Tales from the Borderlands – Episode 1: Zer0 Sum Review

   Welcome Back to Pandora

Telltale Games has done it again. Yes, the studio that has brought us the critically acclaimed, story-driven video game series The Walking Season – Season 1 & 2 as well as The Wolf Among Us has successfully transformed the loot-heavy First-Person Shooter franchise from Gearbox Software into an interesting Point-and-Click adventure experience that feels like an authentic Borderlands spin-off title with Tales from the Borderlands. Praising a game that only has a fifth of its full content released may seem like a sudden reaction, but, with its perspective-changing story arcs that involve two very distinctive characters, and its accurate representation of the Borderlands world, style and charm, Episode 1 of Tales from the Borderlands kicks off its initial season on a very positive note, all while keeping the essence and soul of the franchise: Kickass gear, money, betrayals and Vault Hunting. The best part is; you don’t even need to be a Borderlands enthusiast to appreciate what Tales has to offer.

Although Tales’ story isn’t groundbreaking by any means, it’s the cleverly-written characters that make it worthwhile. Set shortly after the events of Borderlands 2, Rhys, one of the two main protagonists you control throughout the episode, is a down-on-his-luck Hyperion worker with a mechanical arm and eye that only seeks what he deserves as an invested member of the late Handsome Jack empire. Fiona, on the other hand, is a Pandora-born con artist that will do anything to enhance her and her family’s living conditions. Both characters are sly and untrustworthy, and that’s why the plot in Tales works so well; Fiona and Rhys tell their own versions of previous events that tie-in with each other and, as the player, you decide how their told stories ultimately played out, but they won’t necessarily be completely honest about every single detail. This is an interesting approach in game storytelling as it brings some very humoristic moments, unexpected contradictions and engaging character dynamic that will keep you invested over the course of the two-hour-long episode.

Disposing of Hyperion cybernetics and a stun baton, Rhys is able to use his echo eye mechanic to allow him to scan objects to gain additional info on them – which consistently contain funny details – and access various electronic devices, and it’s all done using Tales of the Borderlands’ unique UI interface that looks like it was ripped straight out of a Borderlands 2 menu. At the other end of the spectrum, Fiona’s skills are mostly based around stealth and infiltration, at least from what is shown throughout Episode 1. As the plot slowly thickens , you’ll notice that the character abilities always interact with the way their sides of the story played out; how they reacted and what drove them in pursuing a mission where all the odds were against them. Although it can be extremely corny and predictable at times, Fiona and Rhys’s character development is the true star of Tales from the Borderlands.

In addition to having different motivations and ways of approaching things, both main characters are accompanied with a solid cast of secondary characters that all bring something new to the plot with their unique and expected, nutty Borderlands-type personalities, while also being voiced by some of the most popular voice actors in the entertainment medium. With a lineup including legends such as Troy Baker, Laura Bailey, Nolan North, Chris Hardwick and Patrick Warburton, Tales from the Borderlands’ dialogue is always on-point, and never feels forced or flimsy as the actors involved all know exactly how to deliver credible dialogue lines, which makes the game feel even more authentic.

Speaking of authenticity, Tales from the Borderlands’ universe is as convincing as any other entry in Gearbox’s franchise, which is mostly due to the fact that the signature Telltale cel-shaded art style fits perfectly with the main games’ look. Tales is supposed to be a spin-off game, but I never got the feeling that it is an expanded universe-type of story because it nails most of the aspects that made the world of Borderlands so memorable when it was first introduced. Referencing many past Borderlands events and characters, all while using the same disturbing humor fans of the series have come to enjoy, makes you want to learn more about the other clinically insane or outright horrible people who are hiding within the world of Pandora, and that only increases Tales’ intrigue factor and keeps you hooked to what it has to offer.

As I prefaced earlier, Tales from the Borderlands is not your typical Borderlands title since it completely deviates away from the franchise’s core First-Person Shooter RPG mechanics, but that doesn’t hurt Telltale’s take on Gearbox’s game in any way. Because of the passive dialogue-choosing, decision-making and Point-and-Click adventure nature of Tales from the Borderlands, it focuses a lot more on character development – something that is still lacking in the main Borderlands games – instead of having its entire attention dedicated to finding loot, killing everything in-sight and upgrading your Vault Hunter. That being said, there are still some very Borderlands-y sequences in Zer0 Sum that are very action-oriented even if you’ll mostly be interacting with other characters. Though they mostly consist of Quick-Time-Events, they still spice the gameplay up enough to make it diverse and engaging for the entire duration of the episode. For instance, I absolutely adored the Hyperion Loader bot sequence that was all about murdering attacking looters because it perfectly captured the Borderlands action with over-the-top moments.

It’s a new way of approaching the Borderlands licence, and one that is even more accessible to players as it is simple and easy to master. Incidentally, Tales of the Borderlands can be enjoyed by players who have never experienced a Borderlands game before as it introduces a story that is, for the most part, unrelated to the whole Vault Hunting-dedicated narrative present in all the other Borderlands games. However, it will be difficult to fully understand the whole deal around the world of Pandora if you have no clue what it is all about, and Tales from the Borderlands does not do a good job of putting everything in context during its opening moments. Also, hardcore fans of the series could be turned off by this game concept change, but, then again, you should know what you are getting into once you sink your teeth into a Telltale game.

VERDICT

Tales from the Borderlands is an excellent kickoff to a brand new Telltale Games episodic series. It has amazingly-written characters accompanied with stunning voice-work done by some of the industry’s best. Tales works so well because it is an accessible and legitimate Borderlands experience that explores a different kind approach to storytelling. It’s interesting to see how Rhys and Fiona’s views on their past journey interact with each other and how this will affect critical moments going forward in the narrative as Episode 1 did not have any relatively shocking moments à la Walking Dead or The Wolf Among Us. Nevertheless, it sets the tone for the rest of the season, and I cannot wait to see what the rest of Pandora has in store for our mischievous heroes.