To tide fans over until the inevitable Borderlands 4, Gearbox Software has released a spin-off that expands upon the popular Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep expansion for Borderlands 2 that was released back in 2013 (and as a standalone in 2021). Given that it’s been nine years, one might expect a bigger break from the Borderlands formula than what Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands ultimately provides, but it’s still an enjoyable diversion that feels just different enough to make it a good time.
For better or worse, Wonderlands is mainly just Borderlands cosplaying as a fantasy game. Grenades are replaced with magical spells, goblins take the place of tinks, and skeleton variants are used as the default baddie in place of Borderlands‘ psycho. While melee weapons are given a full slot and aren’t completely useless like in most Borderlands titles, the primarily gun-based combat is still the same loot grind that will see you always finding new weapons and abilities as you go on. That means there is a constant variety to the guns you’ll be firing, but there’s also no real way to master those weapons (and any strategies they may have) as you’ll rarely stick with the same firearm for more than an hour.
Experimenting with Wonderlands‘ aforementioned magical spells to find combos and synergies is the newest part of the combat loop, which is an enjoyable addition since it both fits the game’s style and adds a new twist to the familiar gameplay. It’s disappointing to see Wonderlands struggle to find its own identity and not take more chances, but this established Borderlands loop is comfortable in its own way, even if it is unexcitingly recognizable.
REVIEW: Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands Will Feature Full Cross-Play Support
The most interesting addition to the Borderlands formula is a top-down overworld that takes a lot of inspiration from tabletop games. There are a lot of neat touches, such as bridges that are made from bottle caps that make the world feel as if was created by an amateur, which Tiny Tina certainly is. Traversing the overworld is more interesting than going through menus and there are even some collectibles and puzzles mixed in to flesh it out. Borderlands 4 can’t borrow anything from this approach, but it is a smart way to give Wonderlands a unique spin while also paying tribute to the games that helped inspire it.
While the sky is the limit with its “tabletop game run by a hyperactive little girl” motif, Wonderlands winds up having a blasé fantasy setting rather than anything too inventive or outside of the norm. Instead of cranking every creature design to 11, it sticks to a lot of standard D&D foes. Granted, landsharks are more fun to shoot than any of the post-apocalyptic monsters in past Borderlands titles, but Gearbox doesn’t take full advantage of the freedom it has to do whatever it wants with the world. The studio opted to throw an overbearing amount of humor on top of its relatively generic world, which winds up missing far more than it hits.
Basing the entire game around the divisive character of Tiny Tina might have been a riskier move than metrics would indicate as even the tweens that found her zany humor hilarious in Borderlands 2 are now in their early 20s. Thankfully, while she hasn’t been toned down at all, Tina’s narration isn’t nearly as annoying as the streamer villains in Borderlands 3, so it’s better to deal with the devil you know. The writing isn’t all bad, as there are quite a few clever references (the The Secret of Monkey Island nods are quite good) and jokes to be found inside its world if you don’t hit the mute button, but these instances are few and far between.
The game isn’t quite as long as Borderlands 3, which wound up dragging on as its messy narrative concluded, but there’s still plenty of content to be found and some design decisions that show Gearbox has learned some lessons. Even the bigger stages in Wonderlands aren’t nearly as huge as Borderlands 3‘s gigantic, multi-part worlds that were confusing to navigate. There are also a lot of side missions that are just built around surviving a few waves of enemies in combat arenas, which help break up the constant running around by focusing on where the game shines, which is its combat loop.
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There are still some structural issues, though, that show some growing pains for the standalone title. Some side missions actually need to be completed in order to continue the story; a tedious process that makes progressing a more confusing experience than it should be. Gearbox also begins to artificially lengthen the experience near the end by boosting up the level requirements for the last couple of main missions. Rather than making the game difficult, it just slots players into a numbers game where it’s near impossible to beat enemies if they’re enough levels above you.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a well-crafted shooter that doesn’t do much to change up the Borderlands formula despite not having the name directly attached to it. Those looking for familiar cooperative thrills will find it here as the game is near-identical to Borderlands 3 from a user interface and controls standpoint (down to having quite good DualSense implementation for PlayStation 5 players). Dealing with Tiny Tina’s humor for 20 or so hours isn’t always easy to swallow and may not be for everyone, but the gameplay is rewarding enough that even those that wind up moving the dialogue audio slider down to zero will have a good time.
SCORE: 7/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 7 equates to “Good.” A successful piece of entertainment that is worth checking out, but it may not appeal to everyone.
