The Tales from the Borderlands announcement is definitely exciting. The original game was beloved and received high ratings from critics, so it’s more than worthy of a sequel. However, there’s no telling if Gearbox’s Tales from the Borderlands will be anything like the first game. Due to the change in studios, Tales from the Borderlands will be developed by completely different people, meaning there’s no telling what the story or gameplay could be like. Borderlands fans should be prepared for the possibility that the upcoming game will make more use of Gearbox’s looter-shooter experience than the adventure game style that Telltale was known for.
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Tales from the Borderlands’ Possible Overhaul
Telltale worked hard to establish a very specific identity for itself during the 2010s. It worked with a ton of established IPs aside from Borderlands, including Minecraft, The Walking Dead, and Game of Thrones, converting them into adventure games where players influenced the narrative by making choices in dialogue trees, quick-time events, and so on. Beyond this narrative-heavy style, Telltale became well known for releasing its games in an episodic manner, delivering chunks of the story over several weeks or months instead of launching the whole game at once. In this way, Telltale games were often very similar to each other, but they stood out greatly from other games.
As well as Telltale’s design worked for Tales from the Borderlands, it’s unclear if Gearbox wants to copy Telltale. If 2K and Gearbox aren’t planning on striking a deal with Telltale for another game, then they might want to take the Tales from the Borderlands concept in a new direction. While Tales from the Borderlands’ sequel might still be narrative-heavy, thanks to its remaining distinction from the core franchise, it could have much more action and looting than the first game in order to capitalize on Gearbox’s skills, and it may drop the episodic structure altogether, instead opting for a united structure. Players may still get to enjoy a rich story in the world of Borderlands, but the experience might not be exactly what they’re used to.
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A New Kind of Borderlands Story
It isn’t necessarily a bad thing that Tales from the Borderlands could undergo such drastic change in the new game. A narrative-driven Borderlands game that involves a lot of player choice but still provides a lot of action could be an interesting compromise between the Borderlands franchise itself and Telltale’s spin on the IP. A more action-heavy game released in one piece might be better in the long run overall, since that’s where Gearbox’s strengths lie. Still, it’s strange to think that Tales from the Borderlands and the new sequel might differ so much.
Fans don’t have to wait too long to find out more about the new Tales from the Borderlands. Gearbox says it’ll discuss the new game during summer 2022, so it could be only a couple of months before Tales from the Borderlands 2 gets a proper reveal. Gearbox may have plenty to do already thanks to Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands updates and expansions, but it’s nice to see it reveal plans for yet another Borderlands spinoff. Whatever form it takes, hopefully the new Tales from the Borderlands lives up to the original’s reputation.
A new Tales from the Borderlands game is in development.
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