Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands Assessment

Gearbox Software program is thought for supporting its video games properly after launch by means of common updates and paid expansions, and Borderlands 2 was no exception to that rule. In 2013, Gearbox Software program launched the favored Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Maintain enlargement for Borderlands 2, giving the looter-shooter a fantasy makeover within the type of a Dungeons & Dragons parody sport hosted by fan favourite character Tiny Tina. It appears Assault on Dragon Maintain was widespread sufficient to justify Gearbox exploring the idea additional in a full-fledged sport, as Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands takes that basis and makes a correct standalone expertise out of it.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands tells a narrative that primarily takes place within the made-up world of Wonderlands, which exists by means of the Borderlands model of D&D, Bunkers & Badasses. As a substitute of taking over the function of a Vault Hunter like in earlier Borderlands video games, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands gamers as an alternative play as The Fatemaker, a very authentic, made-up character that they’re free to customise to their liking.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands‘ character customization is without doubt one of the key ways in which it stands other than different video games within the Borderlands sequence, with Gearbox giving gamers so much to work with to make their character look precisely how they need. Gamers unlock extra customization choices later within the sport to additional refine their look, however what’s there at first is a lot and helps give Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands a private contact.

This freedom to customise one’s character extends past their seems. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands has six lessons to select from, all with their very own talent bushes and distinctive skills. Later within the sport, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands lets gamers choose a second class as properly, additional deepening the construct choices and giving gamers extra company over their character than they’ve ever had earlier than.

As soon as gamers have made their character and chosen their class, they’re set unfastened within the Wonderlands, a fantasy world that may be a breath of recent air after a number of video games set on the desert planet, Pandora. Gearbox has created a enjoyable world with quite a few visually distinct areas that makes it a deal with to see the place precisely Tina’s creativeness will take gamers subsequent. One space seems like one thing out of a fairytale guide, with gamers preventing trolls and goblins, whereas the following could also be a seashore space patrolled by land-based shark monsters.

Sadly, participating with these enemies and exploring the degrees can typically develop into monotonous, even with the visible selection. Fight in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is the very same that gamers will bear in mind from Borderlands, besides they now have spells to make use of as an alternative of grenades. Every space boils all the way down to capturing all of the close by bullet-sponge enemies after which transferring on to the following, with out a lot want for technique, except one is enjoying on the upper difficulties or tackling the more difficult endgame content material.

It does not take lengthy to see the whole lot Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands has to supply from a fight standpoint, and sadly, the repetitive fight is not the one dangerous behavior it brings over from Borderlands. One among Borderlands‘ defining traits is that there’s an absurd variety of weapons that gamers loot on their journey, and the identical holds true for the weapons in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. The issue is the overwhelming majority of this loot is totally nugatory, actually solely price choosing as much as be offered at a vendor later. Gearbox has as soon as once more gone with a amount over high quality method with loot, which suggests spending a whole lot of time managing one’s stock and making journeys to merchandising machines.

The unlucky factor is that there are a few seemingly apparent methods to enhance this side of the expertise. One could be to tone down Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands loot drops in order that gamers could also be choosing up much less stuff, however no less than it is going to be extra worthwhile every time one thing is discovered. The opposite could be to verify treasured stock slots aren’t wasted on stuff like cosmetics. With cosmetics, gamers have to choose them up, then go into their stock and click on on them to say them. Gamers cannot promote unclaimed cosmetics, so it is unusual that they are not robotically redeemed upon assortment. It is a small factor, however it provides as much as extra time wasted within the stock menu.

It does not assist that there are many glitches that revolve round stock, a few of which appeared to have carried over from Borderlands 3. It isn’t unusual in any respect for objects to be marked as unsellable despite the fact that they are often offered, and typically the images for objects in a single’s stock will merely disappear.

The stock is not the one factor that is bugged in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. Gamers will run into every kind of issues when enjoying the sport, like lag, freezing, the search checklist not showing, and Chaos Chamber loot disappearing into the bottom. There’s a significantly annoying downside in relation to the Shift Servers, as the sport will typically battle to attach or keep related to the servers, which interprets to lengthy stretches of freezing and stuttering till it resolves itself.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands has severe technical issues, however it has fastened a number of the points that had been current in Borderlands 3 no less than. As some could recall, Borderlands 3 had dangerous lag when enjoying split-screen, stuttering the sport every time the opposite participant opened their menu. This downside is nonexistent when enjoying Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands split-screen. Break up-screen, generally, has been improved, with Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands gamers additionally lastly having the selection between horizontal and vertical split-screen.

So placing apart the technical points and monotonous fight, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands offers a looter-shooter journey that’s enjoyable to play with mates and is generally entertaining all through. There are many humorous jokes within the sport for those who get pleasure from Borderlands-style humor and the actors all ship nice performances, with Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands‘ voice forged that includes Ashly Burch as Tiny Tina, joined by Hollywood expertise Will Arnett, Andy Samberg, and Wanda Sykes voicing the remainder of the principle characters.

That being stated, Tina’s over-the-top persona is unquestionably higher in smaller doses, as gamers will possible get uninterested in listening to her say, “RNG ain’t acquired nothing on you” and related traces every time they choose up one in every of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands‘ fortunate cube collectibles. In any other case, the principle story has enjoyable set items and a few emotional moments that positively make it price enjoying by means of for Borderlands followers. It is also a lot better-paced than Borderlands 3, because it’s shorter and fewer bloated with filler.

There’s a lot to love about Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands‘ essential story, however the aspect quests actually outshine it. The aspect quests in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands are sometimes hilarious, with one of the entertaining mixing hillbilly Smurf-like creatures, zombie apocalypse tropes, and Star Wars to nice impact.

After beating the aspect quests and essential story, gamers will possible wish to flip their consideration to the Chaos Chamber. The Chaos Chamber in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands serves because the endgame content material, with gamers slaughtering a room of enemies, selecting a curse to make the following room harder, and attempting to make it to the tip to get the most effective loot potential. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands‘ fight is not actually its robust go well with, however the Chaos Chamber curses assist to make it much more attention-grabbing than what gamers expertise within the story content material, so there may be nonetheless some enjoyable available right here.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a straightforward suggestion for Borderlands and D&D followers, however those that have had their fill of the franchise could get uninterested in the repetitive fight and continually looting ineffective objects. The technical issues are the largest challenge, so hopefully, Gearbox Software program releases new Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands updates to handle them quickly.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Sequence X. Recreation Rant was supplied with a PS5 code for this evaluation.