Featured Image: (Pacer Graphic / Adrianna Carter)
Most action games are just that, a video game only focused on bringing awesome action to the forefront. If something humorous happens in them it’s usually players finding their own fun. Fortunately, some games are able to incorporate humor into them without it being overbearing. This is the case with “Borderlands.”
“Borderlands” is a 2009 science fiction first-person shooter video game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games. It tells the story of four Vault Hunters searching for a mystical Vault told to have loot beyond their wildest dreams. The game applies RPG elements with its skill trees and character customization menus, allowing players to make their chosen Vault Hunters really represent them. The main attraction that fans have to the game, and its subsequent franchise, is the loot system that helped define it’s genre. Gearbox popularized the looter shooter genre of gaming by really leaning into it, going as far as making it the main selling point for “Borderlands.”
The story and its characters have become timeless with those that have had the chance to experience it before. The game begins with an opening explanation of the backstory of the world of Pandora, a chaotic planet told to host a vault with incredible loot inside. Mercenaries called Vault Hunters flock to Pandora in search of the Vault and its treasures untold. Unfortunately, not a single one would be successful–this is where the player characters come in. Four of these Vault Hunters named Lilith, Roland, Mordecai and Brick arrive in the town of Fyrestone in search of more information about the Vault. It is here where they receive psychic visions from a mysterious girl who only refers to herself as their “Guardian Angel.” By following these visions and listening to Angel, the Vault Hunters traverse Pandora in search of the legendary Vault.
‘Borderlands’ thrives in its multiplayer gameplay, allowing four players to play together online at once. It also allows for couch co-op for two player gameplay, with this being increased to four in the improved versions of the game.
Players are able to choose between four characters: Lilith the Siren, Roland the Soldier, Brick the Berserker and Mordecai the Hunter. Each character is different from the other, all of them with different abilities. Players are able to select these abilities from three different paths in the skill tree menu, each with varying augments that can help the player out. Skill tree points are earned every time a player levels up.
“Borderlands” popularized the looter shooter genre of gaming by allowing players to get weapons from a multitude of places throughout the game. It does this by using a randomization generator that can create over 17 million unique weapons and presenting it to the player afterwards. These weapons are presented in the form of items dropped by enemies, treasure found in chests or tools sold in a vending machine. This set the foundation for games like Destiny, Warframe and every other game within the genre released after 2009.
“Borderlands” carved its way into the hearts and minds of many gamers and it hasn’t left since. Following its release in 2009, it has received sequels, spinoffs, comics and even a feature film. It not only has an interestingly humorous story, but also defined a genre by utilizing a concept that would become more popular in the following years. The fourth mainline game in the franchise was released just last year in 2025 to yet another success. While it hasn’t been announced yet, fans are absolutely waiting on the edge of their seats for the next installment in a franchise filled to the brim with mayhem.
Grade: S
$29.99 – Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition – Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch
$29.99 – Borderlands Game of the Year Enhanced – Steam
