19 hours ago
Steam Summer Sale: Snag 4 Major Borderlands Games for Under $25 Before Borderlands 4
If you want to catch up on the Borderlands series before Borderlands 4 comes out on Sept. 12, you're not going to find a better opportunity than this. Every mainline Borderlands game is steeply discounted for Steam's Summer sale, with many of them in the single digits.
You can currently get Borderlands GOTY Enhanced, Borderlands 2, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and Borderlands 3 for a grand total of $22. The first game represents about half of that cost, so if you've already played that one or want to skip, you can get the other three for just $12. Various DLC are also on sale if you want to add to the base games.
This is an absolute steal. Borderlands 2 is one of my all-time favorite FPS games, and despite being more than a decade old, I'd argue it's worth about $20 just on its own. For me, it's the pinnacle (so far) of the series' hero designs and enemy encounters -- for my money, Zer0, Gunzerker and Gaige are three of the most fun vault hunters the series has ever made. And the True Vault Hunter Mode and Ultimate Vault Hunter Modes (the new game plus modes) really add a lot of replay value by ratcheting up the strategy through increased importance of matching your elemental weapons to the right enemy health type -- think type matchups in Pokemon, except with guns.
What I particularly love about the Borderlands series is the customization it offers. The games give you at least four vault hunter classes to choose from, and those classes offer additional options via skill trees that allow you to adjust the way your vault hunter plays. For example, Zer0 has options for sniping, stealth or melee. Add in different gun manufacturers whose weapons all have a different feel, plus different categories of guns -- pistols, SMGs, sniper rifles, etc. -- and elemental weapon types on top of that, and you end up with a veritable treasure trove of ways to tune your vault hunter's gameplay.
Also, you can throw grenades that explode money. I almost crashed Borderlands 3 because I was exploding so much money.
Team up with a friend and just start blasting.
2K Games/Gearbox Software
The original Borderlands established the formula and some of the regular elements like soldier and siren classes, vending machines for gear and health, plus some of the recurring characters like de facto mascot Moxxi. Borderlands 2 refined that formula and introduced an amazing villain who added more narrative depth. The Pre-Sequel shook things up by taking us to space and giving us laser weapons. Borderlands 3 took a step back in terms of narrative and characters, but added some nice mechanical polish, like being able to mantle up ledges or slide into barrels to send them flying into enemies.
All four of those games will take you in the realm of 100 hours total to beat if you stick to the main quests, or closer to 200 hours if you're the type to get sidetracked occasionally. Pro tip: Talk, finagle or blackmail some friends into playing with you. The games are significantly more fun with other players.
For the complete Borderlands experience, you can also tack on the D&D-inspired spinoff game Tiny Tina's Wonderlands for $12 and Tales from the Borderlands, an acclaimed narrative choices game, for $15.
With Borderlands 4 coming out in just a few months, you're not going to get a better chance to start or add to your collection. CATCH A RIIIDE, vault hunters.
