TL;DR
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands throws you into a Borderlands spin-off where Tiny Tina hosts a D&D-style role-playing game. Expect the series' signature humor and loot-based FPS action, but with a medieval fantasy twist, new environments, and mythical enemies. While it offers familiar fun and a unique meta-narrative, the game-within-a-game structure can lessen the stakes, and its full price feels more like an expansion. If you're a die-hard fan looking for a fresh coat of paint, it's entertaining, but may not be a must-buy. Dive into the full review to see if this quirky adventure is for you.
The acclaimed Borderlands game series debuted in 2009, and has since spawned three sequels within the main series. Several spin-offs have also been released, including TellTales‘ episodic Tales from the Borderlands, which is set in the same universe but employs a different gameplay mechanic. This review focuses on Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, another title set in the same world, but with a distinct premise.
Tiny Tina invites you to join her and her friends in a session of a role-playing game. Create a custom avatar and dive into a series of whimsical adventures. Expect a blend of the serious and the absurd, with the series’ signature humor and unpredictable events defining the Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands experience.
The character Tiny Tina may be familiar to fans of the series. She initially appeared in Borderlands 2, released nearly a decade ago, and has since been featured as a non-playable character (NPC) in subsequent installments. This volatile and eccentric thirteen-year-old now hosts a role-playing game with her friends. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands unfolds within a meta-narrative, a game within a game, enabling a high degree of in-game flexibility and unpredictable scenarios, which frequently occur.
The core gameplay remains a first-person shooter (FPS), retaining the refined mechanics and controls characteristic of the Borderlands series. The weapon and character upgrade systems also share similarities. The primary distinctions lie in the environments and adversaries. The arid desert landscapes of previous titles are replaced by lush environments and medieval-inspired villages, with enemies consisting of skeletons and other fantasy creatures.
However, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands presents two primary concerns. Firstly, the game-within-a-game concept diminishes the sense of urgency or consequence in completing missions. The lack of tangible stakes, due to the fictional setting, can be somewhat detracting. Secondly, the release of this title as a standalone game at full price feels akin to a substantial DLC expansion. The core gameplay loop remains largely consistent with other Borderlands titles, with the environment and characters serving as the most significant points of differentiation.
In conclusion, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands offers an entertaining experience, but specific issues prevent a strong recommendation. The game is enjoyable, but falls short of being a must-have title.
2K Games provided a review copy of this game. The provision of review materials does not influence our editorial evaluations.
