Borderlands 3 sticks to its guns

Loot shooters have changed a lot since Borderlands first introduced us to the idea of running around a battlefield like a trigger-happy magpie. The likes of Destiny and The Division have taken the simple act of robbing a corpse blind and added new layers of complexity, gear and painstakingly micro-managed weapon mods.

In this brave new world of agents, engrams and unlockable emotes, you might well ask whether the tried and tested Borderlands formula can really capture players’ imaginations without being significantly reworked. To put it another way, will Borderlands 3 stick to its own format or will it cannibalise its more recent contemporaries in order to fit a changed landscape?

This was the main question on my mind as I sat down for a 90-minute chunk of hands-on time at a preview event in Los Angeles, and I can confidently say that Borderlands hasn’t moved an inch – in a good way.

18 new things in Borderlands 3 gameplay Watch on YouTube

Instead of chasing after Destiny, Borderlands 3 has resolutely doubled down on its open-world, quest-based format in an attempt to remind you what made it good in the first place, and it absolutely works. Instead of introducing all-new mechanics or reworking its gear system, it’s obvious that Gearbox has thrown the majority of its efforts behind tightening up the combat. Mantling and an Apex Legends-style bum slide have made nipping around the battlefield feel more fluid and interesting, while the weapons themselves give a great sense of feedback and sound absolutely brilliant.