Borderlands 3: Is It Worth It In 2023?

Fans of the Borderlands series had to wait for almost 7 years before getting a new sequel they desperately wanted. That’s not to say that Borderlands 2 didn’t hold up. It was a solid game that players love even to this day thanks to mod support and its amazing yet quirky campaign. Is the sequel worth the wait? Let’s find out if Borderlands 3 Is Worth It in 2023.

Borderlands 3 adds a ton of new mechanics that further enhance the gameplay. With a whole new campaign, a new cast of characters, and the same old quirkiness; is Borderlands 3 Worth It?

Is Borderlands 3 Worth It

After sinking countless hours in Borderlands 3, I never once found myself to be bored of the game. It has a unique charm that keeps the player invested throughout the campaign and post-game content. On top of that, if you are a fan of Borderlands 2, this game will surely be a welcomed addition as it only adds to its predecessor. Just how good is it? Let’s find out!

Gameplay

Let’s start with the most important aspect; the gameplay. Much like the previous entries, Borderlands 3 is a looter shooter game that focuses heavily on its gunplay and characters. From roaming the Wasteland to fighting bosses in arenas, Borderlands 3 gets all these things right. To put it simply, the core gameplay loop revolves around shooting. Lots and lots of shooting. Despite not being the biggest fan of FPS games, I loved the gunplay in Borderlands 3. It’s that good! Plus, the grenades are implemented really well. I found the grenade concept in this game to be really enjoyable thanks to how unique and effective they are.

There are tons of activities for you to do in Borderlands 3 which keeps the player busy. You can either spend all your time doing side missions like me or progress through the story – which we’ll get to a little later. Now, we cannot talk about gameplay without mentioning the guns in the game. There are a ton of weapons to choose from and find to aid you in your quest. Borderlands 3 has unique guns that have amazing effects and insane damages. However, you will have to grind quite a bit to get some but that is the appeal of the game.

The movement feels quite modernized and the animations are glorious. Your jump feels more responsive and the slide is just the icing on the cake. It feels as good as it looks. On top of that, the variety of enemies is pretty decent and you never get tired of shooting bad guys.

Plus, the game has superb endgame content. Borderlands 3 is twice as fun to play if you are playing with friends or co-op. Speaking of which, let’s move on to our next category.

Multiplayer

This is the bread and butter of any looter shooter game and fans of online games will absolutely adore it. I always felt like the Borderlands games were meant to be played with friends since it is extremely fun. To balance out the odds, the game automatically adds more enemies and more HP to bosses when playing co-op so that players don’t abuse the system.

The game is seamless when it comes to multiplayer. It’s easy to find and get into games as well as leave the game if you’re not having fun. Borderlands – like its predecessors – continues the tradition to give the players option to play split-screen couch co-op. This is always a plus point in my books as I love split-screen games. When the game first launched in 2019, players reported that there was a bunch of lag and other technical issues but thankfully 2K have fixed that in the patches since.

Story

Over the years, video games have started giving the players an unforgettable immersive story that is considered to be at the level of Hollywood storytelling. For me, Borderlands has never been about the story as much as it is about the shooting, playing with friends, and falling in love with the characters. Most players do not care about the story as much in looter shooter games but some still want it to be top-notch.

How well does Borderlands 3 story hold up? Well, let’s just say that the story is where the game lacks behind its prequels. Without giving any spoilers, you take the role of a Vault Hunter that opens Vaults around the galaxy to gain new abilities and weapons. The main story is about 30-35 hours long which is a good length but the quality of the story doesn’t really hold up.

Classes

In typical Borderlands fashion, you have four unique playable characters in the base game that all serve their own purpose. The classes – just like the classes in Borderlands 2 – all have their own pros and cons. The four classes are Siren, Beastmaster, Gunner, and Operative.

The Siren is a supportive class that focuses on damage-dealing abilities. Her survivability is considered as the highest out of all other classes and newer players will love playing as her. Secondly, the Gunner is the DPS of the group that takes out chunks of HP from enemies thanks to her expertise with guns. The Operative is the assassin – just like Zer0 in Borderlands 2 – that excels in using his sci-fi abilities to hack and crash the bad guys. Finally, the Beastmaster is the frontline of the group thanks to his ability to call upon his trusty companions.

All of the characters are super fun to play and have their own unique experiences. New players will want to pick the Siren as her abilities are easy to get used to and deal tons of damage. If you plan to play solo, then choosing the Beastmaster will give you excellent results.

Exploration

Borderlands 3 has amazing environments to traverse and shoot anything that stands in your way. Players are offered tons of exploration opportunities in the form of open wastelands, dense cities, or huge vaults. Not only that, but you also get the option to travel through six different planets that all have a unique feel to them. All of them also have a diverse range of enemies which keep the pacing of the game interesting.

If you plan to buy the Season Pass, you will get new environments to explore thanks to the DLCs and expansions. The central area you can visit is the Sanctuary. This is the main hub area of Borderlands 3. Sanctuary is filled with tons of secrets and you can even add more cosmetics to your room. Every character serves a unique purpose and are fun to talk to. Plus, you can visit different planets from this location. One gripe I had with this is that the spaceship can be a little tricky to navigate – especially for newer players.

On the whole, each location feels unique and players will not feel like they’ve seen a place before. The sound effects and character interactions are really well done according to the place.

Summary

Borderlands 3 is an extremely fun-to-play game that enhances the gameplay of its predecessors. It is absolutely worth buying because the game offers tons of content for the player to experience. To put it simply, it’s more Borderlands. If you are a fan of Borderlands 2, then this game will be right up your alley. Even though the story isn’t the most memorable, the gameplay is so good that it overshadows the flaws. I would highly suggest that you get the game since it is going strong in 2023 and the player base is just as active.

That about does it for our guide about is Borderlands 3 Worth It. I hope this assisted you in making an informed decision if the game is for you or not. I would love to know your thoughts in the comments below.