Tales from the Borderlands (PS4) Review

Tales Twice Told.

 Tales from the Borderlands is an episodic adventure game based on the Borderlands series. It is also developed by Telltale Games, makers of The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us. Additionally, some of the staff behind previous Borderlands games are also part of the project, so expect a true to roots experience. Promising an adventure and atmosphere similar to that of the Borderlands games, does Tales from the Borderlands deliver? 

STORY- Set after Borderlands 2, we follow our two main leads, Rhys and Fiona. Rhys, along with his friend Vaughn, are employees for Hyperion, which is located on Helios, Pandora's moon. Fiona is a con-artist living in the deadly planet Pandora with her sister, Sasha. Rhys sets to Pandora along with Vaughn to buy a vault key, which can open a Vault containing many treasures, 10 million dollars, so he can return to Hyperion and earn a promotion. Fiona and Sasha, on the other hand, want to steal the money from Rhys and Vaughn in order to maintain a good living. However, both parties' plans didn't go well and things got only disastrous for them. The rest of their adventure is controlled by you-- the player. I've found the story to be engaging and hilarious at the same time. The decisions I made had an impact and I had myself playing again to see what lies in the other choices. 

Get ready for a wild adventure.

GAMEPLAY- Like many of Telltale's games, Tales from the Borderlands is a point-and-click. Throughout the game's five episodes, you control Rhys and Fiona as they interact and explore the deadly lands of Pandora. Since this is a Telltale game, choice make an impact. They dictate the outcome of many situations the two leads face and add some replay-value. There are some shooting segments which has you shooting enemies, similar to previous Borderlands games.

The gameplay has a nice mix of action and humor.

PRESENTATION- Tales from the Borderlands looks great thanks to its detailed cel-shaded visuals. The game also runs well on PS4 and Xbox One despite some recurring technical issues that can be passable at first but tends to get more irritating in later episodes. Troy Baker and Laura Bailey do a fantastic job as Rhys and Fiona, respectively. The same is also said for Daemon Clarke, who nails it again as Handsome Jack. Composer Jared Emerson-Johnson did a good job on the soundtrack, with many great tracks to listen to. However, I find his work on The Wolf Among Us to be his best. 

The game looks and sounds good despite some technical issues.

OVERALL- Tales of the Borderlands is one of Telltales best works yet. The story is fun and hilarious, the choices presented are interesting and the presentation is top-notch. While it has it issues, I'd recommend Tales from the Borderlands for those looking an over-the-top experience. 

EXCELLENT