New Tales from the Borderlands

 PC
User Score
3.6

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 56 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 56
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 56
  3. Negative: 33 out of 56

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  1. foxxydolphin
    Oct 23, 2022
    2
    This is the first time I really felt like I had to share my opinion on a game before. I am a massive fan of Tales from the Borderlands. Even after all these years have passed, it was always something of a comfort game to me that I loved returning to. I love the characters and what Telltale Games did with the world. Tales from the Borderlands was a labor of love and the passion of theThis is the first time I really felt like I had to share my opinion on a game before. I am a massive fan of Tales from the Borderlands. Even after all these years have passed, it was always something of a comfort game to me that I loved returning to. I love the characters and what Telltale Games did with the world. Tales from the Borderlands was a labor of love and the passion of the development team shined through like no other game ever has. Tales from the Borderlands simply brought me nothing but joy and happiness every time I go back. New Tales from the Borderlands brought me nothing but sadness.

    New Tales from the Borderlands is a mess. From unlikable characters and a plot that struggles to have any comprehensibility, to a lack of player interaction and meaningful choices, and a lack of sense of fun.

    Telltale was often criticized for choices feeling as if they did not matter, but New Tales has never felt so on rails before. Never once did my choices ever feel like they meant anything. No spoilers, but only the ending is when the game feels like it is trying to branch out. However, I am still overwhelming confused by the outcome of the ending I had. The ending comes out of no where and feels as if I had missed 3 scenes in between. This also feels true for most of the game the longer it goes on, where the logic behind where the story was going, simply stopped making sense. Nothing drives the story forward other than something randomly occurring.

    The leads are all very forgettable and unlikable with very weak character motivations. Alongside the 3 playable leads, you will interact with L0I-13 (an assassin robot) the most, however, he may as well be the only other character in this game. I was completely shocked by the fact that even though a large cast is highlighted in the trailers, the vast majority of characters you see outside those 4 have maybe 5 minutes of time on the screen in the entire game. This ends up making the game feel so incredibly lonely, especially compared to the original's massive cast which were all much more fleshed out. Even characters in the original with not a lot of time felt like they had purpose and were memorable.

    The presentation was a very noticeable downgrade. This is the only Borderlands game that did not bother with a musical credit sequence. Once again, the original did it 5 times and all 5 of them from the song choices and how the scene plays out are fantastic. In New Tales, I feel would be lying if I said it made a genuine attempt. It simply chose not to do so, the best you will get is music playing over a scene as nothing really happens.

    Truth is there is so much disappointment I don't think I could ever shape all my problems in words. It feels so fundamentally misguided. I am sure those who worked on it really did try, but the writing and story telling is such a step down in quality and as Borderlands as a series continues to keep dropping the ball on narrative, more and more I wish we could go back to when Tales from the Borderlands showed just how much of a narrative powerhouse this universe could be.

    If this released without the original ever existing, I think I may have gone with something closer to a 5. However, considering the game wants to call itself "New" Tales from the Borderlands, Gearbox already chose to directly compare their game to the one they did not develop, so I feel it is more fair to rate it with the original in mind. So with that, I'd have to say a 2/10. The final scene of the game only makes me weary for what is next to come, and fans of the first I would easily recommend you skip.    … Expand
  2. Stio
    Jan 10, 2023
    0
    Kompletter Müll Die Charaktere sind komplett cringe und nerven wo sie nur können
  3. basques35
    Nov 21, 2022
    1
    After the last Tales, I was excited for this title, however, it continues on the downwards trend of the borderlands franchise. This time, trying too hard with too many jokes, not respecting the legacy of the previous borderlands entries by not being consistent with the backstories of many characters just to show them to try to harvest some fan reaction. The choices you make also don't seemAfter the last Tales, I was excited for this title, however, it continues on the downwards trend of the borderlands franchise. This time, trying too hard with too many jokes, not respecting the legacy of the previous borderlands entries by not being consistent with the backstories of many characters just to show them to try to harvest some fan reaction. The choices you make also don't seem to impact the story as much as before. Overall a disapointing game with ok moments at best...… Expand
  4. KilaBite
    Dec 29, 2022
    0
    Awful. Awful. Awful. Why Gearbox is assassinating their own characters left and right is a mystery and a real shame. The story, lore and writing in the Borderlands series has gone from cool, light-hearted, subtle humour to utter on the nose foolishness. As the games improve more and more in the 3D space, the characters seem to be regressing from 3D to 2D.

    Tediore is wrong. They should    Awful. Awful. Awful. Why Gearbox is assassinating their own characters left and right is a mystery and a real shame. The story, lore and writing in the Borderlands series has gone from cool, light-hearted, subtle humour to utter on the nose foolishness. As the games improve more and more in the 3D space, the characters seem to be regressing from 3D to 2D.

    Tediore is wrong. They should be a silly company that make guns with legs and not a hyperion-esqe megacorp.

    Rhys is a goofball at times but he's not stupid. He also is a complex character who has a conscience and wouldn't (for example) resort to torture as he does in this game. He also isn't a buffoon.

    What on earth is going on with the writing at Gearbox?! First Ava and now this. What a shame. I won't be buying the next Borderlands installment until I've read the user reviews. I don't trust Gearbox any more.    … Expand
  5. Erupt50
    Oct 22, 2022
    1
    This game is not a Borderlands game. Bad characters, bad story and no humor. Very disappointing, especially if you were a fan of the original Tales from the Borderlands game.
  6. KoolMB
    Oct 24, 2022
    4
    Not as good as the first game. Not much gameplay, It's more like a lengthy cutscene. Should have gotten Telltale to develop this game. Character are fun but the story could be better and do them justice.
  7. serGG666
    Oct 22, 2022
    0
    Worst and cringiest game of the year, 0 outta 10. It has nothing to do with epic Tales from the Borderlands AKA the only good Borderlands spin-off.
  8. DinoBeam
    Oct 28, 2022
    0
    What godawful "funny" writing. Doesn't deserve to be called a Borderlands game
  9. RealisticCriti
    Oct 29, 2022
    0
    I’m not into this game it just feels like it had the wrong people behind it
  10. GarnetGG
    Oct 30, 2022
    1
    I loved Tales from the Borderlands so I had high expectations for this one. The game looked great and the voice acting was top notch. Everything was running so smoothly. But that's the only good thing about this horrendous game.

    The three main characters are so unlikable that watching them is pure pain. The game tries so hard to be funny but the jokes don't land and the dialogue is    I loved Tales from the Borderlands so I had high expectations for this one. The game looked great and the voice acting was top notch. Everything was running so smoothly. But that's the only good thing about this horrendous game.

    The three main characters are so unlikable that watching them is pure pain. The game tries so hard to be funny but the jokes don't land and the dialogue is really bad.

    Most of the time you don't even need to play the game at all. If you are about to miss a QTE the game either does it for you or makes you try again. And the dialogue options often seem very pointless. It really feels like you can't really affect the story. I wouldn't mind watching a beautiful game if the story was interesting. But there really isn't a solid story at all and it seems like there are not any meaningful choices the player gets to make. And when you are finally playing you just pick up money, scan stuff or do some incredibly boring chores.

    I have never been this upset with a game. I can't believe I managed to finish the game in the first place as it just got worse and worse after every episode.    … Expand
  11. mike4156
    Nov 5, 2022
    5
    i like regular tell tale games so i gave it a shot id give it a 5/10 the story was boring but it had some good humor here and there, graphics and mouth movements are a large improvement! only problem is i think it is more boring than any other telltale game from the past.
  12. Beckazon
    Oct 24, 2022
    8
    Oh, boy. I usually never write a review for games, but after seeing so many bad reviews that are just plain and simple unfair and/or wrong, I decided to write a review for this game.

    Is it a Telltale game? No. Is it still a great story that got me hooked from the beginning until the end with a very lovable group of playable characters and sometimes even better non-playable characters?    Oh, boy. I usually never write a review for games, but after seeing so many bad reviews that are just plain and simple unfair and/or wrong, I decided to write a review for this game.

    Is it a Telltale game? No. Is it still a great story that got me hooked from the beginning until the end with a very lovable group of playable characters and sometimes even better non-playable characters? Definitely!

    The game is NOT woke as people claim it. Nothing gets weirdly forced/pushed onto you. Nothing feels out of place... Well, as much as you can say that about a Borderlands game of course.

    I saw many people complain about the fact that they changed the main characters for this game. Guys, you never played a Borderlands game before then, right? Every game has a different set of playable characters!

    The humor of the game is as it should be expected for a Borderlands game. Don't expect the deepest thought-trains. There are other games for that. But I had a great time, laughed rather often and just enjoyed the almost 10 hours of gameplay.

    And of course there is the "gameplay" that gets criticized often as non-existent... This game is a "tales" game which uses the essence of the Tales from the Borderlands game of 2014. Which is a Telltale game. Which means those are pretty much playable movies where you just make some key decisions, sprinkled with some quick time events. Why do people act so surprised that New Tales also has such a gameplay? It was VERY much expected to be that way. If you don't like those kinds of games then don't buy em and complain afterwards that you don't like it. Seriously...

    Anyway, it is ALMOST as good as the first Tales from the Borderlands, which was one of the best Telltale games in my opinion, and it is FAR better than Borderlands 3 which I had to stop after a few hours because I just didn't like it while I loved 1, 2 and even the Pre-Sequel.

    So if you like Telltale like games, like Borderlands, like some campy humor... Then this is the right game for you. Don't listen to reviews of people that either didn't play the game or managed to put in "0.2 hours" before their review which just says "Sucks". Or reviews of people that are just sad because Gearbox didn't make a game just like they wanted it to be.

    Now grab your SHINIEST MEATBICYCLE and explore the planet of Promethia with Anu, Octavio and Fran in New Tales from the Borderlands :)    … Expand
  13. Jt0429
    Oct 22, 2022
    8
    Good-
    Solid new cast; Above average writing and acting; Runs well.
    Bad- Story occasionally flattens out; Gameplay is largely unevolved. Thoughts- There is not much new for the Borderlands series in New Tales. It closely follows in the footsteps of the last game and only meaningfully expands on its ideas on rare occasion. Narratively, I would argue it’s a less consistently    Good-
    Solid new cast; Above average writing and acting; Runs well.

    Bad-
    Story occasionally flattens out; Gameplay is largely unevolved.

    Thoughts-
    There is not much new for the Borderlands series in New Tales. It closely follows in the footsteps of the last game and only meaningfully expands on its ideas on rare occasion. Narratively, I would argue it’s a less consistently entertaining romp than its predecessor, yet the highs it does hit can feel higher than the ones in the previous game, and that is a trade-off you may or may not like depending on your taste. On the other side of the coin, the clear improvements on the back end make for a more pleasing gameplay experience despite the mechanics themselves being more focused on faithful replication of how the last game played rather than overhauling or advancing anything. As a result, it’s pretty clear this is a Gearbox game and not a Telltale game, but as a follow-up to Tales from the Borderlands, it undeniably checks more boxes than not, and shows that Gearbox is capable of putting out Borderlands games in both of the genres it’s taken part in. Bottom line? Fans of this spin-off series and genre might be a little underwhelmed by the strict allegiance to the rules of its nearly-ten-year-old predecessor, but will more importantly continue to be charmed and entertained by the new faces and situations that this newest tale brings.    … Expand
  14. Ray6701
    Oct 23, 2022
    10
    The humour is top notch the characters are likeable and its story is interesting
  15. WendyStamps
    Dec 18, 2022
    10
    This game was a ton of fun good jokes and good characters to make a kick ass game
  16. Daniel2009
    Oct 23, 2022
    9
    A very enjoyable experience the characters are funny and a very good story makes it amazing although the Gameplay mechanics are a bit wonky
  17. Curtoric
    Oct 24, 2022
    10
    Haters gonna hate about games being too “woke” nowadays. This certainly does not deserve any of the 0/1 star reviews people have posted.
    If you liked the original Tales from the Borderlands, you should give this a shot!
  18. Dstamps
    Nov 10, 2022
    10
    New Tales From The Borderlands is a great sequel that you dont have to play the first to play new tales
  19. Nrrehj
    Nov 18, 2022
    5
    not what i expected but it is still okay game to mess around if you are bored
  20. Darkrayne
    Apr 22, 2023
    7
    No where near as bad as the vocal minority make out. It is not as good as the Telltale one but if you thought it was going to be then you were just kidding yourself.

    Some characters are cringe, some aren't. Two of the main characters are intentionally socially awkward from each extreme end of the social spectrum which was probably a really stupid choice; one nerdy and awkward, the other    No where near as bad as the vocal minority make out. It is not as good as the Telltale one but if you thought it was going to be then you were just kidding yourself.

    Some characters are cringe, some aren't. Two of the main characters are intentionally socially awkward from each extreme end of the social spectrum which was probably a really stupid choice; one nerdy and awkward, the other overconfident, trying to be cool (so not cool) and annoying. You will not want to see those two characters in future Borderlands games. The other main character and the assassination robot are decent.

    You will eye-roll at some attempts at humour and you will laugh at others, sometimes hard. Episode 3 is especially funny. But, which jokes land and which don't depends on your choices and the outcome of many choices can be quite unpredictable. So, you need to be aware that 'you' might have made it less funny and if you're not interested in replaying with different choices then you may never even know.    … Expand
  21. gum11
    May 8, 2023
    0
    I liked the story and the characters..this is a solid adventure game with great jokes too
  22. Xedmed
    Sep 6, 2023
    2
    So as an update to my earlier review I'm at chapter 5 now and it is truly abysmal. The writing is awful. The character development (IN A STORY DRIVEN GAME) is ignored until the 5th chapter. The ancillary characters are a chore to listen to. The jokes are drawn out, and the scenes linger too long. And I hate Vault landers. Doubley so as those figures don't exist, but also its a QTE beat'emSo as an update to my earlier review I'm at chapter 5 now and it is truly abysmal. The writing is awful. The character development (IN A STORY DRIVEN GAME) is ignored until the 5th chapter. The ancillary characters are a chore to listen to. The jokes are drawn out, and the scenes linger too long. And I hate Vault landers. Doubley so as those figures don't exist, but also its a QTE beat'em up that's strong armed in the whole game. There's one line delivered per chapter that's genuinely funny, and it's from L0ui3. They also thought, "Hey we should make this more like borderlands," and filled the game with the tedious parts of borderlands, collecting money and skins for your characters. People with no sense or writing skill made this tedious escape into the borderlands universe. Stick to Tiny Tina's Wonderland's. Its miles better written and much more fun.… Expand
  23. KinimodYunmi
    Nov 24, 2022
    8
    Ich fand das Spiel wirklich sehr gut!

    Es war echt witzig und die ganze Zeit über echt unterhaltsam. Ich fand Episode 1 bei weitem am besten und dann etwas abfallend, aber am Ende immer noch gut, die Soundtracks haben gut gepasst und der Borderlands Humor war auch vorhanden. Ich habe alle Telltale Spiele auf Steam gespielt und es gab ein paar, bei denen ich nach einer Episode noch    Ich fand das Spiel wirklich sehr gut!

    Es war echt witzig und die ganze Zeit über echt unterhaltsam. Ich fand Episode 1 bei weitem am besten und dann etwas abfallend, aber am Ende immer noch gut, die Soundtracks haben gut gepasst und der Borderlands Humor war auch vorhanden.

    Ich habe alle Telltale Spiele auf Steam gespielt und es gab ein paar, bei denen ich nach einer Episode noch eine gespielt habe, aber nicht all zu viele, normalerweise spiele ich eine pro Tag, aber hier wollte ich dann doch noch mal dran bleiben und mir 4 Stunden am Stück eine interaktive Story reingezogen.

    Ich fand dieses Spiel auch von allen bisherigen Spielen dieser Art am flüssigsten, das bezieht sich jetzt auf die Gegenden, in denen man sich frei bewegt. Das mochte ich nie besonders, aber hier hat es mir echt Spaß gemacht.

    Anu ist sehr gelungen DEVICE!, Fran ist überraschend cool geworden und Octavio ist jetzt nicht so ganz mein Fall, regte mich manchmal etwas auf ^^

    Zu bemögeln habe ich aber leider auch etwas und zwar hat uns Telltale seit Jahre bzw alle Games seit Jahren vermittelt, jedes Quick Time Event zu machen und zu schaffen, hier ist es allerdings so, dass man mit gemacht oder nicht gemachten Quick Time Events ebenfalls Entscheidungen trifft und das finde ich wirklich blöd, weil es nicht immer sofort ersichtlich ist, vor allem nicht in der Geschwindigkeit, du hast ja keine Zeit um kurz darüber nachzudenken... und was sollten diese Minispiele? Ist das ein Test, ob E auf der Tastatur noch funktioniert? Da hätte man sich was deutlich besseres einfallen lassen können!

    Insgesamt aber trotzdem 8/10 Skateboards!    … Expand
  24. DeenaxD
    Nov 3, 2022
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is bad. I finished playing the first one and it was amazing funny interesting it wasn’t boring. So after that I started to play the new one and it is awful not like the first one at all. Boring the new characters are ugly the guy you play as has the exact same hairstyle as the bad guy in bl3… they try to make jokes and it’s just cringey it’s not even a little bit funny it’s not even like weird wacky borderlands it’s pure and utter cringe. One of the other characters you play as released some wild animals because she doesn’t want them being experimented on yet she has one of them in her lab in a glass cage that she experimented on… it’s so stupid doesn’t make any sense at all. From what I played of it so far its really really bad I don’t know how they went so wrong with this and Rhys it’s like they changed his whole personality hes crude and unlikeable now which he wasn’t in the first one he’s nothing like he was before. So over all this game is very bad if you liked the first one I wouldn’t recommend buying this one a waste of money.… Expand
  25. MeAndMyGamertag
    Dec 26, 2022
    7
    Great story and fun new characters with story developments that I'm exited to see play out in the later games. I Don't think this game fully lands the ending but great overall.
  26. haha_yes9
    Sep 3, 2023
    3
    This game is considered a meh in my opinion. because without the telltale its just does not have any soul?. I mean sure some of the jokes were ridiculous nonetheless this game is meh

Awards & Rankings

86
#86 Most Discussed PC Game of 2022

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 60 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 60
  2. Mixed: 30 out of 60
  3. Negative: 4 out of 60
  1. PLAY! Zine
    Dec 13, 2022
    60
    New Tales from the Borderlands is so overblown with all sorts of different kinds of humour that it is choking the comedic timing it could have had - most of the funny moments involve side characters and not the main ones. The story is good, but the choices don’t feel that important compared to the other games in the genre.
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  2. Hooked Gamers
    Dec 6, 2022
    80
    The team at Gearbox have done a wonderful job of recreating the adventure game style that Telltale has perfected. The introduction of the mini-games does provide for change of pace, but they do detract from the flow of the story. However, the trademark Borderlands art style and humour together with the wonderfully diverse set of characters and well told narrative makes New Tales from the Borderlands a must for fans of Borderlands and adventure games.
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  3. New Game Network
    Nov 23, 2022
    50
    For a few moments, New Tales from the Borderlands captures the feeling of the series, but for the most part it's a rather generic and overlong trek that fails to excite, entertain, or amuse.
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