From mechanical companions overflowing with personality to a group of ragtag heroes somehow saving the day, New Tales from the Borderlands takes many familiar ingredients from previous Borderlands games and gives them their own spin. The cast of characters might have been (mostly) new to the universe and the story might have been original, but New Tales from the Borderlands had the franchise’s unmistakable humor – something a sequel could definitely play with more, especially when it comes to its title.
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The Borderlands Series’ Naming Conventions
The Borderlands franchise is made up of a number of mainline entries in addition to numerous spinoff titles, comics, books, and even an upcoming film. For the most part, the main games have followed traditional naming conventions, with Borderlands, Borderlands 2, and Borderlands 3 keeping things plain and simple with sequential numbering and not a tagline in sight. It wasn’t until 2014’s entry into the franchise that 2K Games decided to get a little weird with it, releasing Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel – an unusual title that referred to the game’s position as both a sequel to Borderlands 2 in terms of its release date and a prequel in terms of the narrative.
It may have seemed like a bit of a mouthful, but considering the events of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel take place before Borderlands 2 but after the original Borderlands, it makes a certain kind of sense. It also fits in perfectly with the franchise’s slightly off-the-wall humor that’s present throughout all of its games and could be an indication of an interesting naming convention that New Tales from the Borderlands could use. Following on from Tales from the Borderlands, New Tales abandoned the traditional numerical naming, and any follow-up title could take this a step further, calling itself New New Tales from the Borderlands.
Where The Tales From The Borderlands Could Be Heading
New Tales from the Borderlands followed its Telltale-developed predecessor with an episodic structure and a branching narrative, but it wasn’t quite able to live up to the original Tales from the Borderlands when it came to popularity with players. While many felt that New Tales from the Borderlands was able to capture the franchise’s well-known comedic tone and introduced some instantly iconic Borderlands characters like the debonair killbot LOU13, its story didn’t quite come together. The title’s gameplay also felt a bit dated to some, and overall reviews were average at best.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that 2K Games is done with the Tales from the Borderlands series, and after the release of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands it’s clear the developer is happy to explore new avenues for the overall Borderlands franchise. Having a spinoff that focuses more on narrative and characters alongside the main series would give Borderlands fans plenty of options when it comes to experiencing the world of the games. After some necessary tweaks and improvements, New New Tales from the Borderlands could be a welcome addition.
New Tales from the Borderlands is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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