REVIEW – One day, two developers, two episodic games come to an end. On October 20, not only Life is Strange saw its end (for now, maybe?), but Tales from the Borderlands also finished up. Although the end result isn’t that remarkable, I still have to say that this game is very nice after all…

So at the end of the fourth episode we stopped with a decision asked by Handsome Jack, still having the same end result, no matter what we pick. I – won’t spoil here, as I wrote about it in the fourth episode’s review – trusted Jack, and in the early moments, we do get a funny option to pick (too bad I did not pick that one… I regret it now), but sadly, the dice will not roll our way shortly thereafter.

Short time in the throne

Rhys won’t stay for a long time in his office, because he’ll have to escape, as well as Fiona et al, but of course, escaping Hyperion isn’t going to be going as planned – at least, the drama and the usual Borderlands-styled humour will be taking their place nicely. Rhys wants to get rid of Jack with a logical step, but none of the main heroes will get off Hyperion that easily. Meanwhile, one of Vallory’s goons will have a change of mind, and later on, you might actually recruit him – we will get back to this later on -, and he might be a helpful team member!

The intro is amazing

Sure, it’s not at the beginning of the episode again, but this intro staff roll and segment has taken a really grim turn this time around. Escaping from Hyperion, leaving several persons behind, while a really amazing song is playing. I really recommend listening to Retrograde by James Blake. I think this is not a spoiler and the lead editor won’t get mad at me for this. (After all, I just told you the song, that’s no biggie…) They really managed to have superb audio again. Setting up the mood nicely…

Leading up the future?

Rhys will sadly have confrontations with Jack, although in my opinion, that decision that will have to be made will have an effect in the future, otherwise I don’t think the game would even give us a choice at this point to do this or that. And I was wrong, you can not trust Jack. I wonder how our decision will play out in future episodes… also Fiona will see one person drop out of the staff of the game, and another one is likely to be left behind, while two others will also have a role. And yes, that rocket feels scripted… 🙂

Present

We’re slowly getting back to the present. Another mistake on my end: I thought about the masked person’s identity, and I was way off with my guess. Another person will take a jump into the game (back?), however, this particular person has grown into a leader. Several funny scenes might happen, especially if Rhys took the President role in Hyperion, although even Rhys himself might find them disturbing… and eventually, we will get a task: let’s pull something off that Vallory’s team wasn’t able. Be prepared and be prepared… as a team!

It’s easier together

We’re going to get a task to form a team and we will need three team members to join us. I don’t care, I will spoil here with my choices. First, I picked August, who appreciated my badass attitude throughout the game. Then, I went for Springs. She joined because I honored Scooter’s last wish, as well as keeping her and my third team member, Athena (tougher than you think! I was wrong about her fate…) together – she took the offer for me helping their relationship with Springs. With their help, and the technology at our disposal, we’re going to try to open the Vault and get the loot.

No success without complications

Gortys isn’t really a fighter, so in the first parts, the Traveler (the monster guarding the Vault, so no spoilers here) will easily knock her down. However, the Traveler can be defeated when it teleports. However, all eight team members have to be on song, but one of them fires early, resulting in complications. A lot of them. We’re taking a turn towards Power Rangers (You have to see THAT), as well as Street Fighter, or even Tekken, depending on what character you picked for your team. So Telltale and Gearbox have done it again, even after the fingerfights in episode four…!

Survival?

With the help of respecting something, one of our fallen team members can be revived, and it will result in a very heartwarming scene with a nice group hug by everyone. The Vault is open and we’re now going towards it. Some small talk and character development happens between the two protagonists, and them, the story ends. There is another joke in skipping the credits, but this time, you shouldn’t do so, because they are drawn very nicely.

One of Telltale’s bests!

Some of the animations are jittery again right after we pick our choices, and it can be a bit jarring. Still, the controls and the audio are perfectly done (except for some minor voices), and I think the story is set up for a sequel. I’d be glad to see that. However, as I mentioned in my Life is Strange review, who is taking the throne of the episodic games?

Max and Chloe stays put, Rhys and Fiona can only sit next to that throne. Telltale has made a great game, in fact, I believe this is their second best after The Walking Dead, but they are now working on a spin-off and not the third season, goddamnit. So Tales from the Borderlands is great, but for different reasons than Life is Strange: its tongue-in-cheek mentality, humour and style with a great storyline makes it worthwhile for Borderlands-fans.

However, I only recommend it to them and Telltale-fans. Still, I give it a 9/10. This will be continued…

-V-

Publisher: Telltale Games

Developer: Telltale Games + Gearbox, 2K Games

Genre: Episodic game

Launch date: October 20, 2015 (PS4, PS3)