This Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands PS5 review may contain minor spoilers.
I have mixed feelings towards Borderlands. I played the first one 13 years ago on PS3. It provided hours of cooperative looter-shooter action which I enjoyed with friends, alongside a memorable and diverse cast of characters. And while it was lacking in parts, its brazen humour and outlandish world was undeniably intriguing. When Borderlands 2 arrived a few years later, I found an experience that doubled down on everything great about the original and improved on it. It quickly became one of my favourite games of that generation.
The wait for Borderlands 3 was a long one. When it finally dropped, I was excited to see where developer Gearbox would take the series next. Sadly, the game was just more of the same – which seven years later simply didn’t cut it. The trademark humour had aged poorly and was more obnoxious and distracting than ever. What was funny in 2009 served only to irritate a decade down the line. Its core looting and shooting had also grown tired and was glaringly shallow. Collecting mountains of stuff – most of which you’d never use – wasn’t interesting, nor was pumping round after round into hordes of goofy enemies and bullet sponge bosses.
Enter Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. I’d be remiss to say I wasn’t sceptical. I revisited Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep last month and I didn’t feel enthusiastic for this feature-length follow-up. But Wonderlands has been a pleasant surprise – and incredibly fun to boot. Its charming setting carried it to runtime with ease. And while it is more of the same, Gearbox has crafted a game that provides enough variety to justify its existence and set it apart from its predecessors. Wonderlands is the best Borderlands has been in a long time.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands PS5 Review – Gameplay
As far as gameplay is concerned, there are few surprises. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t enjoyable. Guns are numerous and unique – just as you’d expect from Borderlands. However, it’s the addition of spell casting that helps mix things up, as well as the fantasy take on familiar classes. I opted for the Stabbomancer – the “critical-hit-focused assassin” – and later took advantage of multiclassing (which allows the player to select a second class) to incorporate magical elements of the Spellshot class.
Melee combat is given increased attention in Wonderlands. This comes in the form of a variety of melee weapons – such as swords, axes, clubs, and more. Like other weapons, they are graded based on rarity and individual stats and abilities. While this is a welcome addition, it doesn’t amount to much. No matter which weapon you equip, it’s only usable with the melee button (R3 on PS5). So, no combos or parrying unfortunately. It’s all fairly one note – which is a shame when you consider that this sort of weaponry is staple fantasy fare.
Even still, the sheer breadth of choice when it comes to firepower in Wonderlands is remarkable. The vast array of assault rifles, pistols, sniper rifles, shotguns, launchers, and more – each with unique features, special effects, and damage types – provides near-unlimited options for players. It remains one of the best aspects of Borderlands. And if you don’t like your current selection of weapons, you’ll soon find others you prefer. Thankfully, money isn’t hard to come by either – so you can always head to a vending machine if your looted hardware just isn’t cutting it.
Difficulty
Gunfights are fast-paced and hectic (just as they should be) and – while often a bit too easy (even on the highest difficulty) – presented just enough of a challenge during the right moments to keep me on my toes. Wonderlands also informs you when you’re entering areas above your current level. I found this to be a strange choice, given that most areas were perfectly manageable even if I was five or six levels below the recommended point. It’s not like the game is so punishingly difficult that being underlevelled presents a major obstacle either. And, naturally, you’re free to do other things to improve your character if you need to. I just think these ‘warnings’ could discourage exploration and discovery, which is the last thing a game like this should do.
Similarly, hand-holding is unquestionably excessive. Everything has a map marker or objective. I never found myself wondering where to go or how to complete a quest. The solution is always fed directly to you, which reduces the overall challenge and level of thought required. Despite this, engaging boss battles – while still bullet-spongey – are suitably spectacular and thought-provoking enough to make up for it. I made the mistake of underestimating a boss on more than one occasion, only to learn the hard way that I should’ve gone in better prepared.
Character customisation and skill tree
Before you get stuck into the action, you’ll first need to create your character. This is different to previous Borderlands games because your character is now fully customisable. The character creator is deep and expressive, meaning you can finally create an in-game Borderlands hero however you like without being restricted by head and skin templates. You’re also free to revisit the character creator at any time (after reaching Brighthoof), so you aren’t tied to the aesthetic choices you make at the beginning.
As you progress, you’ll earn skill and hero points. Skill points allow you to advance through the various tiers of the traditional Borderlands skill tree. Hero points are applied to your attributes: Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom, Constitution, and Attunement. What you focus on will depend on your build, but I was pleased to notice significant improvements in my character as I levelled up and applied more points. It’s well worth taking your time to ensure your points are allocated in the most suitable areas.
Overworld
While Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is an open-world game of sorts, it’s split into separate locations accessible via the Overworld. The Overworld is essentially the table-top component of the Bunkers and Badasses tabletop role-playing game in which Wonderlands takes place. Its top down perspective is nice to look at, and seeing your character as a bobblehead is amusing. You’ll come across NPCs who need help and offer side quests, and have to take on surprise baddies in Pokémon-esque enounters (they jump out at you from tall grass). Although I found the Overworld to be a unique and interesting inclusion for an action RPG such as this, I didn’t spend much time there and won’t miss it if it’s dropped from future instalments.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands PS5 Review – Graphics and performance
Wonderlands is gorgeous and proves the Borderlands art style still works even in this era of razor-sharp, hyper-realistic visuals. It’s colourful and vibrant, and features some surprisingly incredible set piece moments. I played in the game’s Resolution mode (4K/60fps). It maintained a consistent 60 frames per second throughout with no noticeable drops. Considering the scale of action displayed on screen at any given time, I was impressed.
I’m also happy to report that I experienced zero notable glitches during my time with Wonderlands. Of course, this makes a nice change given the ever-declining technical quality of games at launch.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands PS5 Review – Story
As mentioned, the story of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands takes place in the make-believe world of Bunkers and Badasses (the Borderlands version of Dungeons & Dragons). This makes the narrative feel a little inconsequential. To be honest, the whole thing would probably work better if it served as a series reboot rather than forcibly integrating it into the existing Borderlands canon. With that being said, there’s still plenty to like about the game’s main quest – primarily its characters and setting. Thankfully, the grating humour the series is known for has been toned down. Characters are still loud and over-the-top, but they’re not quite as obnoxious and in-your-face about it which I appreciated. Best of all, there were a few genuine laugh-out-loud moments, too.
The main focus of the story is defeating the almighty Dragon Lord, who wants to conquer the Wonderlands and overthrow Queen Butt Stallion (yes, you read that right). The story moves relatively quickly and I rolled credits around the 12-hour mark. It featured a couple of OK twists and turns along the way, but overall it wasn’t much to write home about. Previous Borderlands stories failed to stand out to me, too, so perhaps it’s the wacky and flippant nature of the series that undermines proceedings. Long exposition dumps from the game’s main characters and various NPCs don’t help either. And most of the time I found myself wishing Wonderlands would just cut to the chase. You’re often stuck listening to needless and unhelpful explanations before you’re allowed to continue on, which was frustrating.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands PS5 Review – Verdict
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands delivers a worthy Borderlands experience. Its action is as fun as ever, and its setting provides the series with fresh direction. Narratively, things are a bit disappointing. But you’ll undoubtedly find characters and moments you can enjoy even if the wider tale isn’t anything special. Borderlands is still a series in need of a greater reinvention – one that Wonderlands doesn’t quite deliver. It remains firmly in familiar territory while still managing to scratch the itch for something different. Most importantly, however, it’s the best Borderlands has been in 10 years and delivers on one simple thing – enjoyment. You will have a good time with Wonderlands, even though it plays it safe.
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
Reviewed on: PS5
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