"Tiny Tina's Wonderlands in test": The "Borderlands" spin-off is a lot of fun

This is an article from our content partner "PC Games". Here you can find the original article by author Matthias Dammes.

Not even a year has passed since the announcement last June and already "Tiny Tina's Wonderlands" is available. With this, the developers from Gearbox Software remain true to their strategy of not letting too much time pass between the announcement and the release, as it has already proven with "Borderlands 3". The latest loot shooter from Randy Pitchford's Texas studio has quite a long history, going back almost ten years.

The basic idea of the game was already born during the development of "Borderlands 2" and finally led to the much praised DLC "Tiny Tina's Attack on the Dragon Fortress". In it, the player experienced adventures from the point of view of Tiny Tina, who engaged the "Borderlands" heroes in a game of "Bunkers and Badasses", catapulting them into a D&D-like fantasy role-playing game. Not only the players, but also the developers had so much fun with this basic concept that they were eager to make their own game out of it. Tiny Tina's Wonderlands was born.

Bunkers and Badasses

And so it happens that we as players are once again involved in one of Tiny Tina's Pen&Paper games. Together with the two stranded space adventurers Valentine and Frette, the chaotic game master takes us into her wacky fantasy world, the so-called Wonderlands. A world full of magical creatures, a diamond two-horn as the beloved queen of the realm and the evil dragon lord as the omnipresent antagonist. In this world, our hero embodies the so-called Bringer of Fate, who is destined to defeat evil. This sounds like a typical 08/15 fantasy story, and that's basically what it is.

However, in this case that's not so bad. In fact, the story has its outstanding strengths in the way it is told. The narrative is bursting with allusions to typical fantasy and video game clichés. Familiar narrative structures are skilfully pulled through the mud on a regular basis. For example, when a strikingly lovable character is introduced where everyone suspects an approaching betrayal, this feeling is built up more and more, only to have it not happen in the end. The game also doesn't shy away from repeatedly breaking the fourth wall and holding a mirror directly up to the player to poke fun at typical player behavior.

Many widespread ways of functioning in role-playing games, whether in pen&paper or in video games, also get their fat. The typical humor of the "Borderlands" series is clearly recognizable here. Fans of the main games can also enjoy various guest appearances by some well-known characters from the main games. Of course, Tiny Tina's appearances are in a different form and in roles that you wouldn't have expected from them. The authors have also given free rein to their imagination in the numerous side quests and created memorable moments with various allusions. For example, we had to defend the village of the lumps against the dangerous blue rage virus. Great fun. Thus, the series remains true to itself in the spin-off and offers plenty of wacky fun.

In the realm of Queen Assgaul

Tina's Wonderlands don't extend over several planets like the game world of "Borderlands 3". Nevertheless, a lot of variety is offered. The individual, sometimes quite large levels offer a wide range of fantastic environments. Be it a mysterious mushroom forest, an area riddled with giant vines or other unusual landscapes, which we don't even want to anticipate here. As usual, there is a lot to discover in the areas. Those who explore the game world off the main paths will be rewarded with hidden chests, mysterious marbles and interesting records. There are also side quests to complete in most areas.

The levels are connected by an upper world, as is typical for role-playing games. This level is visually designed with a lot of attention to detail to give the impression that we are moving our character on the tabletop map that Tina has set up on her table. There are dropped peanut chips lying around on the map. Overturned soda cans form rivers of lemonade that snake across the landscape. Our hero's figure is stylized, with a head that's far too big, and we move him through the fantasy world in an isometric view. But we don't just run from one level to the next. There is also a lot to discover in the overworld. Shrines that give powerful bonuses when we gather their parts. Chests with gold, warehouses with bandits, small dungeons and much more. There can even be typical random encounters. However, the dungeons and random encounters are not much more than small arena maps where there is a certain amount of enemies to defeat.

There is also once again a central hub, the capital of the fantasy realm called Splendor Hoof. Here, her majesty Queen Assgaul resides in a magnificent castle. Of particular interest to the player here are the forge, with its upgrade station for carrying capacity, and the workbench for enchantments. There is also a tavern where some orders can be taken at the notice board. There, the inclined adventurer will also find the safe deposit box, the vending machines for forgotten loot and the change of one's appearance. Although the map of Prachthuf is quite large, much of it is unused space. The aforementioned services are only located in a certain area of the city. The more compact design of the spaceship in Borderlands 3 somehow worked better as a hub level.

Mushroom lovers and wizards

Unlike the main parts of the series, "Tiny Tina's Wonderlands" doesn't rely on a prefabricated cast of playable characters. In keeping with the underlying Pen&Paper theme, we create our own hero at the beginning of the game. These can not only be very individually designed with the various options, but also completely wacky designs with bright colors, wild combinations of body features and appearance are possible. More important than the visual appearance, however, is the choice of class at the beginning. Six different play styles are available, which are hardly subject to the common fantasy scheme of warrior, rogue and mage.

The Brr-Serker is geared towards melee attacks, the Spellshot specializes in the use of spells, and the Sporekeeper is a ranged fighter with a mushroom companion. Each class has a so-called feat. This is a powerful passive trait that is active at all times. In the case of the Spore Keeper, this is the aforementioned Mushroom Companion, while the Brr Serker has the ability to send into a frenzy. In addition, each class has two active skills. The first is available from the beginning, while the second is unlocked at a certain level. In combat, however, only one of the two can be equipped at a time.

Unfortunately, each class now only has one talent tree, in which skill points earned by leveling up can be invested. Thus, the skill system is no longer as diverse as it was in "Borderlands 3". At least we are allowed to choose a secondary class from a certain point in the game, which doubles our possibilities once again. In addition, we can distribute attribute points ourselves for the first time. When leveling up, we receive a skill point as well as so-called hero points, which we use to increase values such as strength, intelligence and dexterity. The developers also counteract the lack of unlockable skills a bit with the spell system. Magical abilities are looted and equipped in the form of books. Only one book, and thus one spell, can be created at a time, but at least you have a lot of choice here and thus corresponding design options.

Rain of Prey

Which brings us to one of the most important topics for loot shooters - the loot. Here, basically everything remains as usual. Defeated enemies, crates and other hiding places drop tons of loot, which is available in various quality levels from Ordinary to Legendary. Besides the familiar shooting bats and shields, there are also a few new items. We've already mentioned the equipable spells. In addition, there are melee weapons, which have their own slot in the character equipment, rings, amulets and armor, which somewhat replace the functionality of the known class artifacts. All items are randomly generated, which leads to an almost infinite variety. This is especially pronounced in the case of weapons. Over the course of the game, we tried out various guns from pistols to assault rifles to shotguns, and each played differently. The elements like frost and fire again play an important role. For example, we really liked the combination of firearms with a frost effect that freezes enemies and melee weapons for the final death blow. Now, of course, you could ask the silly question of what firearms have to do in a fantasy role-playing game, but Tina doesn't argue with that.

Fantasy shooter

The first-person shooter gameplay is one of the main attractions of the series. It's clear that the fantasy offshoot doesn't want to do without it. The fast-paced gameplay of the so-called "shoot and loot" works excellently here again. Whether it's against pushy skeletons, aggressive mushroom creatures or Naga from the depths of the sea, it's simply fun to be part of this nerve-tingling action. However, as well as the tried and tested gameplay works, we would have liked to see a few adjustments to the fantasy nature of the game. This is especially true for the ability to engage in melee combat.

We deliberately chose the class of the Brr-Serker at the beginning of the game, in order to pursue a play style as a powerful melee fighter, which clearly differs from the familiar "Borderlands" fighter. After all, as already mentioned, the game also has weapons that can be equipped specifically for melee combat. What it lacks, however, is an independent melee combat system with different attack and defensive actions. If you expect to have thrilling man-to-man battles, as you're used to in role-playing games like The Witcher or the current Elden Ring, you'll be disappointed. There is nothing more than the simple melee attack at the push of a button, which is already known from the "Borderlands" games. This time, it is executed with a weapon instead of bare fists.

Unfortunately, this only feels like the fifth wheel on the wagon of the great shooter gameplay and not like an independent combat alternative, so that we as Brr-Serker are shooting instead of fighting most of the time. More could have been done here. But that's still complaining on a high level, since the gameplay in its usual form creates exactly the pull you'd hope for from a loot shooter. You just have to get used to the idea that the big heroes in this fantasy adventure aren't knights with swords and shields, but people with wacky guns.

Chaos reigns

Unlike most fantasy stories, our hero's adventure doesn't end with victory over evil. The story itself takes around 20 to 25 hours to complete, if you only let yourself get distracted by side activities from time to time. If you want to explore everything on the way and complete all the side quests and challenges, you can easily add that much playing time. This makes the game smaller than "Borderlands 3" in terms of scope, but as mentioned, the end of the story is not the end. After that, you can of course continue to shoot, loop, and fine-tune your own character.

In the endgame, the so-called chaos chamber awaits. In it, you can complete a sequence of battles against hordes of enemies. Between each battle, it is possible to modify the rules, for example, to grant special buffs to the opponents. The harder you make it for yourself, the higher and better the potential spoils. In addition to direct loot from the enemies, crystals are also collected during the fights, which can be exchanged for items of a certain type after a successful run. Also back in the party is Chaos Mode, which increases the overall difficulty throughout the game and, in turn, the quality of the loot - comparable to the Hell difficulty levels in Diablo 3. To unlock new levels of Chaos Mode, special Chaos runs must be completed in the Chaos Chamber.

In the endgame, the new currency Moon Orbs can also be earned. This is used on the enchantment dicer to re-roll the enchantment on an item. Those who have reached level 40 with their character will also unlock the Mythos rank system. This roughly corresponds to the Guardian rank in Borderlands 3 and allows for further character development even after reaching the maximum level. However, it is a bit of a shame that there is no form of the "True Exterminator" mode this time around. Unfortunately, it is currently not possible to start again with the same character in NewGame+.

Technically polished

Visually, the developers have refined the familiar cell-shading look. The game looks a bit sharper and more detailed than "Borderlands 3" in many places. 4K resolution and HDR are of course also back. With all that, the game ran excellently smoothly at all times. Even at 4K resolution and all settings on Ultra, the frames always stayed above the 60 mark. That is, of course, assuming a correspondingly powerful graphics card. There were no crashes or other technical quirks to be observed. The game makes a technically very clean and well-rounded impression. We almost even said that the game is largely bug-free. But after finishing the story, we did notice an unpleasant bug. Since we are in the endgame, the quest diary doesn't work properly anymore. Our list of open quests is simply no longer displayed. However, this can certainly be fixed quickly with a patch.

By the way, we recommend setting the English voice output. The German voice output is also quite good, but Ashly Burch does an absolutely brilliant job as Tiny Tina. Good work can also be attested to the developers overall. They managed to expand the idea of a DLC, keep the "Borderlands" formula in its strengths and knit a gripping and, as always, terribly fun game out of it. Fans of "Borderlands" will get exactly what they're used to in a slightly different guise, and newcomers can look forward to a wacky adventure. Opinions are divided about Tiny Tina, but even those who don't like her should give this game a chance. It certainly deserves it.

Conclusion: "Roll for Initiative, suckers!"

I love the "Borderlands" games for the uncanny fun and fast-paced pacing that characterizes the gameplay. "Tiny Tina's Wonderlands" delivers that to me again in spades. I do criticize the lack of better integration of melee combat, because I was looking forward to some great brawling in a fantasy game. But at the end of the day, it only bothers me marginally. The rest of the game is just too much fun. And since I've been a fan of the crazy Tiny Tina since "Borderlands 2", a game with her at the center of the narrative is of course right up my alley. What "Borderlands 3" was with its epic scale and an adventure of galactic scope, Wonderlands is with its charming fantasy world and the crazy ideas Tina keeps throwing in. Especially the permanent picking on typical clichés and well-worn patterns of role-playing game design is great. A game that never takes itself seriously and that's how you should handle it as a player. Just get going and have a blast is the motto. I, for one, will certainly spend several more fun-filled hours in Wonderlands.

"Tiny Tina's Wonderlands" will be released on March 25, 2022 for PC, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X. The game features crossplay across all platforms. So it doesn't matter on which system your friends have the game, you can all start together in the fantasy adventure.

Video games

2K Games Tiny Tina's Wonderlands

Xbox Series X, Xbox One X, DE

Video games

EUR15,37

2K Games Tiny Tina's Wonderlands

PS4, DE

Video games

EUR22,99

2K Games Tiny Tina's Wonderlands - Next Level Edition

Playstation, DE

1

Video games

2K Games Tiny Tina's Wonderlands

Xbox Series X, Xbox One X, DE

Video games

EUR15,37

2K Games Tiny Tina's Wonderlands

PS4, DE

Video games

EUR22,99

2K Games Tiny Tina's Wonderlands - Next Level Edition

Playstation, DE

1

Pro

• Weird fantasy setting
• Plain story, but with many great allusions and jokes on the role-playing culture
• Funny side quests
• Cameo appearances of some "Borderlands" characters
• Varied levels
• Lovingly designed overworld
• Motivating loot spiral
• Wide variety of weapons

*Fun, action-packed gameplay

• Six different classes
• Chaos mode and chaos chamber in the endgame
• Co-op via internet or LAN
• Good German and fantastic English dubbing

Contra

• Only one skill tree per class
• No real melee combat system
• Inventory still a bit cumbersome
• No NewGame+