Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is Gearbox Software program’s greatest sport. Constructed upon the studio’s profitable Borderlands formulation, this expertise provides a whimsical aspect to the acquainted looter-shooter thrills and delivers a lot firepower to your fingertips you’d suppose you had been sporting the Infinity Gauntlet. Caked in silliness and all the time attempting to make you chortle, Wonderlands hits with distinct allure and handles its characters and world with care, making you interact with each on a journey I did not wish to finish.
From the outset of play, we be taught that Borderlands mainstay Tiny Tina has invited just a few of her pals to play a tabletop sport known as Bunkers & Badasses, which is actually Borderlands’ model of Dungeons & Dragons. Tina is the sport’s Dungeon Grasp, and you’re the get together’s latest recruit – a hero of your design, proper right down to the deep class proficiencies and facial function detailing.
Playful chemistry is established instantly between Tina and her pals, every bringing humor-filled banter and the feeling they know one another nicely. Tina is as soon as once more brilliantly delivered to life by Ashly Burch, who performs nicely with the careless adventuring qualities of Captain Valentine (Andy Samberg), the strict rules-driven steerage of robotic Frette (Wanda Sykes), and the dishonest and vile virtues of the Dragon Lord (Will Arnett). These highly effective personalities typically entertain and make questing an absolute blast, as you by no means understand how they are going to react to the scenario. The story bounces between Tina and her cohorts sitting on the board sport desk to debate the subsequent chapter within the journey, and your character dreaming it up and touring into that situation, a degree the place management is given to the participant. This story circulation works extremely nicely and is a pleasant option to bookend chapters and arrange the subsequent occasion at hand.
Tina has probably the most affect over the search and might use her god-like powers to change it at any time. Along with her creativeness main the best way, she will flip an extraordinary forest right into a magical mushroom kingdom – a surprising visible transformation you witness as you run by way of the atmosphere. Your get together members additionally affect the world and might suggest their character do one thing to beat a problem, similar to Valentine romancing a drawbridge to make it open or the workforce collectively determining methods to take away a cheese curl from the board. The conditions are sometimes zany, properly penned, and enjoyable to see by way of to the tip.
The missions draw you in with humorous setups and shine in fight, giving good causes to unleash all the things you’ve in your arsenal. Borderlands’ overindulgence in weapons is alive and nicely in Wonderlands and is made higher with the large number of spells. The gunplay is very polished and appears like Borderlands, however packs extra of a punch by way of the fantasy components. As an example, in a battle in opposition to land sharks, I alternated use between a crossbow that fired explosives and an acid gun that chained enemies collectively in a gooey spray. My pet wyvern barfed hearth on these foes because it swooped onto the battlefield, and I added elemental chaos to the combo by firing electrical crows from my fingertips. If an adversary in some way survived this frenzied onslaught, I might smash them with an enormous hammer that creates an earthquake. You begin the sport a lot highly effective and attain the purpose of being a ridiculous struggle machine on the halfway level when class mixing is enabled – a proposition that’s downright superior.
The loot enemies drop can fully change loadouts and approaches to fight. Many of the weapons are awesomely distinctive, melding fantasy tropes with trendy weaponry to create one thing to behold. The devastation that the rarer weapons unleash provides loads of incentive to scour environments for secret stashes and tackle aspect actions. I additionally loved diving into smaller wave-based dungeons to earn gadgets that unlock even greater secrets and techniques. Due to easy platforming mechanics and cleverly hidden areas, exploring the world is nice enjoyable. There’s a lot to maintain you occupied, together with story-rich aspect missions that scale with you and by no means turn into too straightforward, and an incredible post-game dungeon known as the Chaos Chamber that adjustments each time you enter it. This limitless gauntlet is a pleasant option to grind out ranges and unlock the Fantasy rank.
Borderlands’ DNA is recognizable all through most of Wonderlands, apart from the overworld, which has extra in frequent with an previous Last Fantasy sport. The point of view switches from first particular person to isometric whenever you enter it, and you’ll not interact in fight. The overworld removes many of the downtime skilled within the Borderlands video games. You progress between areas rapidly and inside seconds can interact in any exercise. The overworld holds many secrets and techniques, simply as a lot humor, and does a superb job of charting progress, so you realize what you’ve got completed and nonetheless have to mop up.
Wonderlands’ cooperative play could not be any higher, providing an expertise the place everybody has equal footing on the battlefield. A stage 5 participant will encounter a stage 5 enemy, whereas that very same foe reads stage 20 for a stage 20 participant – which means you need not grind for XP or energy stage to play with pals. Gamers may also decide how loot is divvied up, permitting for everybody to get their very own drops or for it to be shared. Crossplay and split-screen are each supplied, however I didn’t get the prospect to take a look at both throughout my evaluate.
Wonderlands is upbeat and enjoyable from begin to end, providing a rewarding journey crammed with goofy characters, imaginative bosses, and an incredible sense of possession over your character by way of all of it. Even with certainly one of Borderlands’ most liked characters main the cost, this expertise appears like the beginning of one thing new: a uncommon spinout from an current collection that deserves simply as a lot of the highlight. As somebody who has performed loads of Dungeons & Dragons, I adored how typically Wonderlands jogged my memory of rolling a 20-sided die with pals. It’s a love letter to on-the-spot creativity and pals having fun with one another’s firm in a make-believe world.
