Borderlands 3

Casting the Calypso twins as streamer villains was a great idea, but the execution falls flat. Their parasocial cult dynamic is barely explored, their dialogue feels like lazy writing, and the humor leans on immature, gross-out poop jokes rather than sharp influencer satire. They end up paling next to past series villains like Handsome Jack.

A meaningful improvement on its predecessor in almost every way, anchored by completely redesigned gunplay that now rivals the best shooters and a relentless flood of inventive, game-changing loot. New planets add scope and the build diversity is exceptional, making the moment-to-moment combat a joy. It is held back by genuinely awful writing, weak and repetitive mission design, a frustrating UI and map, and shaky performance across PC and consoles at launch.

A fun looter-shooter that earns a thumbs up despite real flaws. The huge, genuinely varied arsenal and well-customized characters are the highlights, with planet-hopping variety and tons of content. The writing is a major weak point, with cringeworthy NPCs, unfunny humor, and dull Calypso Twin villains, plus loot overload, bad keybinds, and rancid vehicle controls. Not the 9/10 some claim, more around 7.5-8, but still worth buying.

A game with a split personality: the gunplay, character abilities, and procedurally generated loot are masterfully executed and genuinely addictive. The story, however, is among the worst in triple-A gaming, sunk by atrocious villains and lazy humor, and severe technical problems plague launch. Worth it for gameplay-focused players, but story seekers should stay away.

Nearly every aspect is improved, with amazing graphics, vastly better loot and weapon manufacturers, great boss fights, and a massive amount of content and customization that delivers tremendous value. The Calypso Twin villains are awful and the main story missteps badly, but the gameplay is so strong it remains well worth playing.

More Borderlands done well, with fun, modernized shooting, an impressive arsenal of distinct guns, varied enemies, and a new planet-hopping structure that adds welcome variety. Co-op remains the highlight. Technical glitches and laggy menus drag it down, and the twin villains and humor largely miss, but there is a lot of content here for fans.

A well-refined, true-to-form looter-shooter whose biggest strength is its wildly creative and varied arsenal, enhanced by tighter gunplay, deep class options, and excellent music. New planet-hopping adds diversity, though some areas disappoint and loot floods in faster than the UI can manage. Not as big a leap as Borderlands 2, but plenty to keep coming back for.