The looter shooter genre has become a crowded space in the industry in recent years, and with the success of games like Destiny and The Division, it seems every major publisher is looking to try its hands at something similar. But of course, it was all the way back in 2009 that the very first Borderlands game popularized this genre, with its addictive lootgrind, whacky world, and off-kilter humour.
Borderlands 3 spells the series’ return after long hiatus, and many competitors have cropped up since we last saw this franchise. But according to the game’s producer Chris Brock, there’s some elements that help set Borderlands apart from other similar games. While speaking with PCGamesN, Brock opined that while other loot shooters generally tend to go for more systemic missions, Borderlands tries to make each of its missions a unique experience in and of itself, which, as per Brock, is something fans respond to as well.
“We keep hearing from people who say ‘we like these unique, bespoke missions that are quirky and weird, and one-off and strange,’” said Brock. “And we like making those. It’s less systemic, it’s harder to make a lot of them, but it’s worth it.”
Loot, however, is still going to be something that Borderlands 3 tries to nail. “To me it’s actually really important that I shot, I killed that enemy, it dropped loot, it’s over there, I can look at that loot, and see what it is and pick it up and use it,” said Brock. “It feels like if you’re a loot-based game, that’s very important.”
That said, Borderlands has also learned some things from other first person shooters in the market itself. For instance, Brock mentions that “there are things we’ve learned from” the likes of Titanfall and Apex Legends, in terms how how the actual shooting needs to feel. “We don’t want to have a bajillion guns and they handle bad,” he said, while also bringing up the point of endgame content, which is now more important to games like Borderlands than it was a few years ago, saying that that’s “something that we should definitely be aware of.”
Conversely, even though we see a lot of the elements and mechanics that Borderlands first implemented in other looter shooters, Brock is surprised that games in the genre don’t attempt to imitate Borderlands even more. “There are times that I wondered why some of those other games haven’t cribbed a bit more from us,” he said.
Borderlands 3 is out on September 13 for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC, and will also be launching with Stadia in November. Make sure to read our interview with Gearbox Software’s senior producer Anthony Nicholson for more details on the game.