Caught by Gematsu, the Film and Publication Board of South Africa seems to have rated The Borderlands Compilation: Pandora’s Box back in March for both PC as well as consoles.

While not yet officially confirmed by 2K, The Borderlands Compilation: Pandora’s Box could be a collection of the three numbered titles in the franchise as well as Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. The name featuring Pandora as part of the title indicates that Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands may not be a part of the compilation, since it doesn’t take place on Pandora.

Last we heard of the Borderlands franchise, publisher Take-Two had revealed that Borderlands 3 had sold over 16 million units, making it the fastest-selling game for 2K New Tales from the Borderlands was also released back in October 2022, and you can check out our review for that for more details.

Gotham Knights

Gotham Knights may not rank among the worst DC superhero storylines out there (that honor still goes to Countdown, personally), but its ending is pretty terrible. Remember the Court of Owls? Irrelevant to the actual villains, aka the League of Shadows/Assassins/Idiots. The final boss? Talia al Ghul, because Ra’s is on extended leave in the afterlife, and no other major villains are available.

But the absolute worst is all those months of the developer convincing us that Bruce Wayne is dead and gone. And he is, but then they bring him back to life with a Lazarus Pit in some brainwashed state, after which he’s beaten back to his senses, and then dies again in a heroic sacrifice. It was absurd to the point of comedy.

The Callisto Protocol

After Jacob discovers the truth behind the virus, he goes up against the mutated Leon Ferris, now known as Subject Alpha, to synthesize a vaccine for an infected Dani. He does so, but because he effectively played a part in the outbreak on Europa, Jacob decides to remain in the prison while Dani escapes and Black Iron self-destructs. Of course, that’s not the end, as Dr Caitlyn Mahler suddenly intervenes, revealing that the two can escape if they work together. Ferris suddenly does a jumpscare scream, and we cut to black.

If the characters were better developed over a longer period, this ending wouldn’t have felt as abrupt or unsatisfying (especially with how many questions still lingered). But it also doesn’t help that there’s story DLC in development, making it feel like you need to pay extra for the “real” ending, if not to see what happens in the sequel.

New Tales from the Borderlands

New Tales from the Borderlands suffers from many problems, like being worse than the first game in almost every way. It also has a multitude of endings, each more underwhelming than the last. But the best ending, which sees the core cast (and LOU13) survive to form Galactic Healing Incorporated with the help of Rhys, doesn’t feel like a decent pay-off at all. Contrast this to how the first game ended and how well each character was written (including Rhys, who’s beyond ruined), and it’s just insulting.

Dying Light 2 Stay Human

The whole climax of Dying Light 2 revolves around the X13 lab and how Waltz, the main villain, will launch missiles on Villedor, The City. Aiden enters the lab to stop him and discovers that Mia is Waltz’s daughter and not his sister. X13 is keeping her alive, and stopping the missile strike means shutting down the facility, which can kill her. After Waltz is defeated, you can either save Lawan or Mia. The former results in the city being destroyed, so that’s no good.

The latter sees X13 destroyed and Mia dead, but Villedor survives, and Hakon may even save Lawan if the right choices were made. Aiden ultimately leaves, presumably to a better ending. Overall, very anti-climatic and unsatisfying, especially the final fight.

Shadow Warrior 3

I wanted to like Shadow Warrior 3, even if it failed on its one premise – Zilla and Wang teaming up – to focus more on Hoji. It all leads to Wang assaulting the dragon again in the finale. However, this time he gets inside, activating Hoji’s Chi cannon and destroying it from within. There’s a deeper message about Wang getting his mojo back, which isn’t given enough time to develop so it’s hard to care.

By the end, Wang, Hoji, Zilla and Motoko celebrate the dragon’s death by eating parts of it. What about Kamiko, implied to be the dragon when Shadow Warrior 2 ended? What about the world at large? Doesn’t matter, don’t ask.

Scorn

The “story” of Scorn involves two factions of the Homunculi waging war on an alien planet, one using biotech cyborgs and the other using exosuits. But none of that matters. Your story begins after the war is over and the planet’s ruined. First, you play as a character who tries to reach the citadel and fails, becoming a parasite. Then you play as another character, eventually infected by a parasite (which may be the first protagonist), and then undertake a big ol’ journey.

By the end, the parasite completely envelops the character, and they’re stuck in that form, seemingly for eternity. Who? Why? What was the point of any of this? Your guess is as good as ours.

ELEX 2

The plot of ELEX 2 surrounds the coming of the Skyand, responsible for the comet that struck the planet Magalan and unleashed ELEX upon the populace. Jax must gather allies to fight them, but it’s revealed that ELEX was stolen from a cosmic being called the Singularity and the Skyand fear its return. The Skyand attempt to reshape the planet and maybe stand against the Singularity, or something, it’s hard to say. When they’re defeated, Singularity is seemingly the next threat for Magalan’s people.

If this sounds like Horizon Forbidden West’s ending, then you’re more or less correct. Just imagine it with worse characters, a much worse final battle, lame choices, horrible presentation, bugs, and lots of jank, and you’ve got ELEX 2.

Salt and Sacrifice

There’s some decent lore in Salt and Sacrifice, but ultimately it boils down to the Undone Sacrifice becoming such to stop the gods’ wrath. However, this results in the prevalence of Magehood, and Mages aren’t very nice, judging by the sheer number you need to hunt. In the end, upon defeating the Undone Sacrifice, you can either take its place and perpetuate the cycle or devour the tree it hangs on, causing the world to end. All in all, it just pales in comparison to the first game’s set-up and ending.

Martha is Dead

Martha has died. Who killed her? Well, her twin sister Guilia did. But actually, Martha isn’t dead. Guilia is Martha. The former is her alternate personality, formed through childhood trauma. She’s taken to the asylum and eventually slits her arms, regardless of your choices. It’s revealed later that Guilia has recovered, and a message says there’s always something to live for.

It comes across as a powerful message at first but is also out of left field. So much is made irrelevant, like the photographs, the gruesome dissections, and the last hours of the story. Opinions may vary on the usage of mental illness as a major twist in a horror story, but it feels awkwardly implemented here.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands

The problems with the ending of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands are rooted in the Dragon Lord’s character. Throughout the story, it’s implied that he exists independent of the Bunker Master, aka Tina. However, this isn’t the case. As it turns out, the Dragon Lord was originally Tina’s character when she still played, who turned evil when she used the Sword of Souls to wipe out all evil in the game.

This caused Tina to rage quit and the Dragon Lord to swear vengeance on her…to no avail since she controls everything as the Bunker Master. None of this matters as the player defeats the Dragon Lord, uses the Sword of Souls to revive the Queen, and effectively spares the villain. He’s sentenced to 200 years of imprisonment for his crimes and seems mostly fine. Riveting stuff, indeed.

Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection (on PC)

When the remastered duo launched for PS5 in January, it debuted in fifth place on Gfk’s UK physical sales charts. Pretty good, even if it didn’t hit the top 20 for The NPD Group’s best-selling games for the month. Its PC version is a completely different story, though, hitting a peak concurrent player count of only 10,851 on Steam when it was released in October. Either because there wasn’t much hype around it, or other big titles took all the attention, the collection just didn’t resonate.

CrossfireX

With a whopping 38 out of 100 Metascore and lacklustre marketing, it was somewhat expected that CrossfireX wouldn’t do great. Lo and behold, it didn’t chart anywhere in The NPD Group’s February 2022 sales rankings, nor did it warrant a mention in Gfk’s physical charts for the UK. However, given how popular Crossfire’s multiplayer is in China and South Korea (with over $1 billion in revenue each year since 2014), this won’t hurt Smilegate’s bottom line one bit.

Monark

You could call Monark another victim of Elden Ring’s overwhelming presence, especially in Europe, where it launched on the same day as the Souls-like. That’s probably why it wasn’t mentioned anywhere in Gfk’s physical sales charts for the week. It also had only 177 peak concurrent players on Steam in the West. Then again, when released last year in Japan, it barely hit 16,000 units sold on PS4 and Nintendo Switch. Couple that with poor critical reception, and its failure is understandable.

Ghostwire: Tokyo

Tango Gameworks’ Ghostwire Tokyo was one of the premiere PS5 console exclusives this year and sadly didn’t perform up to par. It debuted in 12th place for The NPD Group’s March 2022 charts, and in 11thth place for Gfk’s UK physical game charts. Not only that, but it sold 80 percent less than The Evil Within 2 in the UK, which was considered to have performed poorly at launch. Though it managed sixth place in its debut in Japan, it only sold 10,144 units in its first week. Even the Steam numbers were nothing to write home about, with a peak concurrent total of 14,086 players in its lifetime.

Shadow Warrior 3

Shadow Warrior 3 was intriguing in how it not only went with a super-linear approach to its levels but also stuck to previous-gen consoles and PC. Blame it on the lack of marketing buzz, the shadows of Elden Ring and Horizon Forbidden West, or something else, but when released on March 1st, 2022, it was nowhere to be seen in Gfk’s UK physical sales charts or GSD’s digital sales charts. Even the peak concurrent player count on Steam was a mere 1,651 players.

GRID Legends

Another game which likely suffered due to releasing too close to Elden Ring and Horizon Forbidden West is Codemasters’ GRID Legends. It debuted in 18th place in Gfk’s UK physical sales charts and was pretty much never heard from again after that. Yes, not even in The NPD Group’s best-selling titles for February and March 2022. SteamDB reveals a peak concurrent player count of just 455, which is just a few days after it launched.

Roller Champions

Roller Champions’ success is a bit harder to measure since, well, it’s a free-to-play title. That being said, its digital revenue hasn’t warranted any mention this year. It launched to very little reaction on PC, Xbox One, and PS4, and the Switch release did nothing to help this either. Lest anyone thinks the recent Steam release would aid in a resurgence, it has had a peak concurrent player total of 141. Such was the response that reports quickly circulated of the game being sunset, which Ubisoft denied.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns

One of the big three releases of December, Marvel’s Midnight Suns has a lot going for it with the XCOM team involved, strong critical acclaim, and some well-known Marvel heroes. It even had 15,500 peak concurrent players on Steam. Sales-wise, the story is less positive, as it debuted in a mortifying 26th place in the UK physical sales charts. Granted, Firaxis is known more for its PC player base (as seen with the Steam user count), and the digital sales could help, but the Xbox Series X/S and PS5 numbers can’t be entirely discounted. Maybe it was just the victim of too many big releases on the same day, as evidenced by The Callisto Protocol performing way better.

Need for Speed Unbound

Due to its release timing, we won’t know how Need for Speed Unbound performed in the US until next month. As for the UK, its launch week physical sales were down a staggering 64 percent compared to Need for Speed Heat, earning it only 17th place. This may seem expected, but it’s the tenth-biggest IP in the region’s history. Things hardly improved the next week when it slipped to 19th place following a 19 percent sales drop. Steam player numbers aren’t so great either, with a peak concurrent total of only 14,063.

Star Ocean: The Divine Force

Compared to Valkyrie Elysium, Star Ocean: The Divine Force performed decently when it launched in Japan, with over 44,000 units sold on PS4 and PS5. The problem? It’s the weakest game launch in the series. The first Star Ocean in June 1996 sold over 81,000 copies on the Super Famicom, for crying out loud. The Divine Force failed to crack Gfk’s top 10 in the UK and debuted in 14th place for the US, according to The NPD Group, before quietly fading away.

Gungrave G.O.R.E.

Gungrave G.O.R.E. launched a few weeks after Sonic Frontiers and God of War Ragnarok, and days after Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Shock of shocks, it neither charted in the UK nor the US. On Steam, it has a peak concurrent player total of 138, which says it all.

Harvestella

This one hurts, simply because I loved Livewire’s Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights. Sadly, Harvestella matched up in neither sales nor critical acclaim. It debuted in second place in Famitsu’s Japan sales charts with 26,644 units sold on Nintendo Switch, but only reached 38,704 sales before dropping out entirely. On PC, it had a measly 3,395 peak concurrent players via Steam.

The DioField Chronicle

Square Enix may have some heavy hitters coming in 2023, but this year has been rather disastrous for the publisher. It released a flurry of underwhelming titles and commercial flops, like The DioField Chronicle. The strategy RPG launched at 17th place in Gfk’s UK physical sales charts and sold about 12,068 units in its first week in Japan across Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PS5. SteamDB notes 1,272 peak concurrent players over its lifetime, which is pretty sad.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure (PC)

Considering how valuable the PC market has been for Sony with Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War (2018), and Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, it was expected that Sackboy would follow up on that success. Alas, it wasn’t to be. It recorded a meagre 610 peak concurrent players since launch, far less than even Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection. Sony hasn’t revealed sales numbers, and maybe it’s unfair to expect much out of a lesser-known IP on PC. Nevertheless, it’s still disappointing.

New Tales from the Borderlands

Released on October 21st, 2022, you’d expect a new Borderlands title, much less the follow-up to Tales from the Borderlands, to get a decent response. But either due to the lack of marketing, Telltale not returning, the premise or a flurry of other releases, New Tales from the Borderlands came and went with very little response. It wasn’t mentioned by Gfk in its UK physical charts for the end of October and throughout November. Even worse, it didn’t even chart in The NPD Group’s US sales charts for October and November.

"The charm and humor that Borderlands games have long been so well known for continues to shine here, as it has done so consistently throughout the series, but for the more niche’ spin-off series focusing on the tales from it, it seems that Gearbox has not only succeeded in picking up the pieces dropped by Telltale games, but they have used them to assemble something even better that the last game with an experience that runs better, plays better, and sheds more light on its characters with its stellar writing and performances."

Out of the more notable improvements, New Tales from the Borderlands boasts a clearly better development toolset behind the curtain. The frame-rate hitching and input delay that so often plagued the Telltale games is nowhere to be seen here, outside of the occasional barely noticeable hiccup that falls well within acceptable parameters. I also get the sense that New Tales seems to feature more precise mo-cop for its actors, which is a great step up from the last game in the spin-off series, and really illustrates the subtle ticks, nods, and other small gestures that are so crucial to the humor of Borderlands and elevate the new characters’ personalities to great heights.

The same can’t quite be said for the story itself though, as it can feel like it’s shuffling around the same handful of ideas without actually building much with them for long stretches of time. Other times, it is exceptionally entertaining with its fresh cast – Fran and LOU13 being the clear stand-outs to me. No one character falls below good though, so the strong cast ends up being perhaps the story’s greatest strength. While it’s not always as consistently interesting as the story in other Borderlands games tends to be, it does shed more light on its characters than the last game by showing them in a larger variety of situations and giving them more opportunities to make drastically different decisions.

From the outrageously silly to the dramatic and serious, New Tales from the Borderlands really takes you on quite the narrative roller coaster with the clear emphasis on exploring its charming characters and putting them in challenging situations that force them to grow and show depth. Some choices are so drastically different from one another that it can be distracting as my brain was always trying to make sense out of what the canonical path really is, but I suppose that’s more of a ponderance for the choice-based narrative adventure genre at large than this specific game. In any case, while the story does have some dips in entertainment value, it mostly does a good job of managing the ebb and flow of climaxes and build-ups without spending too much time in any one segment.

"From the outrageously silly to the dramatic and serious, New Tales from the Borderlands really takes you on quite the narrative roller coaster with the clear emphasis on exploring its charming characters and putting them in challenging situations that force them to grow and show depth."

Gameplay is largely similar to the previous Tales from the Borderlands game with timed button prompts and choice making segments being the vast majority of it. There are of course moments where you can explore around a given space, investigate, and stumble into some funny optional interactions, but these segments are tightly confined and usually accompanied by something on the screen telling you exactly what to do when you’re ready to advance. If these segments could have been a little more open-ended and consequential as games like Detroit: Become Human and Syberia 3 have demonstrated as a superior approach, then that might have made New Tales from the Borderlands feel a little more like a major advancement from the previous game as opposed to the conservative upgrade it ended up as.

Given that the last game is nearly a decade old now, it would have been nice to see some larger spaces to explore and a more advanced web of outcomes that my exploration (or lack thereof) could’ve interfaced with. In the case of this particular series, there is certainly nothing wrong with more of the same, but with how New Tales plays things so safely as the narrative adventure genre has grown so much in recent years, the gameplay here can feel a little old hat and unambitious a lot of the time. If you’re coming at this game as a Borderlands fan primarily and not necessarily an avid player of narrative-based adventure games, you probably won’t even notice that, but if you are a fan of either of the games I just mentioned, New Tales from the Borderlands will feel quite simplistic in comparison.

New Tales from the Borderlands has the series’ iconic presentation down pat. The living comic-book aesthetic with thick black outlines and bold colors still looms large over the experience as it has done for its decade plus of games. The additional detail of skin textures and and different surfaces that has been added on in the more recent games can seem to clash with the simplistic nature of its style at times for me, but to each their own I suppose. More objectively speaking, the game runs well, registers inputs quickly, and does a great job of conveying the character’s personalities, style, and humor, just as any good borderlands game requires.

"Fans of this spin-off series and genre might be a little underwhelmed by the strict allegiance to the rules of its nearly-ten-year-old predecessor, but will more importantly continue to be charmed and entertained by the new faces and situations that this newest tale brings."

There is not much new for the Borderlands series in New Tales. It closely follows in the footsteps of the last game and only meaningfully expands on its ideas on rare occasion. Narratively, I would argue it’s a less consistently entertaining romp than its predecessor, yet the highs it does hit can feel higher than the ones in the previous game, and that is a trade-off you may or may not like depending on your taste. On the other side of the coin, the clear improvements on the back end make for a more pleasing gameplay experience despite the mechanics themselves being more focused on faithful replication of how the last game played rather than overhauling or advancing anything. As a result, it’s pretty clear this is a Gearbox game and not a Telltale game, but as a follow-up to Tales from the Borderlands, it undeniably checks more boxes than not, and shows that Gearbox is capable of putting out Borderlands games in both of the genres it’s taken part in. Bottom line? Fans of this spin-off series and genre might be a little underwhelmed by the strict allegiance to the rules of its nearly-ten-year-old predecessor, but will more importantly continue to be charmed and entertained by the new faces and situations that this newest tale brings.

This game was reviewed on PC.

As the trailer showcases, she’s more inclined to take the route of less murdering. How that works out remains to be seen when she, her brother Octavio, and Fran must deal with corporations, a vault monster, and assassins. That’s not even including the local misfits and bandits of Pandora.

New Tales from the Borderlands is out on October 21st for Xbox One, PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. In a recent interview with GamingBolt, producer Frédéric Scheubel revealed that it would have improved movement and facial animations thanks to performance capture, a first for the franchise.

"We’ve worked hard to carry forward the same spirit of adventure and storytelling as experienced in the original Tales from the Borderlands. Plus, Borderlands fans will get to see some familiar faces and locations make a return."

New Tales from the Borderlands is being billed as a standalone story that serves more as a spiritual successor to the original than a direct sequel, but of course, it does have strong connections to the Telltale game as well. Can you tell us about what sort of a balance the game will strike there, and what should be expected by both newcomers and returning fans?

New Tales from the Borderlands tells a brand new story that expands the Borderlands universe and gives the players a chance to experience a new cast of loveable losers. Players new to the franchise will be able to jump in and enjoy a game full of heartwarming emotions and classic Borderlands humor. At the same time, we’ve worked hard to carry forward the same spirit of adventure and storytelling as experienced in the original Tales from the Borderlands. Plus, Borderlands fans will get to see some familiar faces and locations make a return.

How does New Tales from the Borderlands expand upon its predecessor’s QTE-centric gameplay foundations? Should players expect a greater level of interactivity, or is the focus here squarely on the story and the characters?

While the primary focus of the game is on the story and characters, mini-games regularly pop up throughout New Tales from the Borderlands as fun, humorous and simple activities that give variety to gameplay. To start, the main mini-game that the user can actually obtain collectibles for is the “Vaultlanders” mini-game. Throughout the story of New Tales from the Borderlands, the player will have surprising encounters in which they must fight in plastic figurine warfare, attacking and dodging the enemy figurine. The victor takes the loser’s Vaultlander for their collection. Throughout the story, players will acquire more and more Vaultlanders. Other mini-games are represented as puzzles, quick time events, and many other one-time use gags.

The three protagonists the story centers around are clearly going to be the heart and soul of the experience. What can you tell us about them, and what kind of a role they play not only in the larger Borderlands universe, but also on a much more intimate level?

The three lovable losers serving as the underdog protagonists of New Tales from the Borderlands are absolutely at the heart of the game’s story. First we have Dr. Anuradha Dhar (Anu). Although Anu might be uncomfortable in social settings, she’s a problem-solver and uses her Tech Glasses to help her in this endeavor. She is a do-gooder who dreams of a world where no one has to kill to get ahead.

Anuradha’s adopted brother, Octavio, can be a bit full of himself. According to him, he is Meridian City’s most popular citizen with a long list of contacts to back it up. His ability to access information is like no other! Octavio’s big break hasn’t come just yet but he desperately wants to own a business and make loads of cash.

Fran Miscowicz brings all the action from her gadget packed hover chair. Fran’s frogurt shop was hit by a Maliwan laser, and now Fran is out for vengeance on the people that destroyed her shop. She’ll stop at nothing to protect her friends along the way, and hopefully receive the much owed insurance payout or the insurance company is going to have to deal with her directly.

"While it was important to us to be consistent in how we depict locations within the Borderlands universe, we also worked to create a unique tone and visual style for New Tales from the Borderlands."

Visually, New Tales from the Borderlands looks like a huge leap over the original. Can you talk us through the biggest changes and improvements the game is making on a technical level?

New Tales from the Borderlands will have a vastly improved movement and facial animations thanks to the technology used in development. Gearbox Studio Québec used performance capture for the first time ever in a Borderlands title. The team also took special care and research on Fran’s fantastical hoverchair. For motion capture, we built custom set-ups and rigs to allow for a wheelchair to move laterally, which created a futuristic look and feel for the hoverchair. The art direction focuses on the characters with lots of little details that catch your eye, as well as dramatic light and shadow work to provide high emotional impact.

New Tales from the Borderlands is taking players to Promethea. That’s a location that series fans will be familiar with, but did you end up making any alterations to the planet in terms of design or visuals for the purposes of this game?

While it was important to us to be consistent in how we depict locations within the Borderlands universe, we also worked to create a unique tone and visual style for New Tales from the Borderlands. You get to see locations and details from up close at a much slower pace than in an all-out-action title like our great shooter-looters. The art team members could express their creativity in the details you’ll see in those high resolution environments. You may catch subtle winks here and there.

Gearbox as a studio hasn’t had too much experience with making games revolving around choice and consequence mechanics. How did you prepare and expand for the development of this game?

Between the main Borderlands titles and the recent Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, we have an incredible team at Gearbox Software with a deep history of creating compelling narrative experiences. The team behind New Tales from the Borderlands are deeply passionate about storytelling and have exhaustive experience working in the genre, including as the leads for the four critically acclaimed Campaign DLC releases for Borderlands 3, and we are confident in delivering a top-tier story for New Tales from the Borderlands.

Gearbox Software also partnered with key alumni of the original Telltale Games narrative team to craft the all-new story in New Tales from the Borderlands in order to provide players with a familiar experience while expanding on gameplay, graphics and animation.

"We want every decision players make to feel consequential and, with five possible endings, discover how choices made throughout their own adventure impact the trajectory of each character."

How radically will players’ choices impact how the story plays out in New Tales from the Borderlands? Can you give us a rough idea of how many possible endings and ending variations the game has?

Every decision made gives players the ultimate power to choose between good and evil and make even the largest dreams of the smallest individuals come true, often in unexpected ways. The game UI is designed in such a way that the impact of choices aren’t always immediately clear, although the player should feel it some through the reactions of the characters. We want every decision players make to feel consequential and, with five possible endings, discover how choices made throughout their own adventure impact the trajectory of each character.

What was behind the decision to stick with an episodic structure rather than telling one large, continuous story, especially seeing as all episodes will be released together?

Many games, and stories more broadly, are broken up into chapters to help deliver a sense of pacing and dramatic progression. As you noted, all five parts of the game will be immediately available on release, so players won’t have to wait to play through the whole game. There is an added gameplay benefit as well, as players can choose to replay individual chapters or skip ahead in the story if they choose. Enjoy the game at your own pace, you have the choice.

Roughly how long will an average playthrough of the game be?

Players will have varying experiences with average playthrough length. With a myriad of potential choices and consequences that impact the adventure and story for each of the three playable characters, New Tales from the Borderlands offers players a ton of replayability. So, we hope everyone will continue to play and explore the different story possibilities that the game offers.

Fran Miscowicz will be one of the three central protagonists in New Tales from the Borderlands, and she grabs the spotlight in this newest trailer. Moving around on her trusty hoverchair that comes with several handy built-in accessories, she owns a frozen yogurt shop and is accompanied by Sponsorbot, a legally mandated sponsor who’s primary purpose is to help her with her anger management. She definitely seems like a character, to say the least. Check out the trailer below.

New Tales from the Borderlands launches on October 21 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Going gold essentially means that primary development on the game has completed and it has been submitted to platform holders like Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft so that it can be released on consoles. Typically, a game going gold marks the end of the main development of a game and the start of work on updates and future content.

New Tales from the Borderlands was announced back in August during Gamescom Opening Night Live. It focuses on the story of three lovable losers who can’t stay out of their own way. The game is set to take place over five parts, and will feature new as well as returning characters.

New Tales from the Borderlands is coming to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. For more details, here are 10 of the game’s features that you should know about.

https://twitter.com/Borderlands/status/1578489970045685762

LEGO Bricktales

While LEGO Brawls was all about combat, Clockstone’s LEGO Bricktales is a more chilled-out experience. You explore gorgeous LEGO dioramas, from deserts and a castle to Caribbean islands, solving puzzles and receiving new skills to spice up your grandfather’s aging amusement park. The main appeal is being given bricks and figuring out the solutions.

It’s an interesting mix of engineering and sandbox gameplay with five biomes to explore, multiple collectibles and side quests and a dedicated Sandbox Mode to tinker around in. LEGO Bricktales launches on October 12th for Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

Persona 5 Royal (Xbox, PC, Switch, and PS5)

After garnering critical acclaim on the PS4 for two years, Persona 5 Royal is finally coming to Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Nintendo Switch and PS5 on October 21st. As an enhanced version of Persona 5, Royal offers new story events, a new Palace, Ultimate Persona, quality-of-life features, a third semester, and a new party member in Kasumi. All previously released DLC is also included for free, and it’s also launching on day one for Game Pass.

If you’re yet to fall in with the Phantom Thieves and experience one of the best RPGs ever, then Persona 5 Royal is worth a look.

Dragon Ball: The Breakers

Ever wanted to play an asymmetrical, Dead by Daylight title but with Dragon Ball characters, running in fear from overpowered villainous beings? Dragon Ball: The Breakers is your oddly specific ticket, pitting seven ordinary humans against the likes of Frieza, Buu and Cell. Venture to different regions for keys to activate the Super Time Machine and either avoid the villains or use Dragon Change to fight back as legendary heroes like Goku, Vegeta, and Trunks.

The villain’s role is simple: Hunt down the survivors, level up and become stronger, and destroy any means of escape. That means decimating entire parts of the map, wrecking the time machines and beating survivors to a pulp. Dragon Ball: The Breakers is out on October 13th for Xbox One, PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

New Tales from the Borderlands

Gearbox Entertainment returns to the adventure-style format (sans Telltale Games) with New Tales from the Borderlands. Out on October 21st for Xbox and PlayStation platforms along with PC and Nintendo Switch, it features three new characters – scientist Anu, her brother Octavio and Fran, the owner of a frozen yogurt store. Together, they’ll search for a Vault Key while hopefully surviving against Pandora’s various hazards and corporate entities.

As with the first game, quick-time events and dialogue choices can affect the narrative, resulting in different outcomes. Will it have Rhys and Vaughn in cameos? One can always hope.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle was already a stellar title that fused two unlikely intellectual properties together in a strategy RPG bonanza. But Sparks of Hope looks to be even bigger, featuring multiple planets to explore, massively expanded exploration with puzzles, side quests, and secrets, and a new antagonist in Cursa. Combat has been overhauled, doing away with the grid-based movement and adding new abilities along with the Sparks for elemental damage.

If that weren’t enough, new characters like Edge, Rabbid Rosalina and Bowser join the roster for even more unique squads. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope launches exclusively for Nintendo Switch on October 20th.

Gotham Knights

Batman is dead, guys. For really real. As a result, it’s up to the Fumbling Four – er, the Bat Family to protect Gotham in his absence. Unlike the Arkham series, Gotham Knights is an action RPG with four playable characters – Nightwing, Robin, Red Hood, and Batgirl – each with unique abilities and play styles, gear, and stories to experience. As you fight crime, you’ll encounter classic villains like Harley Quinn, Mister Freeze, Clayface, and the mysterious Court of Owls.

Gotham Knights is out on October 21st for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC with support for two-player co-op.

A Plague Tale: Requiem

As the follow-up to Asobo Studio’s breakout action-adventure title, A Plague Tale: Requiem sees Amicia and Hugo on the run again. This time, the siblings must travel to a mysterious island, seeking a cure for Hugo’s disease before it consumes him. Things are far from ideal as mercenaries hunt them, and the plague rats are as hungry as ever.

With new weapons like a crossbow, alchemical potions, and Hugo’s ability to control the rats for devouring any foes, A Plague Tale: Requiem promises a much bigger experience. It releases on October 18th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch via the cloud, along with Game Pass.

Scorn

What do you get when you combine “ick” with a whole lot of “yuck”? Probably Ebb Software’s Scorn, a first-person survival horror title with a biopunk aesthetic inspired by the works of H. R. Giger and Zdzisław Beksiński. Explore fantastical, disgusting structures made of machines and flesh, implant various weapons into your body, and seek answers for this whole mess across a non-linear story.

Scorn may require around 6-8 hours, probably more, on your first playthrough, but there’s nothing like it. It launches on October 21st for Xbox Series X/S and PC, along with Game Pass.

WRC Generations

KT Racing’s final WRC racing game is out on October 13th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and PS5, with the PC version releasing in November. It’s the biggest one yet with brand new hybrid model cars and revamped physics, 37 Legendary Cars, and 750 km of tracks spread across 22 countries. Progression has also been revamped, tracking tasks completed across the game, and the Livery Editor returns with more options and the ability to share your creations with other players. There sadly won’t be any post-launch content, but at least the new Leagues mode should satisfy fans for the long haul.

Dakar Desert Rally

If one rally racing game isn’t enough, there’s Saber Interactive’s Dakar Desert Rally. Promising the “biggest and most epic off-road rally racing adventure ever developed,” it offers 30 stages from the 2020-2022 Dakar Rally races. Players can race across a massive open world with officially licensed SSVs, quads, trucks, and much more while tackling dynamic weather like rain, snow, and the blazing sun.

With a Career mode, online multiplayer events, and four seasons to experience, Dakar Desert Rally launches on October 4th for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, and PC.

Marvel Snap

Are your current Hearthstone and/or Marvel needs not being met? Worry not, because Marvel Snap releases on October 18th for PC, Android and iOS. Developed by Second Dinner Studios, which consists of Hearthstone veterans, it’s a 1v1 multiplayer CCG with over 150 unique cards to play (and more coming post-launch).

Matches play out in random locations with different effects and players can “Snap” to effectively double down in a match. Whether it overtakes Hearthstone and Legends of Runeterra, the fast-paced gameplay and gorgeous comic book illustrations make Marvel Snap worth checking out.

Overwatch 2

Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch 2 finally launches on October 4th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch…as an early access, free-to-play title. It’s pretty much an update to Overwatch 1 with three new heroes – Junker Queen, Sojourn and Kiriko; six new maps; and the new Push mode. Assault is out, and teams now consist of five players with only one Tank. A seasonal model of content releases is also in effect, meaning no more loot boxes but yes to an in-game store and Battle Passes.

Time will tell how it pans out. All players will need to enable SMS Protect while new players have to unlock each hero and play 50 Quick Play matches to unlock Competitive (not to mention unlocking Kiriko and future new heroes in the Battle Pass). But at least it supports crossplay and cross-progression with all Overwatch 1 cosmetics carrying over.

PGA Tour 2K23

Two years after PGA Tour 2K21, the next edition of 2K Games’ golfing simulator will release on October 14th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, PS4, and PS5. Aside from the usual PGA Tour mode and MyPLAYER (which offers new skills and archetypes), male and female pros are now playable. The Course Designer also returns with cross-platform support and online sharing. With multiple control options, online multiplayer (including Divot Derby) and Online Societies for Clubhouses, it should be a sizable leap over its predecessor.

NHL 23

Also launching on October 14th is EA Sports’ NHL 23. Along with mixed women’s and men’s teams in Ultimate Team mode, the hockey sim offers new gameplay features like Last Chance Puck Movement. It allows for hitting the puck even after tripping, with players taking advantage of new Stumble Actions to score. Enhanced goalie AI, on-ice projections, more customization in HUT to go with new reward tiers in the rotating HUT Rivals playlist, and more also await. NHL 23 will be available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and PS5 at launch.

Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed

Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is IllFonic’s latest asymmetrical multiplayer title, which sees a squad of four Ghostbusters taking on a single mischievous Ghost. As the Ghostbusters, one must explore a map and track down the Ghost, taking care to calm civilians in the process. Meanwhile, the Ghost must terrorize everyone, possessing objects to stay hidden and ultimately evading capture to haunt a location.

With crossplay, original actors like Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson reprising their original roles, and co-op and offline play, Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed should be a fun diversion when it launches on October 18th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC. And remember – don’t cross the streams.

Bayonetta 3

The Umbra Witch finally returns as Bayonetta 3 launches exclusively for the Nintendo Switch on October 28th. While the basic hack and slash combat remains, the sequel introduces several new mechanics. Demon Slave allows for directly controlling Infernal Demons to bash giant foes, while Demon Masquerade sees Bayonetta fusing with a demon to gain new abilities. Throw in new weapons, a new playable character Viola, and a multi-world threat in the form of the Singularity, and Bayonetta 3 promises to be the series’ most explosive title yet.

Second Extinction

Systemic Reaction, which has been in the news for its upcoming open-world rogue-lite Ravenbound, will finally release its co-op dinosaur shooter Second Extinction on October 20th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC. The idea is to survive against hordes of dinosaurs with two other players, and there are six heroes, 11 weapons and multiple missions to tackle.

The real twist is War Effort where the threat level of a region increases or decreases based on how the community performs. If you’re still holding out for a new Dino Crisis, then this could make the wait easier.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Along with the campaign, fans can look forward to multiplayer with new modes and weapons along with a revamped Gunsmith. There are also co-op missions for two players and Raids that offer in-depth puzzle solving and firefights for three players. If battle royale is more your speed, Warzone 2.0 will launch just a few weeks later and offer a new Gulag and AI foes.

DEVELOPMENT DETAILS

The original Tales from the Borderlands was developed by Telltale, but that, of course, is a company that’s gone through some radical shifts over the years, having been shuttered and then reformed, having lost with many of its former developers in the process. Currently busy with its own projects, the new Telltale is not developing New Tales from the Borderlands. It is, instead, being made by Gearbox itself, with Gearbox Studio Quebec handling development. That said, the team in charge of the game does consist of a number of key figures who worked on the original, many of whom were brought on primarily because Gearbox didn’t have much experience with games that are built around choice-and-consequence mechanics.

STANDALONE SEQUEL

New Tales from the Borderlands is, of course, going to overlap quite a bit with its predecessor in terms of the kind of experience it’s looking to deliver, but narratively speaking, it’s very much doing its own thing. Gearbox has confirmed that the game has been developed as more of a spiritual successor than a direct follow-up, and tells a standalone story- so if you haven’t played the original Tales from the Borderlands, you’ll still be perfectly able to follow the sequel’s story and enjoy the ride.

Speaking of which…

STORY

New Tales from the Borderlands is set roughly a year after the events of Borderlands 3, and will take players to the planet of Promethea, which, of course, was a major location in the 2019 looter shooter, and is currently being invaded by weapons manufacturing corporation Tediore. In the midst of all this, New Tales from the Borderlands focuses on a core cast of three central protagonist- frozen yogurt store owner Fran, Anu, who is a scientist, and her brother Octavio, a street-smart hacking expert. Hunting after massive riches, the three band together on a mission to seek out a vault key that’ll lead them to what they hope will be unimaginable treasures, with Tediore constantly on their tail.

GADGETS

Even though there isn’t too much traditional gameplay in QTE-centric adventure games such as this one, each of the three protagonists in New Tales from the Borderlands will still have their own unique gadgets that players will be able to use in different ways. Fran, for instance, has several accessories built into her hoverchair that’ll allow her to freeze stuff, punch her way through people, and more. Anu, meanwhile, is much more about the brains than the brawns, and uses her glasses to scan things and glean information. Then there’s Octavio, who’s never shy about using his tech skills and his wrist-mounted ECHOdex to help him out in various ways, from hacking devices to pulling up people’s social media information.

OTHER CHARACTERS

Beyond the core cast of three protagonists, New Tales from the Borderlands is seemingly going to have plenty of other personalities for players to meet as well. For instance, there’s LOU13, a dapper, well-mannered assassination bot who’s extremely efficient at what he does, but deep down, aspires to become a comedian. Then there’s Sponsorbot, Fran’s legally mandated sponsor who’s primary purpose is to help her with her anger management. Susan, meanwhile, is the evil corporate overlord (or CEO) of Tediore, whose ambitions for even greater riches are taking a dangerous turn for the masses.

RETURNING CHARACTERS

New Tales from the Borderlands is, as we mentioned earlier, a standalone story, with its central cast being made up of fresh new characters- but not entirely. Gearbox has confirmed that the game will also feature some returning characters from the original Tales from the Borderlands. One of them is Rhys Strongfort, the protagonist of the original (who also appeared in Borderlands 3), and is currently the CEO of weapons manufacturer Atlas. Rhys is accompanies by TIMM-E, an assistant bot who caters to his every need. As you might expect, that’s about all we know about returning characters in New Tales from the Borderlands so far, but it does seem like series fans will be seeing at least a few returning faces.

EPISODIC STRUCTURE

The original Tales from the Borderlands released when the original Telltale was at the peak of its powers, which meant that, much like every other adventure game that the studio put out, it was an episodic experience, with its five episodes launching over the course of several months between November 2014 and October 2015. Thankfully, that’s a model that the games industry seems to have left behind by now. To that end, while New Tales of the Borderlands will still be split across five episodes like its predecessor, all five of its episodes will instead launch at one on October 21, much like they did last year for Square Enix’s episodic adventure title Life is Strange: True Colors.

IMPROVED ANIMATIONS AND VISUALS

Having switch developers, New Tales from the Borderlands has made a few key changes behind the scenes, even though the final experience will stick closely to the original in terms of gameplay style. Gearbox has used Unreal Engine 4 for the game’s development, and has additionally also said to have made a number of significant visual improvements over the original Tales. Telltale’s engine was, to put it mildly, a dinky one even at that time, which showed on a technical level very clearly, so hopefully, the sequel is going to be a much smoother experience. Gearbox does promise much better animations, having used motion capture during development (which wasn’t the case with Telltale’s original title).

PRICE

Much like 2021’s Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands (and of course, its own predecessor), New Tales from the Borderlands is far from being a full-fledged, new mainline Borderlands experience, and as such, much like Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, it’s not going to be a full-priced game. On PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC, the game’s digital-only standard edition will cost $39.99.

DELUXE EDITION AND PRE-ORDER BONUS

Of course, if you’re willing to shell out some extra cash for a few additional bonuses, you will have the option to do that, as you do with most games. The Deluxe Edition, which will cost $49.99 (and can also be purchased physically) will also include a copy of the original Tales from the Borderlands- and if you haven’t played that until now, it’s definitely a game worth jumping into. In addition, the package will come with the Adventure Capital Pack, which will include 10,000 in-game currency for players to spend, bonus cosmetics for all three protagonists, and an in-game FL4K Vaultlander collectible to use in Vaultlander, which is a QTE-centric minigame about battles between plastic figurines. The Adventure Capital Pack will also be available as a pre-order bonus for the standard edition.