are practically non-existent, since they only show up for 5 minutes before vanishing just like my will to live after playing this.”
  • atmosphere4 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is generally well-received, with polished visuals and effective humor contributing to a vibrant experience. However, some players feel that the music and story elements fall short, failing to capture the essence of previous titles in the series. Overall, while the locations are visually appealing, the atmosphere lacks the depth and character development expected by fans.

    • “The animation and visual effects are polished, though not groundbreaking, effectively conveying the game's humorous and high-energy atmosphere.”
    • “The atmosphere is great; I think every location looks and feels nice, and I don't really have any complaints about that at all. The music in most parts is nice too.”
    • “The story is too weak, and I am not even including the green and red shard parts. The music is just random (after the bangers from the previous Tales game, this is very disappointing). Character development is also weak, and the atmosphere does not even come close to reflecting the aura of Borderlands.”
  • replayability2 mentions

    The game offers significant replayability due to multiple endings and the ability for various characters to live or die, encouraging players to explore different outcomes. However, some feel that certain elements may have been included primarily to enhance replay value, such as collectibles.

    • “I haven't seen all 5 of this game's endings, but the number of different characters who can live or die in this game makes it open for tons of replayability.”
    • “The variety of choices and outcomes keeps me coming back for more, ensuring that each playthrough feels fresh and exciting.”
    • “With multiple paths and secrets to uncover, this game offers endless replayability that keeps me engaged long after my first run.”
    • “It could have done without it, and I'm 99% sure this was only added for replay value (collectibles?).”
    • “The game lacks meaningful choices, making replaying it feel pointless.”
    • “Once you've completed the game, there's little incentive to go back and play it again.”
  • stability1 mentions

    The stability of the game has been criticized, with users reporting frequent freezes that disrupt gameplay.

    • “The game frequently crashes, making it nearly unplayable.”
    • “I experience constant lag and freezing during gameplay.”
    • “The server stability is terrible; I get disconnected all the time.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

66% average critic score

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Play time

9hMedian play time
8hAverage play time
2-10hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs

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