Tales from the Borderlands Episode One (Xbox One) - Review

Hopefully you all know me enough by now to know I am a massive fan of Telltale Games and all that they do. Well almost all that they do. Because it turns out that I am not a fan of their foray into the world of Pandora.

My favourite Telltale Game by far is The Wolf Among Us. Even now that they have married two of my great loves and made the Game of Thrones episodic, I just can't displace Wolf Among Us from that top spot it so rightly deserves. It is fantastic. Don't get me wrong I have loved the Walking Dead series and I am really enjoying the Game of Thrones one too, but Wolf is the one that I would recommend to anyone new to beauty of a Telltale episodic game.

There is no doubt that the artstyle of Telltale Games lends itself brilliantly to Borderlands. It seemed like a match made in heaven and one that I was eagerly anticipating. But it falls short in many ways. The thing that I, along with many others I expect, love the most about Borderlands is the anarchy. Borderlands is absolutely mental. There are no rules, you run around killing anything and everything and hoping to score some wicked loot. And that is where it's beauty lies - in the simplicity of it. The story is neither here nor there (for me anyway) and I play the game purely for the fun of it. The unparalleled joy of getting a new gun and unloading it into a midget psycho.

You play as this bad ass. And this hapless sap. 

The Telltale episodic misses out on this I feel. The story in it feels kinda lazy too, with you being able to adapt it via your character just telling the tale to the person who has captured you. There are some thrilling moments, but it all feels removed as you struggle to feel anything for the characters you are playing as. I can honestly say I didn't really care what happened to any of them, a real shame as I think it is empathy for a characters situation that drives the Telltale games.

There was a really cool little bit when I had completed the game and skipped the credits. In the same vain that they use in the game when you make a decision that can change the course of the narrative it came across the top that 'Telltale Games will remember that' which did make me giggle.

Overall this game just doesn't work for me. It feels pretty lazy and lacks the emotive writing of Telltale's other offerings. It may get better as more episodes release, but for now I'd say it's safe to skip it until it's in the sale. Grab it in the half price Telltale Collection if they run the offer again and you definitely won't feel robbed. The other games in the collection more than make up for this one.

5/10 TRY IT!

A code was provided for the purpose of this review.