Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition (GOTY) launched in October 2009 and quickly gained popularity. While its engaging game mechanics and cartoon-inspired art style contributed to its success, Borderlands truly distinguished itself through its arid, post-apocalyptic humor and its pioneering role as one of the early looter-shooter games set within a vast open-world environment.
In Borderlands GOTY, players select from four distinct characters, each possessing unique weapons and skill sets. Gameplay involves following a cheerful robot guide and undertaking various missions to develop and enhance your chosen character.
In anticipation of Borderlands 3‘s release later this year, 2K Games has released a remaster of the original game for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. This updated version features significantly enhanced graphics and, on compatible consoles, supports 4K and HDR visuals. On our editorial team’s Xbox One X, connected to a Panasonic EZ950 display, the game exhibits a remarkable level of visual fidelity. Despite its age, the graphical enhancements are impressive. However, encounters with the initial enemies reveal certain limitations. While Borderlands benefits from a significant visual upgrade, the core enemy animations and AI remain largely unchanged. Advancements in AI over the past decade are noticeable by their absence. Enemies tend to charge directly at the player, discharging their weapons without strategic nuance, requiring players to simply expend ammunition until they are defeated.
The package includes several DLC expansions. It is advisable to adequately level up your character before engaging with these, as their difficulty can be substantial, potentially insurmountable, at lower character levels.
I recall enjoying Borderlands immensely upon its initial release a decade ago, and anticipated a pleasant revisiting of the title. However, while the game exhibits impressive visual enhancements, its age is apparent; there is a distinction between appreciating retro aesthetics and overlooking dated elements. While not as problematic as the porting of older fishing and hunting games to the Nintendo Switch, Borderlands, despite its groundbreaking status upon release and the recent visual overhaul, exhibits its age beneath the surface. The low price point makes it worthwhile to experience. However, its flaws are still present.
