Borderlands 3 is the first main game release of the Borderlands series in 5 years since the Pre-Sequel came out in 2014. Fans have been essentially foaming at the mouth for a new release and it showed when BL3 finally dropped. Over 5 million copies were sold within the first five days of its release and over 8 million copies sold at the time that I am writing this. Does BL3 live up to the hype? Sort of.
The gameplay is relatively the same. They don't really take a lot of risks in this game as they did in BL2 or the Pre-Sequel but there are a few minor things added which I was a fan of and a few things I wasn't. I like the map is much more interactive, You have to discover audio logs and minor challenge objectives on the map which you can do immediately upon finding them. Annoyingly, Some areas of the game are locked until you progress further in the story. This is a first in the series and hopefully the last. Being an open world is a huge selling point for Borderlands, Restricting areas makes no sense especially when the only content related to said areas is just natural story progression.
I am also not a fan of how they made audio logs a point of interest on the map and how they are by far the fewest amount of logs in this game in comparison to any other. The audio logs helped add depth to the overall story. By taking away from that, It takes away from developing the lore of the series any further and it's those kinds of hidden gems that keep fans coming back for more. They want to discover all of the game's secrets, Not feel like they are forced objectives to finally 100% it.
And the same goes for discovering areas of the map. They show a % of total discovery for each new area you go to. This doesn't just include exploring every inch of the map but also dealing with every mission and challenge as well. Once again, Taking something that should just be naturally fun and turning it into a forced chore is a big mistake and once that I am not a fan of.
Moving on, The graphics are on par with the Handsome Jack collection, Nothing really blows me away in this game. We meet a very wide cast of characters but none ever seem to play a major part aside from Lilith. I hate that they replaced the original Claptrap voice actor because the new guy sounds like a bargain bin copy. The main villains of the game are the weakest we've dealt with since the original Borderlands, The story is as equally disappointing as well. If this was ended to be the end of the original story arc, It ended on a sour note that may not please a lot of die-hard fans.
Overall: 6/10
Borderlands 3 doesn't really do much in terms of originality and what they do try typically doesn't work. In comparison to every other game in the series, I definitely view it as the weakest entry. It's not a bad game but it left a lot to be desired. After 5 long years, I expected more and they failed to deliver.
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