Tales from the Borderlands

Like previous Telltale series, this is not so much a game as it is an interactive cartoon. Yes, to a degree, player choices don’t matter, and all paths seem to lead to the same destination (as far as I can tell). However, there is far more variation and consequence than most point and click adventures offer. In hindsight, adventure puzzles, as fun as they sometimes are, only hinder storytelling and don’t help you live inside a character’s head the way the Telltale dialogue system does.

Tales from the Borderlands benefits from the wonderfully unique world created by Gearbox in Borderlands 1 & 2. It’s like Mad Max meets Firefly. In this case the focus is more on the wisecracking and swashbuckling of the latter. The characters are fun and likable, and their dialogue is genuinely funny and fresh. On top of that is the stylish, cell-shaded art direction from the original games. Also included are the off-the-wall character introductions and typographical blasts. These title sequences are a real treat and a highlight of each episode.

The story, even though it’s basically a standard heist adventure, is gripping. That’s something that is missing from the actual Borderlands games. After finishing, I got the itch to jump back into Borderlands 2 and after twenty minutes of running around and engaging in repetitive gun battles, I soon remembered why I stopped playing. For me, story is the key. Another superb outing from Telltale Games.