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If you liked the dialogue and humor in Borderlands 2, and hated it in Borderlands 3, what do you think of it Wonderlands?

The writing and horrible attempts at humor and story structure just about ruined Borderlands 3 for me. Ava and the nerdy adventurer guy in particular, but also the villains. It was just all pretty awful. If you felt the same, and if you did enjoy the writing in Borderlands 2, I'm just wondering how this compares. For those playing the game, what are your thoughts?
 
I didn’t care for B3 to be honest and I remember very little of B2. The humour and dialogue in Wonderlands seems pretty similar but after an hour it has got a couple of chuckles out of me. It’s not hilarious but some of it’s pretty funny. I also like that Will Arnett and Andy Samberg are main characters too.
 
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Dr. Claus

Vincit qui se vincit
Borderlands 1 was the only good writing the main series ever got. They relied too much on referential humor and memes that instantly dated everything. While I enjoyed the gameplay of Borderlands 2, the writing was so bad I had to stop playing and I can’t bring myself to go back to it.

I can’t imagine BL3 or Tiny Tina‘s Wonderland to be any better, especially when Tiny Tina was the worst fucking character in BL2.
 

Codes 208

Member
BL2 > BL1 > tTWL >>> BL3 >>>>>>> TPS

But in all fairness i havent finished Wonderlands yet and its been pretty promising with its humor so it may actually be my second favorite behind bl2
 

Fuz

Banned
The writing and horrible attempts at humor and story structure just about ruined Borderlands 3 for me. Ava and the nerdy adventurer guy in particular, but also the villains. It was just all pretty awful. If you felt the same, and if you did enjoy the writing in Borderlands 2, I'm just wondering how this compares. For those playing the game, what are your thoughts?
I feel exactly the same and it made me completely uninterested in Wonderlands.
 

SSfox

Member
I had around 1600 hours into B2, but i heard so much bad stuffs about B3 that i didn't even give it a shot, and one of them the humor, it was one of the coolest aspect in 2 but heard it's so bad in 3. Also none of the heros really appealed me much in 3 while i like at least 2 characters at first glance in 2.
 
y'all are crazy, the writing in bl2 was insanely awful, everything had to be a pun, every line something silly, every handsome jack quip just another mustache twirling evil cartoon cut-out thinking it's so clever and funlolz; seriously the worst part of BL2 for me, until the dragon's keep DLC, that was pretty decent.
The telltale game did it pretty nicely, and BL3 struck a nice balance so I didn't wind up hating everybody.
Haven't played wonderlands yet, but it it's more like the BL2 DLC or BL3, it already sounds tons better than both.
 

Bragr

Banned
Borderlands 3 is one of the only games were I would say the writing actively hurts the gameplay. The sheer volume of weak toilet humor goes so far it makes you want to turn it off. I cringed in firefights.
 

zaanan

Banned
Might be an unpopular opinion, but I loved the gunplay, characters, and humor in BL1 the best, so much so that I beat the game as each character. Jack was pretty funny in BL2, but the gunplay was a huge step down, and I really didn’t care for any of the player characters. Only beat the game with Anarchy Gaige. Tried to play the Pre-Sequel with my boys, liked the characters better but guns were still not right, and quickly tired of that Aussie cunt telling me all about her sexuality, so didn’t get very far. Never tried BL3.
 

JonSnowball

Member
I'm inclined to support this title due to Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford's support of the Ukraine. I've no other opinion.

e3X6BdL.png
 

NinjaBoiX

Member
Borderlands 2 was the only one I put much time into, and I actually quite liked the humour.
BL2 > BL1 > tTWL >>> BL3 >>>>>>> TPS

But in all fairness i havent finished Wonderlands yet and its been pretty promising with its humor so it may actually be my second favorite behind bl2
What is TPS?
 

Kimahri

Banned
Might be an unpopular opinion, but I loved the gunplay, characters, and humor in BL1 the best, so much so that I beat the game as each character. Jack was pretty funny in BL2, but the gunplay was a huge step down, and I really didn’t care for any of the player characters. Only beat the game with Anarchy Gaige. Tried to play the Pre-Sequel with my boys, liked the characters better but guns were still not right, and quickly tired of that Aussie cunt telling me all about her sexuality, so didn’t get very far. Never tried BL3.
BL1 is by far the best game in the series, and the writing is brilliant. Had quite a few loud laughs during that game and the dlc. Never reached those highs in later games.

Honestly it reeks of new and younger writers trying to surpass what's been done before while not really having any talent to back up their ambitions.

Wonderlands is okay so far. Has sole chuckleworthy moments, bur overall I smirk more at DnD references than I do the actual writing. It's just juvenile, without actually being smart.
 

Denton

Member
I played Borderlands 1 for about 4 hours and hated it, turned me off the franchise. Mostly for boring solo gameplay.
I gave a chance to Tales from Borderlands and loved it
I got Borderlands 2 + TPS on Epic and BL3 on Humble.

So I am about to give another chance to the franchise with BL2...curious how will I like it.
 
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Jack carried the entire BL2 on his shoulders. There are some other hillairous characters like Dr. Zed and Mr. Torque but they have little screen time. Also the main plot is miles better than all the rest. First game had the one of the worst endings in..any game not just BL series. There are only a handful of ppl who prefer the 1st over the others mostly because they're jsut nostalgic for some reason? The weapons are factually worse/less than anything else in the game so maybe they prefer more generic weapons?

BL2 is one of the best games ever made tbh not just in the series because it just overall good. Borderlands 3 has better gunplay, music and atmosphere but everything is absolute shit which drags it down immensely. The pre-sequel was pretty much just like the first game, aussie humor is not for everyone and u either hate it or u'll chuckle at best, cool atmosphere but the weapons were shit. Again, Jack carried that story as well.

Now TIny Tina looks like it has the same great gunplay but the atmosphere just doesnt cut it for me. Look boring af. I'll wait for the proper release with dlc next year on steam. Pointless to play now. It's just a spin off, not a real Borderlands game. Hopefully 4th one will have some actual non-feminists writers.
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
BL2 > BL1 > tTWL >>> BL3 >>>>>>> TPS

But in all fairness i havent finished Wonderlands yet and its been pretty promising with its humor so it may actually be my second favorite behind bl2
Tales from the Borderlands >>>>>> This whole list
 

Fuz

Banned
Jack carried the entire BL2 on his shoulders. There are some other hillairous characters like Dr. Zed and Mr. Torque but they have little screen time. Also the main plot is miles better than all the rest. First game had the one of the worst endings in..any game not just BL series. There are only a handful of ppl who prefer the 1st over the others mostly because they're jsut nostalgic for some reason? The weapons are factually worse/less than anything else in the game so maybe they prefer more generic weapons?

BL2 is one of the best games ever made tbh not just in the series because it just overall good. Borderlands 3 has better gunplay, music and atmosphere but everything is absolute shit which drags it down immensely. The pre-sequel was pretty much just like the first game, aussie humor is not for everyone and u either hate it or u'll chuckle at best, cool atmosphere but the weapons were shit. Again, Jack carried that story as well.

Now TIny Tina looks like it has the same great gunplay but the atmosphere just doesnt cut it for me. Look boring af. I'll wait for the proper release with dlc next year on steam. Pointless to play now. It's just a spin off, not a real Borderlands game. Hopefully 4th one will have some actual non-feminists writers.
BL1 is a masterpiece and as good as BL2 - but for different reasons.
You have limited knowledge about it.
And don't you dare to compare BL1 writing to that flaming woke turd that is tps.
 
BL1 is a masterpiece and as good as BL2 - but for different reasons.
You have limited knowledge about it.
And don't you dare to compare BL1 writing to that flaming woke turd that is tps.

My mind draws a blank whenever BL1 story comes up. Besides key characters I dont remember much about the story or anything memorable, aside from that...ending...which ugh.. At least TPS had Jack and you could play as Claptrap so 10 extra points for that. But sure the first one is obviously the one that set the bar for all the others and it's the pillar of everythign and all that and won;y deny the nostalgia playing it is nice but I will never change my opinion of 2 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> all the rest.
 

Mephisto40

Member
The dialog is definatley a lot less cringy than BL3

If you like fantasy role playing games you'll enjoy it tbh, a lot of references to dungeons and dragons and other role playing games and far less "Everyone loves youtubers right?" in it
 
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Sygma

Member
I've only made it up to the goblins area (haven't freed the bard yet) and so far it's been pretty mediocre. Some jokes did really land but you can tell that they toned down Tina extremely hard for the game to sell at large. Encountered claptrap and he had me dying as usual however. BL 2 - BL 1 - BL 3 dlcs - wonderlands so far
 
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ANDS

King of Gaslighting
The humor in this one is fine. It is better than BL1, not even close to BL2 and leagues better than BL3. Unfortunately, the game is clear DLC expanded into a full release and the actual content (or lack thereof) lays that bare. Once you get to "Endgame. . ." and see exactly what it is, there's no way you can leave the game and feel like "Yes, this was worth 70 'next-gen' bucks."

Hopefully 4th one will have some actual non-feminists writers.

There's always Duke Nukem Forever if you don't want to be exposed to anything that isn't unsubtly masculine and might challenge how you interact with the world - like reading a book or wearing a pink t-shirt.
 
There's always Duke Nukem Forever if you don't want to be exposed to anything that isn't unsubtly masculine and might challenge how you interact with the world - like reading a book or wearing a pink t-shirt.

My definition of good jokes are not women yelling random words or the female versions of Logan Paul as villains.
 
After playing TPS and then years later BL3, all BL games have officially been moved to my "maybe if it's under $20" category.

BL3 was the first BL I only played once then abandoned, I have over 300 hours in BL1, over 400 in BL2 and somehow over 200 in TPS despite not liking it nearly as much as the others. BL3 has great gameplay but the self-insert writing (I work in an office and my hobbies include Twitter, eating cake and having blue hair. I am tasked with writing for this military commander Lorelai... I like my morning coffee... maybe she can send the player for my morning coffee!) and some of the design choices in the game were enough to make me almost quit the game twice. The massive linear forced driving section where you and Maya are blasting some girl power anthem just felt like it was never going to end. The world was easily the most forgettable in the series so far. The "villains" were Youtubers? They were the most unlikeable little turds but somehow Ava ended up being just as grating as they were.

After re-thinking it the "maybe if it's under $10" category is a better choice.
 
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ethomaz

Banned
To be fair the best Borderlands in terms of dialogue is the Tell Teller game.
 
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After playing TPS and then years later BL3, all BL games have officially been moved to my "maybe if it's under $20" category.

BL3 was the first BL I only played once then abandoned, I have over 300 hours in BL1, over 400 in BL2 and somehow over 200 in TPS despite not liking it nearly as much as the others. BL3 has great gameplay but the self-insert writing (I work in an office and my hobbies include Twitter, eating cake and having blue hair. I am tasked with writing for this military commander Lorelai... I like my morning coffee... maybe she can send the player for my morning coffee!) and some of the design choices in the game were enough to make me almost quit the game twice. The massive linear forced driving section where you and Maya are blasting some girl power anthem just felt like it was never going to end. The world was easily the most forgettable in the series so far. The "villains" were Youtubers? They were the most unlikeable little turds but somehow Ava ended up being just as grating as they were.

After re-thinking it the "maybe if it's under $10" category is a better choice.

Soundtrack was awesome tho. Prolly the best of them all.

 

zaanan

Banned
Jack carried the entire BL2 on his shoulders. There are some other hillairous characters like Dr. Zed and Mr. Torque but they have little screen time. Also the main plot is miles better than all the rest. First game had the one of the worst endings in..any game not just BL series. There are only a handful of ppl who prefer the 1st over the others mostly because they're jsut nostalgic for some reason? The weapons are factually worse/less than anything else in the game so maybe they prefer more generic weapons?
“Factually”? Do you understand what that word means? No, you just have an opinion.

Here’s a fact: I have played BL1&2 many times on PS3 and PS4. To me, gunplay in BL1 shits all over BL2. The guns in 1 feel right, whereas in 2 they feel “floaty” and bad. Also, guns are a lot more special in 1; if you find a good purple gun early on, there’s a good chance you will still be using it halfway thru the game. Find a good gold gun in 2? Chances are, you will switch to something else within two levels, because this white gun you just got is way better. I have split-screened with enough people and been to enough places on the internets to know I am far from the only one who feels this way, so fuck your “nostalgia” and “factually” bullshit.
(Also, gun proficiencies are a fuckton better than badass points.)

Now, story. Borderlands is a treasure-hunting game. What more do you need? You just wander around in a Mad Max-esque world, chancing into mini-stories where you kill the baddies and loot their shit. No overarching “story” needed! The only thing disappointing about the ending of BL1 to me was the fact it was over!

That said, I liked Jack a lot - he made me laugh out loud quite a bit! - but I thought the story in BL2 was stupid. A lot of pointless drama was shoe-horned in; way too much “relationship” and “woe is me” bullshit really dragged it down. Dialog was cringey AF. All that money spent on writers should have been spent on gameplay instead, and it shows.
(plus, they ruined the BL1 characters in BL2.)

Finally, characters. From a gameplay perspective:
Lilith >>>>> Maya
Brick >>>>> Salvador
Roland >>>>> Axton
Mordecai >>>>> Zero

I played BL1 all the way through as each of the four characters, including maxing out different skill branches within each one to see which I liked best. Different types of guns and playstyles made each one shine, making each playthrough different from the others. And, I didn’t have to suffer through unbearable dialogue and lectures, just equip guns and start blowing shit up.

I tried each character in BL2 and hated them all. I couldn’t even finish the game until Gaige came out. I immediately liked her and used her like Mordecai, then switched to anarchy and fell in love. Krieg I could never master, but had a lot of fun trying.

Sorry for the novella, but I am pretty sick of hearing that “everyone” hates one of my favorite games of all time. Also, fuck Randy Pitchford. Thanks.
 
Factually”? Do you understand what that word means? No, you just have an opinion.

No, it's not an opinion. Most weapons from BL1 are in BL2, same mechanics, just different skins and maybe some different stats. Theres nothing that BL1 does that isnt in BL2 better or improved. There is no "feel". It's the same engine. Get your head out of nostalgia's ass.
 
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zaanan

Banned
No, it's not an opinion. Most weapons from BL1 are in BL2, same mechanics, just different skins and maybe some different stats. Theres nothing that BL1 does that isnt in BL2 better or improved. There is no "feel". It's the same engine. Get your head out of nostalgia's ass.
Wrong, motherfucker

“One potential problem, Pitchford said, is that the original Borderlands runs on a different game engine than Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel. This means there would be "some work involved" to get the game running on Xbox One and PS4, but Pitchford says Gearbox could overcome these technical troubles.”

Next time think before you type.
 

ANDS

King of Gaslighting
My definition of good jokes are not women yelling random words or the female versions of Logan Paul as villains.

What's that got to do with a writer being "feminist. . .?" And who is this writer you have in mind? Honestly you seem to be doing more than a few ass-pulls in this thread informed by nothing more than perceived "cultural boogie-mens" hiding in your "vidya games."
 
I legit dont know how anyone can play Borderlands and say the story - or writing - is good when the entire game is just shoot shoot bang bang added with explosions 80% of the game, therefore drowning a large chunk of the story as it happens to unfold mid-combat.

I mean, do you guys play alone or something?

Because I cannot for the life of me properly pay attention to any dialogue in the game whilst in the middle of a shoot out with friends (because we talk over the game), and when it's quite, it just seems typical writing to me.

Not even a knock on the game tbh, I just have a hard time actually listening to the story when playing with friends so I always fail to appreciate the story or writing to the degree that people give it props to.

It's like telling me Destiny 1 & 2 has a great story, but I can't listen to any plotline because it's always happening while things are blowing up and some rando online is rushing to the finish line of a quest.
 
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SSfox

Member
TPS was weak, but i loved the fact that there was a Cowgirl class, it actually piss me off that she showed up in one of the worst game.

Handsome Jack was really the big thing in Borderlands 2. Just an excellent character.
Absolutely, he was one of the main best thing of B2.
 
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Isa

Member
I legit dont know how anyone can play Borderlands and say the story - or writing - is good when the entire game is just shoot shoot bang bang added with explosions 80% of the game, therefore drowning a large chunk of the story as it happens to unfold mid-combat.

I mean, do you guys play alone or something?

Because I cannot for the life of me properly pay attention to any dialogue in the game whilst in the middle of a shoot out with friends (because we talk over the game), and when it's quite, it just seems typical writing to me.

Not even a knock on the game tbh, I just have a hard time actually listening to the story when playing with friends so I always fail to appreciate the story or writing to the degree that people give it props to.

It's like telling me Destiny 1 & 2 has a great story, but I can't listen to any plotline because it's always happening while things are blowing up and some rando online is rushing to the finish line of a quest.
I get you. I think that's why they deliver the story and dialogue the way they do, random words, delivery and humor that players may occasionally pick up on and chuckle at. What's really going on can be read on screen, the usual go here kill that etc.

I've kind of enjoyed the humor in this one, mainly when referencing table top rpgs. There is a lot of duds though(YMMV) and it could be a lot better. Also Tina is grating on my nerves with her attitude and affected accents. Most of the characters are annoying though, people I'd never hang out or be friends with. Not surprised though, its like your typical 5th Edition D&D group one finds in horror stories. Could be intentional as a riff on that culture, seems more hey this here thing is popular such as Critical Role and stupid new WotC stuff like THAC0 the clown, no more racial perks/alignment changes, modules where hey you're a college student that works as a barista but also juggles a pansexual sex life too, wow!

Best with friends to be sure where you can make your own fun. I've definitely picked up on jokes that seemed tamer when compared to previous games. I don't know if it'd be enough to try again if the last few games put you off. Maybe wait for a sale.
 

Pagusas

Elden Member
I legit dont know how anyone can play Borderlands and say the story - or writing - is good when the entire game is just shoot shoot bang bang added with explosions 80% of the game, therefore drowning a large chunk of the story as it happens to unfold mid-combat.

I mean, do you guys play alone or something?

Because I cannot for the life of me properly pay attention to any dialogue in the game whilst in the middle of a shoot out with friends (because we talk over the game), and when it's quite, it just seems typical writing to me.

Not even a knock on the game tbh, I just have a hard time actually listening to the story when playing with friends so I always fail to appreciate the story or writing to the degree that people give it props to.

It's like telling me Destiny 1 & 2 has a great story, but I can't listen to any plotline because it's always happening while things are blowing up and some rando online is rushing to the finish line of a quest.
My wife and I played ALL the Borderlands games Co-op (put over thousand hours in total into them, with BL2 being our most played) and we always talk to each other but listen to the story bits when they pop up. She's also a big explorer so anytime we're in a new area we arent just running and gunning, we're slowing down and looking at everything.

BL3 was painful to sit through, the other boardlands were all at least semi-interesting and semi-funny (with Handsome Jack being the best part). 3 just felt so full of itself and bad. Also as strange as it sounds, I feel the gunplay was better in 2 than 3. We went back and played Assault on Dragon's keep over Christmas and were both surprised how much more we enjoyed the combat. My wife thinks its because its slightly slower so you have more time to think, I think its because the games visual design was overall cleaner and made enemies stand out better.
 
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Wrong, motherfucker

“One potential problem, Pitchford said, is that the original Borderlands runs on a different game engine than Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel. This means there would be "some work involved" to get the game running on Xbox One and PS4, but Pitchford says Gearbox could overcome these technical troubles.”

Next time think before you type.

Are you fucking dumb? It takes one quick google. Randy Pitchford didnt make the game so ofc he's a fucking idiot. Both games run on the same engine, Unreal Engine 3.


Good job looking like a dumb-ass.

Fuz Fuz , no you're wrong.
 
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