Telltale Games have released Episode 1 of Tales of the Borderlands, and here is our spoiler free review.
This is how Telltale describes the game:
Like all good tales, there’s more than one side to a story. Especially one about a Vault key, the Hyperion Corporation, bandits, loot, gangsters, Vault Hunters, secret Atlas tech, explosions, getaways, extortion, betrayal, and mayhem.
Set after the events seen in Borderlands 2, Tales from the Borderlands is about Rhys, a Hyperion company man looking to become the next Handsome Jack, and it’s also about Fiona, a Pandoran con artist out to score the biggest of all swindles.
Lured into danger by a Vault key and all it promises, the unlikely duo are thrown together with a common goal and a huge amount of mistrust. Who is telling the truth, and why is it important?
That’s up to you to decide.
You are Rhys…and you are also Fiona, because like every tale worth telling, there are two…oh, you read that part already? Well, it’s important to remember that there *are* two sides to every story, and you my friend, you will tell this tale, or…tales, through the choices that you make. Your every decision as both Rhys and Fiona will affect the people and world around you: this is a game where YOU are the final author in a brand new Borderlands story set on the unforgiving world of Pandora.
Now I’m both a fan of Telltales other games, in particular The Walking Dead, and also of the Borderlands series from 2K Games and Gearbox, so when I heard about Tales of the Borderlands I couldn’t wait to play it.
Like the description says, you play two different characters – the first one is Rhys, voiced by Troy Baker (I’m not sure when he gets the time to do anything other than record voices for games, but he is very good at it and so its always a pleasure to listen to). As this is a spoiler free review I wont go into too many details about the plot, other than to say that Rhys was due a big promotion at Hyperion and he gets screwed out of it by his arch-nemesis, so he decides to screw him back.
The second character is Fiona, voiced by Laura Bailey. Fiona is a grifter and part way through the episode you switch to playing her. Fiona and Rhys’s story is interwoven and it’s fun to watch them play off each other, but again, I don’t want to give too much away.
The gameplay style is what you would expect from Telltale – you have a number of options to choose from in different situations, and your selections will result in the story changing around you. There are also sections where you have to dodge attacks, and even target enemies (which is a whole heap of fun).
The first thing I noticed when the game started was just how much it felt like a Borderlands game. Now that might sound obvious, but I wasn’t sure if this would be a Telltale game with a Borderlands theme, or a Borderlands game with a Telltale interface. It’s actually the best of both worlds, with a typically insane and funny Borderlands story with all the gameplay you would expect from Telltale. I found the gameplay very smooth and the selections easy to choose, even easier than previous Telltale games.
The graphics are typical Borderlands and I loved the humour. The voices are done really well, and along with Troy and Laura, Nolan North also makes an appearance, as does Dameon Clarke (spoiler – sort of!).
The first episode took about 2 and quarter hours to complete, and I am really looking forward to episode 2 in a few weeks time.
The cost of this episode is just $4.99 USD or equivalent or as part of a Season Pass package for all five episodes for just $24.99 USD or equivalent or less.
If you are a fan of either Telltale’s games or Borderlands, then this is a must for you. Now I just have to wait patiently for episode 2.
If you want to watch the first 30 minutes of episode 1, you can do so here.
