Tales From The Borderlands: Episode 5 - The Vault of the Traveler

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 196 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 154 out of 196
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 196
  3. Negative: 30 out of 196

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  1. Razv
    Dec 19, 2015
    10
    A masterful ending for Telltale's best game yet. Combined a complex and interesting story with some well-developed and outright fun characters. Telltale are getting better and better at this, and it's easily visible.
  2. mosessaur
    Nov 3, 2015
    10
    Perfect ending to an amazing tale.
    Not sure how far the decisions you make though the episode affect its conclusion but It was awesomely made. I enjoyed every minutes of conversation and action.
    Glad it came to this ending
  3. SigmaSebas
    Jan 29, 2016
    10
    What are you doing here, JUST PLAY IT ALREADY!
    A masterful ending for Telltale's best game yet. Combined a complex and interesting story with some well-developed and outright fun characters. Telltale are getting better and better at this, and it's easily visible.
  4. FurkanCirakli
    Dec 31, 2015
    10
    Telltale just keep going good games. The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, then this game very good. I think Best story of the Year. Best comedy of the Year. Game of the Year nominite.
  5. SZaidH
    Oct 28, 2015
    10
    Telltale games have out shined themselves this time. From the Story, The Characters , The humor etc, Telltale has nailed every aspect they are known for. This game is definitely a strong GOTY contender this year !
  6. Quralin
    May 6, 2019
    10
    Gortys died (kinda), im very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very displeased!

    BUT    Gortys died (kinda), im very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very displeased!

    BUT IT WAS SOOO GOOD    … Expand
  7. StevenvanL
    Jan 12, 2016
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Back when I played Borderlands 2, I noted that I loved the humour and the writing but couldn’t be bothered with all the comparing of loot, the respawning enemies and the other ways in which the Borderlands franchise conspired to be a massive time-sink. Thankfully, Telltale Games took the cheeky, satiric and violent sensibility of the franchise, kept the great writing but poured it into their interactive storytelling model, focusing on words rather than weapons. The result is one of their best games, a comedic scifi adventure romp which calls to mind Guardians of the Galaxy.

    The Telltale formula will be familiar to most gamers at this point. They tell interactive stories that change depending on your input. The games are split into about five chapters which are released with a month or two in-between each chapter and together these form a ‘season’. Most likely, you will end up with a complete story, but find the door left open for a sequel. Tales from the Borderlands sticks tightly to this formula. Compared to the The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones entries, it very much eases up on life-or-death decisions and focuses on humour. The illusion that you are really affecting events in a major way is pretty thin here. You’re mostly sculpting emotions and influencing the tone of the characters. There are multiple variations of each scene, but you’re being led down a narrow path.

    Thankfully, the dialogues and characters will quickly hook you. Even if the overall structure of the Scifi-Western world they inhabit doesn’t make much sense, you will gladly suspend disbelief to join them on their adventure. You play as two characters. One is Rhys (Troy Baker), a disgruntled corporate lackey who has a score to settle with his boss and the other is Fiona (Laura Bailey), a grifter who together with her sister and her sorta-dad pulls off swindles to get by. There is an overtone of screwball comedy to the script, so you may expect them to get together romantically, until you realize that would mean playing two sides of a romance, which would end up feeling silly. However, what the writers do instead – pushing you towards a romance with Fiona’s sister Sasha – isn’t much less awkward. You’re partly playing as Sasha’s suitor and partly as her sister, which is an odd combination. It wrongfooted me and made me miss the first cues about what was being set up.

    Speaking of romance, the Borderlands franchise has always been pleasantly inclusive of lesbian and gay characters in an admirably casual way. It continues its streak here, encouraging players to bring bad-ass fighter Athena and her mechanic girlfriend closer together. It is still all too rare for a franchise to be this inclusive without making a fuss about it.

    More than with any previous Telltale game, you will want to replay scenes while making different choices. Not because of the impact on the plot, but for a chance to catch all the one-liners you inevitably missed the first time around. Some of my favorite jokes revolved around the two robotic allies who end up tagging along with you. They have some of the best dialogues, such as when one of them, caught gossiping about you to the other robot, drily defends himself by stating “I cannot hold back the tide of your bad decisions”. There is also a very sly and expertly executed visual joke – set up almost accidentally it seems – referencing R2D2 and C3PO.

    As always, the advice with Telltale’s games is to not play chapter by chapter, as released, but to play the whole season in one or two sittings, like you’re reading a good book over a weekend. That way you catch all the nuances and callbacks to earlier episodes. But if you only play one Telltale game, this is definitely the one to go for, even if you don’t know the Borderlands universe yet. Some in-jokes may go over your head, but you’ll still be laughing. @PopCultJunk    … Expand
  8. Dominix99
    Nov 12, 2015
    9
    I am very pleased with how this game turned out and it was an unforgettable experience that may have me coming back to play it over again! Telltale has done it again!
  9. zkg03mjmk
    Mar 9, 2016
    9
    Epic! I have no background knowledge of borderlands series and I am not really a fan of astro cowboy stuffs. Still I have a lot of fun playing this game. All characters including hero and heroine have strong and consistent personalities. The plot are great, and the soundtrack add the atmosphere just in the right moments. The plot is revealed from both hero and heroine's sides of view. TheEpic! I have no background knowledge of borderlands series and I am not really a fan of astro cowboy stuffs. Still I have a lot of fun playing this game. All characters including hero and heroine have strong and consistent personalities. The plot are great, and the soundtrack add the atmosphere just in the right moments. The plot is revealed from both hero and heroine's sides of view. The stories they tell are mixed with truth and false, only adding them up tells the whole thing. Tiny spoiler here, I was kind of disappointed that the hero and heroine didn't become a couple~~ Episode 4 is my favorite. The ending is a little weak in my opinion, and that's why I give a 9 instead of a 10.… Expand
  10. Badr90s
    Oct 2, 2021
    9
    Never seen a better action game that is interactive with such an art style, great story, characters and dialog, it was a fun funny action/drama video game with badass moments and soundtrack
  11. nfs7379
    Aug 30, 2022
    9
    9/10........................................................................................
  12. B00tador
    Dec 5, 2021
    8
    It's right up there in terms of Telltale games, well written and funny even to newcomers of the series.
  13. t0mmyg
    Mar 16, 2017
    5
    My friend was really into borderlands for a while, So I picked this up to see what the world was all about. This is more of an interactive choose your own adventure story than a game. The music in it was really good, and it was decently voice acted. Some of the choices you make can be interesting, but at the end of the day I felt it was trying too hard to be humorous. I didn't really careMy friend was really into borderlands for a while, So I picked this up to see what the world was all about. This is more of an interactive choose your own adventure story than a game. The music in it was really good, and it was decently voice acted. Some of the choices you make can be interesting, but at the end of the day I felt it was trying too hard to be humorous. I didn't really care much for the characters and the humor kind of felt like a big inside joke. A couple parts were genuinely good for a laugh, but much of the time my mind was drifting off to playing actual games during my time with this title.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

6
#6 Best PS4 Game of 2015
50
#50 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
90

Universal acclaim - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Dec 16, 2015
    90
    Rarely has a game balanced comedy so well. [Christmas 2015, p.94]
  2. PlaySense
    Nov 4, 2015
    85
    Technically, this isn't a marvel, though as a closing chapter to this wonderful series, it delivers where it counts.
    Read full review
  3. Brash Games
    Nov 2, 2015
    90
    Despite these gripes, Tales from the Borderlands – Episode 5: The Vault of the Traveler gloriously wraps up one of Telltale’s best stories.
    Read full review
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