As I’ve said in a previous article these last few days, I’m relatively new to the Borderlands franchise. I am not however new to the work of Telltale Games. I may be lagging behind on finishing The Wolf Among Us and The Walking Dead: Season 2, but I really support the work they do. It therefore comes as no surprise that I was impressed with their work with Tales From The Borderlands.
With this entry, Telltale is yet again trying something new by having players assume the role of multiple protagonists.
First there is Rhys, a business type that seemed to be on the less honest side of things. I could absolutely see this guy stabbing a friend in the back (but he’d at least doing it begrudgingly.) The other leading character is Fiona, who seems to be more along the lines of a lone drifter, though it’s hard to say since the demo focused heavily on Rhys.
The demo was more “action oriented” than what I’m used to with Telltale titles but it worked for me, and that wasn’t the only part that impressed me.In a word, the game looks to be funny. Something far few titles do well. I’m pretty certain “i’ll name my first born, Load-bot….” is one of my favorite lines from a game in the last 10 years. I understand this may be a staple of the Borderlands franchise that I’m simply unfamiliar with, but even from the eyes of an outsider, the humor in Tales From The Borderlands gets the job done.
If you’re interested in the specifics of the story, it seems to revolve around Rhys and Fiona (and possibly others) vying for the key to open a vault. Some locked area that promises riches and power of immense stature. It’s pretty standard fair for a game like Borderlands but the real interesting bit is that since Rhys and Fiona are pit against one another, we’re not quite sure who to root for. In one final twist at the end of the demo, it’s revealed the Rhy’s whole segment was being recounted in retrospect, after which Fiona claims that portions of it were made up. If the whole game proceeds that way, it should be fun figuring out who’s lying, and who’s telling the truth.
(Prediction: They’re both lying. You heard it here first).
