Why Borderlands 3 is proving incredibly inspirational

We are back in a lockdown and Borderlands 3 was on sale. I think the stars have aligned. I loved Borderlands 2 and the reviews of Borderlands 3 were superb (that link goes to IGN but there are tons more). What really sold me on getting it was people saying that if you loved the second one, you’d love the third even more. I hadn’t bought it when it came out because I was travelling and then forgot.

I said in the title that it is inspirational. Am I just being pretentious? Or is the game somehow inspiring me? The answer is yes. To both.

Borderlands 3 makes me want to get back into art and also write more

See? Inspired and a bit pretentious. I remember when I first started playing Borderlands 2 and being blown away by the art. You then kind of get used to it and really enjoy the science fiction and humour. And, obviously, shooting the shit out of everything.

Back in the day, after finishing the previous game, I started to write some humorous science fiction. I tend to be influenced by what I am reading, watching and playing. So if I am reading Space Team, watching Red Dwarf, and playing something like Borderlands, then scifi hilarity will ensue. I don’t see why post-apocalyptic scifi can’t be funny.

That’s pretty much it on the writing front. What I really want to talk about is the art.

The art in this series is brilliant

When I started Borderlands 3, the ascetic of the game was the first thing my wife commented on as she walked through the living room on her way to do something more productive with her life.

The game is like a 3D comic. Not a manga Persona 5 type comic but more of a Tank Girl or 2000AD sort of thing. Superb and stylish art in a grim, violent world that can get all satirical in post-apocalyptic splendour.

And I am not talking pre-rendered cut-scenes. The game just looks so goddamn nice all the time. It also works well as a brilliant FPS loot-em-up but that is a review for later.

One of the things I started getting into in the first lockdown, was returning to drawing. I am not particularly brilliant at it, but it is a really satisfying hobby. I have done a few courses and tried life-drawing, pencil shading, sketching and so forth and they are great. But what I really like – and this may come as no surprise from someone with a scifi site who had already quoted Persona, 2000AD and Tank Girl – is comic book art.

Fantasy and science fiction art is underrated. I would add computer games to that as well. At least Borderlands 3 (as did is predecessor) has its very own art book.

There was a guy on Reddit who has just wandered around the various sites of the game taking photos. They look superb. You can see a ton of them on his Imgur page.

So I am inspired. And I have a shitload of time on hands. Perfect.

I will write a review once I have finished playing the thing. I am only four or five hours in. But like the reviews said – if you like Borderlands 2 then you’ll like 3. It is a shitload of fun.

This blog entry was more about my love of how it looks and overall vibe. If you missed it a year and a bit ago, here is a trailer that shows the general ascetic, some of the settings, and its general sense of fun. Enjoy.

You can now get the game for $18 or less if you click on this link.