Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands – heroes of magic and shotgun

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands was at the top of my personal list of the most anticipated games of 2022. Because it’s Borderlands, and I love Borderlands; because there’s a crazy Tiny Tina, voiced again by Ashley Birch; because Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep for Borderlands 2, which inspired Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, is the best DLC Gearbox Software has created in the last 20 years (Half-Life: Opposing Force and Half-Life: Blue Shift were released in the last century). That is, I was expecting the release of Wonderlands, but on March 25, 2022, the number of games that came out, I, like many citizens of Kyiv, was thinking about other things than first-person action / RPG. Then, when it became calmer in Kyiv, I tried the game and was not disappointed. This is the good old Borderlands with a touch of magic, D&D and charismatic Tina as the Dungeon Master. It calms the nerves, gives comfort, as a good game should do.

Borderlands 3 is a cool game, I enjoyed it twice, so I advise you to hurry up and pick up your free copy on the Epic Games Store . The second time I went through Borderlands 3 with all the DLCs that have already come out, and once again I was convinced that in the supplements Gearbox Software cuts loose, so they usually work better than the main game. In Borderlands 3, I advise you to play Bounty of Blood and Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck. The latest addition reveals the highly underrated hero of Borderlands 2, Krieg, and is a kind of tribute to Maya. Sorry,I got distracted.

I’m just saying Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep for Borderlands 2, which has recently become a separate game, це, probably one of the best additions to the Borderlands series (well, there are also Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck). The players really liked it due to the interesting manner of the story, the world that changes according to the change of mood of Tiny Tina, and of course, thanks to Tina herself, who is certainly the most charismatic character in the series. Yes, yes, there is still Claptrap, but personally I choose Tina.

What the authors did with Tina in Borderlands 3 is a betrayal. The older version of Tina turned out to be simply uninteresting, and Borderlands 3 frankly didn’t have enough of her. Therefore, Tina’s return to Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a kind of apology to the players

As you know, Tina loves explosives and explosions, Roland, Mad Moxxi and the game Bunkers & Badasses – Borderlands version of Dungeons& Dragons. So when Tina, along with Captain Valentine, the robot Frette and the player, gets stuck after the crash of their pirate ship god-knows-where, she decides to waste time playing Bunkers & amp; Badasses. Tina builds a large detailed map for the game from improvised objects and takes on the role of the Master of the Dungeons. You, as a nube to Bunkers & Badasses, will be honored to explore this whimsical world with Valentine and Frette.

As in Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep, the world of Wonderlands can change due to the whims of its creator, i.e. Tina. And as we all know, the mood of this crazy thirteen-year-old girl is real dynamite. So be prepared for unexpected plot twists, illogical conclusions and grand events. So much more fun.

That is, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands has a main plot, key characters and a theme of the struggle between good and evil, but it doesn’t matter. The path, the disputes between the characters and Tina, their relationships and making fun of each other are much more interesting than the plot itself. As is usually the case in the Borderlands series, there is no wall between the player and the characters, and given that this is an in-game game, the number of levels of interaction increases even more. And so, the authors are still fully joking about the video game industry, old games, the player and themselves. Humor is fine here, and some jokes are really smart.

We strongly recommend playing with the original English track, because the main characters of the game were voiced by famous American comedians Andy Semberg, Wanda Sykes and Will Arnett. Well, Tina still speaks in the voice of Ashley Birch, who can change the manner of speech and tone of voice, even within one sentence. This is really a very cool voice acting.

In terms of gameplay, Wonderlands is almost the same as Borderlands 3. There are even the same weapon models as in the Borderlands series. Instead of grenades there are spells that are updated over time. There are more ammunition slots, such as full armor and rings. Cold steel is counted separately and so on. And in general it is the same action/RPG / Loot shooter as before. We clean up locations, look for chests, get better equipment and weapons to clean up future locations and look for new prey. This formula has worked well since the first Diablo, and in our case since the first Borderlands.

No, there are some changes in the game, and they have benefited ше. The process of character generation has become almost like in a real serious RPG, with the distribution of parameters, the choice of background and so on. Wonderlands now has as many as six game classes and is said to have at least one more in the DLC. Moreover, the player has access to multiclasses, i.e. the ability to customize the hero to your style of play has become even more. Due to the fact that almost all players now have a super talent, one or even two spells, and a helper creature, the game even alone turns into a firework of spells, explosions and ricochets. And if you’re playing in co-op mode, look for a more powerful video card.

Other role-playing elements in Wonderlands include traveling on a map in the style of a jRPG and sudden encounters with gangsters that turn into brief gunplays in small arenas. The game still has a search for secrets, rare chests, dices with prizes, collectibles and more. Minor quests are enough, and sometimes they are even more interesting than the main ones. The locations are interesting.What is worth only the sea you need to “swim”. And of course, loot, loot and once again loot. There are a lot of them here, it’s Borderlands.

Probably this is the main drawback of Wonderlands. This is not a new game, this is Borderlands in a fantasy wrapper. That is, if you like the series and you are looking for supplements, Wonderlands is exactly what you need. But if you are a little tired of collecting loot for the sake of loot, you will not find something radically new in Wonderlands. This is the same game that Gearbox Software has been developing for 13 years. Cool, bright, well done, but still the same game as before. So, make your choice.

Personally, as a fan of the series, I will love to play this. In addition, such a simple gameplay really allows you to relax and clear your brain a bit. In difficult times, this is very necessary.

What’s next? Post-game content, endless generated dungeons, or passing another class. And then four more DLCs, two of which, Coiled Captors та Glutton’s Gamble have already appeared. As a reminder, supplements in Gearbox are usually even better than the main game.

As for the sequel, I personally would not refuse if the next Gearbox game was Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands 2, not Borderlands 4, but it’s too early to talk about it. The next game in the series is already known – this is Tales from the Borderlands 2 which is really very cool.