Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! Review

Don’t be surprised to learn that there’s little new on offer from Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! over its predecessors. The clue is, after all, in the name. Not that anyone expected anything on the contrary, as Gearbox themselves have stated numerous times that Pre-Sequel! is not only the result of a scrapped expansion meant for Borderlands 2, but it’s also supposed to be a stopgap for fans while they wait for Borderlands 3.

While many probably expected 2K Australia to rely on the success of past games in the series and subsequently add very little in terms of new content; the studio has done just enough to make Pre-Sequel! appealing to fans who may have passed on a game perceived to be a Borderlands 2.5. The real question is whether the new features are actually any good. Well, rather predictably, the answer is yes and no.

If you’re concerned that the new features change up a formula you already love though, don’t be: this is very much a formulaic (in a good way) continuation of the series. You’ll still pick from four different characters (all with brand-spanking-new abilities), laugh at the absolutely bizarre writing, slaughter entire species and then steal their loot. The main difference this time being that your ‘kill ‘n’ loot’ escapades take place on a space station and one of Pandora’s moons: Elpis.

In the instant service of a not-yet-evil Handsome Jack (yes, you do find out why he eventually wears a prosthetic face), your avatar is rocketed straight to Helios Station to help your boss rid Hyperion of some rather aggressive Dahl intruders. This opening 20 minutes is essentially your tutorial - a blisteringly fast-paced tutorial, but a tutorial nonetheless. No sooner than will you be introduced to all of the new protagonists and antagonists than will you be catapulted back to Elpis by Jack, and into the biggest the change the game has to offer.

Space combat isn’t great, I’ll just get that straight out there. Pre-Sequel’s biggest new feature isn’t terrible, disappointing or even hard to learn - it’s just average. Through the use of O2 (or Oz, as the game’s characters refer to them) Kits, you’re now able to butt-slam people to death, float around on a whim and reach high vantage points in combat situations. These all come at the price of depleting precious oxygen at a faster rate than usual, with a depleted tank resulting in an irritating screen effect and the slow loss of health. Extra O2 refills are extremely abundant though, so keeping yourself topped up is a non-issue in most situations.

All of these new abilities are fun to use, sure, but it can often feel like your enemies get a far greater advantage out of the new system than you do. You can’t jump as high as you might think with the new kit, and while I never managed to find a pimped out O2 Kit in my time with the game, the butt-slam attack never seems to do a very large amount of damage. Enemies on the other hand, seem to be able to linger in the air float higher in the air for longer periods of time than you can. It’s not too bothersome, but trying to eliminate enemies that decide to hover directly above your head eventually start to become a minor nuisance.

The other new feature comes in the form of more gun diversity. Laser weapons are a new category and come in pretty much every flavour you can think of. Corrosive, burst fire lasers? Check. Flesh-burning, single-shot lasers? Check. Ghostbusters-esque lasers that emit a constant stream? You betcha. The list can literally go on into hundreds of diversifications, but you get the point. Lasers are cool. Along with the science fiction weaponry, you now get access to cryo element weapons which, if I’m honest, are so hilariously broken that, as soon as you grab a gun gifted with the icy element, you won’t chuck it until the end of the game.

Which brings up the only real major issue of The Pre-Sequel!. While reaching the end credits will leave you satisfied with the length of the main story on offer, there’s just no escaping the feeling that the game was originally supposed to be an expansion. Once you touchdown on Elpis for the first time, you’ll quickly start to feel like your menial tasks on the moon are there to pad the length of the game’s campaign. The narrative hits a standstill around this point, and it takes a few hours for the game to pick back up by returning to Helios Prime.

Fortunately though, Pre-Sequel! is largely more of the same. The background story for Handsome Jack and the reason for his complete transformation into an asshole are explained rather well, and Jack’s cocky attitude is backed up by a strong supporting cast. With the return of the True Vault Hunter Mode from previous games, the first thing you’ll want to do after sitting (or skipping) through the credits will be to do it all over again - the biggest sign I can give you that Pre-Sequel! is more than just a cut-and-paste copy of past games.