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The last couple of years have been quite informative for those who love games with good author's humor. Psychonauts 2, Guardians of the Galaxy, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands and now New Tales of the Borderlands . These are titles that boast not only funny jokes, but also great acting. Gearbox first gave me a lot of fun with Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, and now they've released New Tales from the Borderlands, which, in terms of humor, even surpasses the fantasy spin-off of the series.
The original Tales from the Borderlands, a spin-off of the popular post-apocalyptic shooter series, appeared in 2015. It was developed by Telltale Games, and it's nice to know that some of the veterans from the first game have joined the development to become consultants for the sequel. While the new game offers a completely different cast of protagonists, familiar secondary characters appear, including Reese Strongfork, the CEO of the sinister mega-corporation Atlas. As a result, you can play New Tales from the Borderlands without knowing the events of the original.
The new game involves a trio (more precisely, a quartet) of potential heroes. Anu is the pacifist weapons designer from Atlas, Octavio is Anu's adoptive brother, an inept and slightly unsavory businessman, and Fran is Frogurt's operator and Octavio's employer. The fourth member of the collective is a killer robot with a British accent LOU13. The story begins with rival arms manufacturer Tediore invading the orbit of Atlas headquarters. Anu escapes to the local planet Prometheus in search of Octavio. The Tediore attacks Prometheus in an attempt to find the fabled Vault, which may contain alien weapon technology. Our heroes decided to stop the villains.
New Tales from the Borderlands assumes that the player is familiar with the Borderlands universe, although it welcomes the arrival of absolute beginners. For starters, the game explains important bits of backstory, and for obvious reasons, veteran Borderlands fans will have a lot more fun. The story is told in five episodes, but, unlike the original, they all released at the same time, and you do not have to wait for the next chapters.
The Borderlands franchise has always balanced between humor and action. The main games, while action-oriented, feature a large amount of parody and cultural satire. Telltale's Tales from the Borderlands and the more recently released Tiny Tina's Wonderlands lean even more heavily on humor. The original Tales was an adventure game with branching dialogues and QTE events. In terms of mechanics, New Tales from the Borderlines is almost identical to the first game. Even though there is a main story arc, the experience is complemented by smaller details. Usually this choice comes down to choosing an option in a dialogue within the allotted time. In most cases, you will understand what emotional or moral consequences this or that decision is fraught with.
In addition to branching story and dialogue, New Tales from the Borderlands features a number of QTEs that build dodges and gunfights. QTE is what adds to the action atmosphere in New Tales. Depending on the settings you choose, you may need to react quickly, although you can reduce the difficulty at any time. While the QTE mechanic keeps the players engaged and part of the action, it is also the least interesting element of the game.
Each of the characters controls a certain technology. Anu has a non-lethal weapon that transports targets to other dimensions of time or space, Octavio has a wrist computer, and Fran's floating chair has a weapon to freeze targets.
While all other elements of New Tales are not related to the main story, special attention should be paid to mini-games. One of the most interesting is the game of soldiers: you can face various NPCs in an unusual mini-game based on collectible 3D figures from the Borderlands lore. New Tales from the Borderlands also contains many minor characters that appear throughout the chapters. These include the adorable Ratchies, taco stand owners, demolition experts, and the hilarious Rippers.
Like the best movies and TV shows, New Tales from the Borderlands understands the value of well-drawn characters. At the beginning of the game, spend a lot of time getting to know Ana, Octavio, Fran and LOU13, understanding their connection to each other and how they come together as a team. The opening chapter is the best example of exposition and character creation I've seen in a game.
In terms of humor, it ranges from broad jokes to very subtle social satire. Humor in games is always a tricky balance between player sensibility, game scripting, and execution. All games based on humor, even the best of the best, contain a lot of bad jokes by percentage. The humor of New Tales from the Borderlands comes in more often than it seems out of place. Only occasionally there are low-grade jokes.
The Borderlands franchise has an unmistakably recognizable, stylized and detailed artwork. Borderlands 3, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, and New Tales are identical in appearance. Colorful, detailed artwork, with many subtle jokes or references. I wouldn't want every game to share the same Borderlands aesthetic, but I feel like the visuals match the overall setting of the universe. The cartoony visuals do a lot to soften the extreme violence that is also part of New Tales.
The voice acting in New Tales from the Borderlands is fantastic. Excellent musical accompaniment is used, although you rarely pay attention to it. Instead, it fits perfectly into the texture and supports the action.
New Tales from the Borderlands is extremely entertaining, well-written and with a strong focus on well-developed characters. I would like the action to be not limited to QTE events, because a full-fledged action game with such high-quality humor and characters would be an unconditional contender for GOTY. After replaying the original Tales from the Borderlands, it became obvious how much better the new game was than the first. New Tales from the Borderlands will appeal to anyone who appreciates a great script, interesting characters and a wide range of humor.
The success of the title is quite expected.
New heroes, new challenges.
Deadpool's world is dying.
No release date for the adaptation has been given yet.
