New Tales from the Borderlands
Violent sci-fi satire riffs on corporations, capitalism.
Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. Your purchase helps us remain independent and ad-free.
New Tales from the Borderlands
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this game.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know New Tales from the Borderlands is a sci-fi graphic adventure game for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox One, Switch, and Windows PC. This is the latest chapter in the Borderlands franchise. It follows the stories of three people attempting to survive a violent corporate invasion of their planet while pursuing their own interests. The cast is diverse, with playable characters including: a scientist recently fired from her job; her scheming, underemployed brother; and a middle-aged restaurant owner who uses a hoverchair to move about. A long list of secondary characters presents with similar diversity, including a little person who deals in explosives, a sharp-witted female thief, and a clever East Asian lab assistant. The playable protagonists are meant to be likable in their faults, but players can control how they react to situations and respond to other characters, meaning they can come off as either kind and well-meaning or cruel and even murderous. Players don't control characters directly (except when exploring some environments) but rather make decisions for them. That means the bulk of the violence is viewed passively, though it's often quite intense, including gunshots to heads, stab wounds that result in gushing blood and exposed viscera, and corpses in various states of dismemberment. Parents should be aware, as well, that the game contains alcohol consumption, a smattering of strong language, and sexual themes including frank language and partially nude women.
Community Reviews
There aren't any reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.
What’s It About?
NEW TALES FROM THE BORDERLANDS, the latest graphic adventure set in Gearbox's far future Borderlands universe, puts players in the roles of a trio of more or less ordinary people attempting to survive a violent corporate takeover of the planet Promethea. Fran, a middle-aged woman who uses a hoverchair to get around, is the owner of a frozen yogurt shop who simply wants to collect the insurance money she's owed for a recent accident that saw a corner of her restaurant obliterated. Octavio is her unreliable employee, a young fellow who craves wealth and success but has no idea how to achieve it. His sister Anu, meanwhile, is a research scientist who gets fired by her employer for wasting company resources on the development of a non-lethal weapon. All three protagonists' lives are thrown into chaos when corporate giant Tediore sends in its private military to wrest control of the planet from its people and current corporate overseers. The story plays out over five episodes that last a couple of hours each. Players spend most of their time watching events unfold, tapping buttons to choose the heroes' responses when in conversation and exploring the environment to find loot and interact with non-player characters. Players occasionally direct the heroes in important action scenes, such as deciding whether to allow an insurance agent into a backroom where a dead body is lying on the floor, or choosing a target at which to aim a gun. Player actions have consequences that often determine fates and relationships of other characters, resulting in branching dialogue and story outcomes.
Is It Any Good?
Better categorized as an interactive story than a game, this graphic adventure is at its best when focused on comedy. New Tales from the Borderlands looks and feels very similar to other Tales from the Borderlands games, but it's the first one not to be developed by Telltale Games, and the changeover has resulted in some noticeable imperfections. For starters, there are often pauses in dialogue and action, making the game appear to be frozen or loading before it suddenly picks up again. And many of the interactive activities -- like putting together a frozen yogurt cup for an eager customer or searching for a taco truck owner's missing pet -- are unimaginative and a little boring, failing to live up to the often weird and unexpected activities Borderlands fans have come to expect from the series.
Get past these gaffes, though, and it can be a pretty fun time. The heroes are a flawed but likable bunch. Watching Anu, who prides herself on her intelligence and ability to come up with non-lethal solutions to problems, deal with violent situations beyond her control results in some good laughs. Fran has the opposite problem, forced to contend with her propensity for uncontrolled rage -- all the more funny since it slyly plays against the stereotype of a middle-aged woman who uses an assistive device. Octavio is perhaps the weakest of the three, if only because he settles into the trope of a young, dimwitted, directionless guy who gets into a lot of trouble. That said, his interactions with memorable secondary characters -- like the assassination bot who's his best friend -- often eke out some chuckles. There are times when New Tales from the Borderlands feels like it would have been better executed as an animated TV series than an interactive experience, but it's still worth a look for mature players who appreciate Borderlands' distinct brand of comedy.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in the media. Is the impact of the violence in New Tales from the Borderlands affected by the fact that players don't directly control the action onscreen? Does is matter that while you're not in control, the violence is still graphic and intense? How does the lack of control alter how you experience or perceive it?
New Tales from the Borderlands delivers a large cast of characters with a range of genders, sexualities, skin tones, body types, and methods of mobility, but can you think of other games that reflect the diversity of the real world?
Game Details
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Windows
- Pricing structure: Paid ($39.99)
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: 2K Games
- Release date: October 21, 2022
- Genre: Adventure
- Topics: Adventures, Robots, Space and Aliens
- ESRB rating: M for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
- Last updated: January 18, 2023
Our Editors Recommend
-
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Action-heavy adventure features a lot of humor, heart.
-
Lego Star Wars Battles
Strategic combat in a galaxy far, far away.
-
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
Marvel's misfit heroes band together in must-see adventure.
For kids who love sci-fi
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate