Borderlands 3 preview — On Xbox One X support, story direction, and explosive mayhem

Borderlands 3 should need little introduction at this point. Gearbox'south upcoming function-playing shooter is the latest in the acclaimed franchise and the kickoff that will take us beyond Pandora's planetary system. If my nearly three hours with the game was any indication, the more than things change, the more they stay the same. That'due south not a knock on information technology, though, as Gearbox has just doubled down on what made players autumn in love with Borderlands to begin with.

Explore new worlds

Borderlands 3

Prepare for the fight of the galaxy

Borderlands 3 is more of everything that made the series and then good and looks to exist worth the expect. Fans will get to experience it for themselves when it releases this September.

Gameplay: More than options than ever

Gearbox recently held an outcome in Los Angeles that allowed u.s. to interview a couple of Borderlands iii's developers and become hands-on with two of the game's Vault Hunters. It's everything you've come to expect from a Borderlands game — the sense of humour, the loot, the gunplay — but dialled up a notch. And instead of one action skill, each Vault Hunter now has iii to choose from, and they can exist swapped out at any time so that you aren't just stuck with ane pick.

Everything you've come to expect from a Borderlands game dialled upwardly a notch.

Borderlands 3 Producer Chris Brock says that this conclusion was made to ensure that people can have unique experiences playing as the same character.

"In the past Borderlands games we've had one action skill, and it'due south kind of been what defines their role," he said. "Everyone can utilize all the guns, so the thing that makes a graphic symbol truly unique is their action skill. And so nosotros wanted to make them more unique. We wanted to make certain they had more options available to them."

Nosotros had the chance to play as both Amara and Zane and got to feel this in action. Depending on what type of enemies I was fighting or the state of affairs that I institute myself in, I would switch betwixt Amara'south skills to give me the upper paw. If I was overwhelmed during a fight, I'd equip Phasegrasp, which is a similar ability to Maya'due south, to act as crowd control and concord an enemy stationary. If I wanted to run in and get up close and personal, I'd apply Phaseslam, a powerful melee ability where Amara leaps into the air and smashes the ground with excessive force.

But the coolest thing may take been seeing Amara thrust explosive barrels into enemies using her regular melee set on. When playing every bit Zane, I didn't even need to choose one ability over the other at a given time considering he can have two abilities equipped at one time, in lieu of your grenades.

Your journey will take you beyond the galaxy, and your hub now reflects that. Sanctuary III is a spaceship that tin exist used to travel to a handful of planets. Co-ordinate to Brock, these planets have their own flora, animate being, and architecture, forth with a few "mechanical differences" which he brought up when I asked if we might see something like to the low gravity of Elpis in The Pre-Sequel. Still, the game isn't turning into No Human's Sky or Mass Upshot. Information technology's non virtually space exploration in that sense.

The playable demo also gave united states of america the hazard to finally see Promethea. What was once a bustling city and the headquarters of Atlas is now under siege by the Maliwan Corporation. It reminded me of Opportunity from Borderlands two. Everything is high-tech and advanced, a far cry from what nosotros're familiar with on Pandora, and you lot'll encounter a lot of robotic enemy types.

Going back to the game'southward weapons, Gearbox has created more than ever, partly due to the incredible amount of stat diversity and firing modes. Certain guns will now give players the option to select between 2 different firing modes that alter how the gun works. This could be a quick flip between elemental types similar corrosive or burn down, or you could effectively turn your pistol into a grenade launcher. But the amount of customization only goes then far.

When I asked if we would be able to customize weapons by adding or swapping out additional parts, Brock said that there is not a module weapon customization system, significant you won't be finding any scopes or extended magazines that you can attach. There are, however, grapheme skills that tin upgrade weapons, and challenges for each manufacturer that can better their stats.

Fifty-fifty pocket-sized quality of life changes have been fabricated that should cause a big impact, like the power for your Vault Hunter to human knee slide and grab onto ledges to climb up.

And just how big is Borderlands iii? Brock said it was difficult to give a measurable comparison, but it is bigger in "almost every style" compared to Borderlands two.

Moving on from Handsome Jack

One of the first questions that I asked Borderlands 3 Co-writer Sam Winkler was how they could move on from such an iconic villain as Handsome Jack, who has arguably defined the latter half of the series' life. As it turns out, this is something that the developers at Gearbox fifty-fifty asked themselves.

"You are asking literally what we asked ourselves," said Winkler. "Y'all can't just make a sequel to Handsome Jack, so nosotros took a wait at what we were doing with the world and what we wanted to change about information technology… and the main bad guys had to exemplify the alter in the globe. In Borderlands 2, there was this corporate active presence simply dominating Pandora. In Borderlands 3, the bandits take all come together…. we were looking at what's going on culturally, and said '[the Calypso twins] are social media stars, these are live streamers'… we wanted them to literally have a cult of personality and exemplify the worst of humanity."

Players may take also noticed that while Tyreen Calypso is definitely a Siren, information technology appears her brother Troy may exist besides. This is interesting because Sirens in the Borderlands universe, from what we know, have historically been women. Winkler notes that the game will delve deeper into the history of Sirens because people have a lot of questions, and Borderlands 3 will provide some answers, including what their purposes are and what their true powers are.

Fighting the twins while uncovering more Vault Keys is no like shooting fish in a barrel feat, and luckily y'all'll have a ton of assistance at your side. Yous'll take probably already noticed that Rhys, from Tales from the Borderlands, and Zer0, among many others — Sir Hammerlock, Maya, Ellie, and Lilith, to name a few — will be in Borderlands three. If you remember the catastrophe of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, a mysterious alien figure known as The Watcher showed upwards to warn our Vault Hunters of impending doom, and that they'd need all the help they would go. Winkler says that there are "connective tissues" between these moments and Borderlands three and that the studio has "not jettisoned whatsoever lore, including Tales [from the Borderlands]."

You may be wondering the fate of a few characters from Tales from the Borderlands then, notably Fiona. While nosotros've seen Rhys, Fiona has been absent from all marketing cloth and so far. Unfortunately, Winkler could not annotate on her involvement in the game, or even if we'd get a take chances to run across her once again. All he said was that Rhys "kept a few friends along the manner" after Tales from the Borderlands ended. And this does mean that they ended up canonizing certain elements of Tales.

"Yes, we canonized a few things," Winkler told me. "A lot of histrion choices are a little more than difficult because we don't necessarily want to say 'No, this person did alive for sure,' unless it'due south worth information technology. There are some things where we'll put our pollex on the scale and say 'In social club for united states of america to tell the best story, X character had to live.'"

And the almighty question: is FL4K Loader Bot? Winkler could non answer anything regarding FL4K at the moment, though he did smile and mention that he loves Loader Bot.

Xbox One Ten support

When I asked Brock what kind of resolution and frame rates we would run into on Xbox I Ten, he couldn't ostend anything, but he did say that Gearbox was aiming for 60FPS, with the pick to let players choose between favoring graphics or operation.

"[Base] Xbox One volition be 30 [FPS]," said Brock. "Xbox One Ten we're shooting for sixty [FPS] but we'll practice what we tin can. Nosotros intend to offer favor fidelity or favor performance blazon options."

As for its resolution, he said that Borderlands three on Xbox Ane 10 would indeed support 4K graphics.

No microtransaction bullshit

And you don't need to worry about Borderlands iii becoming something similar to games that are free-to-play and pay-to-win. Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford reiterated that it wouldn't take any "microtransaction bullshit." The studio knows precisely the type of Borderlands game that fans desire, and is aiming to hit those expectations.

When I spoke with Brock, he also said that they weren't planning on whatever actor-versus-player modes other than duels returning. I prompted whether this meant we wouldn't see a battle royale way any time soon, and he replied that they are not thinking of a battle royale mode at this time. It'due south not impossible. It'due south just not what they're doing with the game.

Final thoughts

My time spent with Borderlands iii was but the tip of the iceberg and three hours wasn't nearly enough considering the sheer size and calibration of the game, but I had a blast anyway. My biggest complaint is that I wish I could have played longer. Longtime fans should feel right at dwelling jumping in and starting off their risk. Borderlands 3 really is more of everything, and it doesn't need to innovate for players to have a good time.

Borderlands 3 releases on September 13, 2022, for Xbox I, PlayStation iv, and PC.

Explore new worlds

Borderlands 3

Prepare for the fight of the galaxy

Borderlands three is more of everything that made the series so good and looks to be worth the await. Fans will get to experience it for themselves when information technology releases this September.

Nosotros may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.

This huge Xbox 'Quick Resume' update will give gamers more control

Xbox Insiders Update

This huge Xbox 'Quick Resume' update will give gamers more than command

Microsoft is adding a new feature to Xbox consoles, allowing you lot to permanently store upward to two games in a Quick Resume state at all times. The feature is heading out kickoff to Xbox Insiders in the Blastoff testing band before hit the general public.

Ultimate control

Here are the best steering wheels for Forza Horizon 5

Forza Horizon v features extensive and improved support for simulation steering wheels. To get the almost out of this open-earth racing game, consider ane of the best racing steering wheels bachelor for Forza Horizon 5.