Game Review: Tales from the Borderlands- Are you headed to Pandora?

Gamers (including myself) were growing a bit sceptical about the longevity of Telltale Games interactive episodic story telling formula. How long could we gamers really enjoy gameplay which consisted entirely of simple quick time events and conversation choices to direct a multi-narrative story cut up into episodes? Well, with Tales from the Borderlands, (a prequel to the massively successful Borderlands FPS series- yet a very different gaming experience) Telltale has more than proven their mettle. Tales from the Borderlands shows these games can remain not just entertaining, they are an exciting, innovative new story telling vehicle that is capable of truly immersing the player in unprecedented and thrilling ways. 

The time limited choices far from being annoying actually create a sense of situational realism, often the stakes are high and the best response is unclear, so like the character you have to do your best on the fly to survive interactions to varying success. This mechanic is brilliant as it makes the player really invested in how the story plays out, making a wrong decision actually feels disappointing and dangerous, while smooth talking your way or planning your way out of a situation correctly makes you feel truly slick and cunning. This is helped by the precarious science fiction/wild west fusion setting and the dubious anti-heroes you encounter throughout. As you play you find yourself evaluating each situation as if you were there, creating a sense of atmosphere which makes the game both compelling and its characters very human. The quick time events have also been improved significantly from previous Telltale games of a similar vein, there is a lot less aimless clicking and the combat or action sequences are better paced- creating a sense of real danger.
Aside from the execution of its mechanics Tales from the Borderlands is one of my favourite releases so far this year because of its original plot and how well shaped the characters and their interactions are. The game manages to walk the fine line between outrageousness, meta-humour and good storytelling. The character’s play off each other with witty but realistic banter: Fiona and the Loader Bot in particular have some choice lines that will have you laughing out loud. The interactions are genuinely funny and even the most amoral of characters has a certain charm that means you can’t help growing fond of them. This is also helped by the fantastic cast of voice actors working on the game, who really breathe their characters to life. Particularly Laura Bailey as sassy con artist Fiona, Troy Baker as main protagonist Rhys, August played by voice acting legend Nolan North and accounting genius/nerdy sidekick Vaughn voiced by Chris Hardwick. They have also managed to pack a whole lot of back story and personality into each character and their mannerisms, subverting established tropes to reveal a fast well-paced action-adventure-comedy which maintains its standard of quality throughout all five episodes. You can check out the premier trailer below to get a feel for the games tone:

Honestly I can’t remember having so much fun playing a game series in a long time, sure The Walking Dead episodic game series is great, but with this new series Telltale have shown they can create a dynamically dramatic, hilarious and deeply enjoyable gaming experience brimming with story and flavour. This is a slick, bold and most importantly fun game, hopefully we’ll be seeing more like it considering the great reception this series has received from critics and players alike.

Cara Davies