Kicking
off
in
2009
the
Borderlands
series
has
become
Gearbox’s
biggest
franchise
over
the
course
of
multiple
games,
and
a

disastrous
movie
which
flopped
at
the
box
office.
What
better
time
to
rank
all
the
Borderlands
games
from
best
to
worst,
then?

Throughout
its
ups
and
downs,
the
Borderlands
series
has
carved
out
a
special
place
in
my
heart.
Its
blend
of
shooting,
looting
and
stupidity
are
like
a
comfortable
blanket
spattered
in
the
blood
and
gore,
and
peppered
with
a
few
bullet
holes.

So
with
the
new
film
landing
with
all
the
grace
of
an
elephant
skydiving
off
a
cliff
with
a
faulty
parachute,
let’s
take
a
moment
to
rank
the
Borderlands
games.
Now,
obviously
this
is
a
completely
personal
list.
I’m
sure
your
ranking
will
be
vastly
different
from
mine,
so
feel
free
to
drop
a
comment
with
how
you
would
rate
them.

Finally,
before
we
get
into
the
list,
I’ve
not
included
a
few
releases:
the
various
Collection’s,
including
the
Handsome
Collection,
aren’t
here,
for
example.
Nor
is
Borderlands
2
VR,
or
the
standalone
Assault
on
Dragon
Keep.
They
didn’t
feel
like
they
needed
to
be
on
the
list
as
they
are
essentially
either
the
base
game
with
a
few
improvements
or
an
add-on.

1.

BORDERLANDS
2

Borderlands
2
is
so
good
that
Gearbox
has
spent
every
game
in
the
series
since
trying
to
chase
the
magic
and
never
quite
capturing
it.
It’s
a
fantastic
looter-shooter,
a
riot
from
start
to
finish
and
a
damn-near
perfect
evolution
of
what
came
before.

Part
of
the
magic
stems
from
leading
arsehole
Handsome
Jack
who
quickly
became
one
of
the
most
beloved
villains
in
all
of
gaming.
Despite
having
little
actual
screen-time,
his
sarcastic
voice
follows
you
around
on
the
radio,
chiming
in
to
remind
you
that
you
suck.
Or
to
inform
you
that
he’s
so
incredibly
rich
that
he
bought
a
pony
made
of
diamond
and
named
it
Butt
Stallion.

Handsome
Jack
was
representative
of
the
expanding
storytelling.
The
first
game
was
often
criticised
for
its
paper-thin
plot
and
characters.
Gearbox
responded
perfectly,
crafting
a
more
engaging
story
that
even
managed
to
deliver
a
couple
of
emotional
moments,
too.
It
amped
up
the
humour
as
well,
though
that
did
come
at
the
cost
of
the
first
game’s
darker
edge.

The
gameplay
systems
are
a
massive
leap
over
the
first
game,
vastly
expanding
on
not
only
the
weapons
but
on
the
skill
trees
as
well.
The
level
of
build
crafting
available
in
Borderlands
2
is
leagues
ahead
of
the
first
game,
and
despite
having
played
through
it
numerous
times,
I
still
haven’t
tried
out
all
of
the
different
styles
in
Borderlands
2.
It
makes
the
game
insanely
replayable.

Borderlands
2
also
boasts
some
excellent
DLC,
which
comes
packaged
in
The
Handsome
Collection
for
modern
consoles.
Two
extra
playable
characters
were
added,
but
the
real
highlight
was
Tiny
Tina’s
Assault
on
Dragon
Keep
which
would
wind
up
being
the
inspiration
for
another
entry
on
this
list.
Chock-full
of
pop-culture
references,
from
Dark
Souls
to
Teenage
Mutant
Ninja
Turtles.

2.
Borderlands
3

Borderlands
3
successfully
builds
upon
the
solid
gameplay
foundation
laid
by
its
predecessors.
The
improved
movement
mechanics,
like
the
ability
to
slide
and
mantle,
add
an
extra
layer
of
dynamism
to
the
already
fun
and
frenetic
combat.
This
is
the
best
the
series
has
played,
boasting
the
smoothest
gunplay.

The
weapon
selection
is
somehow
even
bigger
and
more
insane
than
ever.
We’re
talking
guns
that
turn
into
walking
turrets.
But
the
best
thing
is
that
the
guns
in
Borderlands
3
feel
like
they
hang
around
a
little
longer
before
you
throw
them
away
for
the
next,
new
shiny
weapon.
In
the
original
game,
a
legendary
gun
was
something
you’d
use
for
a
while,
whereas
Borderlands
2
the
guns
came
so
thick
and
so
fast
that
even
legendary
weapons
were
expendable.
Borderlands
3
strikes
a
solid
balance
between
the
two
games.

Additionally,
Borderlands
3
introduces
a
host
of
compelling
new
characters
each
with
their
own
unique
skill
trees,
offering
an
unprecedented
level
of
customization
and
replayability.
There’s
plenty
of
cool
builds
to
play
around
with.

Where
Borderlands
3
falters
is
its
villains,
a
duo
of
idiots
who
try
to
emulate
the
sarcastic
bite
of
Handsome
Jack
and
fail
at
almost
every
turn.
They
end
up
being
nothing
more
than
irritating
roadblocks
that
derail
the
whole
damn
game
every
time
they
pop
onto
the
screen.
It’s
a
shame
because
their
social
media
influencer
gimmick
and
their
army
of
drooling
fans
is
a
cool
concept,
but
it
just
never
works.

Whether
you’re
looting,
shooting,
or
exploring
the
far
reaches
of
the
galaxy,
Borderlands
3
is
a
good
time,
but
the
weaker
story,
characters
and
humour
mean
it
can’t
beat
out
Borderlands
2.

3.
Tiny
Tina’s
Wonderlands

Based
around
the
Dungeons
&
Dragons
inspired
expansion
for
Borderlands
2,
Tiny
Tina’s
Wonderlands
injects
Borderlands
with
a
hefty
dose
of
fantasy.
On
paper,
this
should
have
been
my
favourite
game
of
the
entire
franchise.

The
difficulty
in
ranking
Wonderland’s
comes
from
Tiny
Tina
being
the
focal
point.
Like
many
Borderlands
characters,
her
personality
can
be
grating
which
is
why
she
is
best
deployed
as
a
support
character,
much
like
Claptrap.
Putting
her
front
and
centre
risks
making
the
character
going
from
a
loud
but
kind
of
funny
distraction
to
a
full-blown
annoyance.
Personally,
I
like
her
enough
that
she
didn’t
end
up
destroying
my
enjoyment,
but
it’s
understandable
why
some
people
shut
the
game
off
after
the
first
hour
and
never
went
back.

Gameplay
wise,
this
is
a
straight-forward
Borderlands
game
but
it
does
use
the
Bunkers
&
Badasses
premise
to
add
a
few
fun
wrinkles,
like
being
able
to
equip
armour
and
magic
alongside
the
usual
firearms.
By
the
end,
I
felt
like
the
game
could
have
done
more
with
its
cool
premise,
but
it
was
still
a
great
time.

4.
Tales
from
the
Borderlands

Tales
from
the
Borderlands
is
a
tricky
game
to
rank
because
it’s
so
fundamentally
different
from
the
other
games
in
the
series.
Developed
by
Telltale,
TFTB
swaps
out
the
looting
and
shooting
for
a
narrative-driven
adventure
game
set
in
the
Borderlands
universe.

By
the
time
this
game
released,
Telltale’s
gameplay
and
game
engine
were
showing
their
age
and
the
game
was
understandably
criticised
for
it.
But
outside
of
Handsome
Jack
in
Borderlands
2,
this
is
the
sharpest
writing
in
the
entire
series.
It
takes
the
deliberately
cringe
humour
of
the
main
series
and
turns
it
into
something
deeper,
as
well
as
bringing
back
the
much
darker
undertone
and
humour
of
the
first
game.
Strongly
written
characters,
funny
jokes
and
a
smart
story
make
this
the
best-written
game
in
the
franchise.

5.
Borderlands:
The
Pre-Sequel

Following
the
success
of
Borderlands
2
and
the
glowing
reception
of
Handsome
Jack,
Gearbox
decided
to
double-down
on
their
villain
by
giving
him
his
very
own
game,
with
2K
Australia
handling
most
of
the
developement.

The
Pre-Sequel
takes
place
in
the
events
between
the
first
two
games
and
features
four
new
playable
characters,
all
of
whom
were
bosses
that
players
fought
previously.
Leading
this
rag-tag
gang
of
misfits
is
Jack
himself.
The
narrative
follows
Jack’s
decent
into
villainy,
and
does
a
pretty
good
job
of
it.
Jack
isn’t
quite
as
entertaining
as
his
Handsome
Jack
persona
in
Borderlands
2,
but
because
of
that
he’s
also
more
human.

In
terms
of
gameplay
though,
the
Pre-Sequel
definitely
feels
like
a
big
expansion
rather
than
a
new
game.
The
Moon
setting
isn’t
visually
interesting,
though
the
low-gravity
is
entertaining
to
jump
around
in.
And
we
get
the
Butt-slam
special
move,
so
that’s
someting.

Overall,
a
solid
entry
in
the
franchise
but
also
the
one
most
likely
forgotten
about.
Honestly,
I
briefly
forgot
about
it
while
writing
this
list.

6.
Borderlands

Ok,
ok,
I
get
it.
Putting
the
original
Borderlands
so
far
down
the
list
might
be
a
controversial
decision,
and
I
kind
of
agree.
Hear
me
out:
the
original
Borderlands
is
a
seminal
game,
both
for
the
industry
and
for
myself.

I
still
own
my
Xbox
360
copy
of
the
game
as
well
as
the
official
strategy
guide
which
I
remember
reading
on
a
train
coming
back
from
GAME
where
I
picked
up
it
and
the
game.
And
on
the
industry,
it
became
the
foundation
for
looter-shooters
going
forward,
continuing
to
influence
games
to
this
day.
The
satisfying
shooting,
the
wealth
of
cool
weapons
to
mess
around
with
and
the
excellent
co-op
all
made
Borderlands
addictive
as
hell.

But
when
you
fire
up
the
game
in
2024
I
think
it’s
fair
to
say
that
Borderlands
doesn’t
play
anywhere
near
as
well
as
the
newer
titles
in
the
series,
and
its
emptier
world
and
paper-thin
story
leave
a
lot
to
be
desired
compared
to
its
sequel.
That
doesn’t
mean
its
bad
or
it
shouldn’t
be
played,
but
if
I
was
to
suggest
a
Borderlands
game
to
a
newcomer
I’d
probably
just
tell
them
to
start
with
the
second
one.

There’s
no
denying
the
vibe
that
Borderlands
has,
though.
The
large,
barren
environments,
dead
bodies,
cobbled
together
buildings
and
psychotic
inhabitants
all
paint
the
planet
of
Pandora
as
a
fucked
up
wasteland.
The
humour
in
Borderlands
is
darker
than
the
sequels.
The
world
is
messed
up
and
the
people
on
Pandora
clearly
use
a
sick
sense
of
humour
to
cope
with
their
despair
and
general
apathy
toward
life.
As
the
series
went
on
the
humour
would
become
zanier,
sillier
and
ruder
but
also
lost
sight
of
the
darker
heart
of
Borderlands.

And
let’s
be
real,
that
trailer
with
No
Rest
for
the
Wicked
by
Don’t
Cage
the
Elephant?
Killer.

7.
New
Tales
from
the
Borderlands

New
Tales
from
the
Borderlands
came
out
in
2022
and
was
envisioned
as
a
spiritual
successor
to
Tales
from
the
Borderlands.
Developer
Telltale
had
closed
their
doors
in
2018,
so
Gearbox
tasked
Gearbox
Quebec
with
crafting
a
new
Borderlands
spin-off
in
the
style
of
Telltale
and
the
result
was…well,
it
wasn’t
good.

Gearbox
Quebec
had
no
experience
with
branching
storylines
or
plotting
out
how
player
decisions
could
impact
a
narrative
in
meaningful
ways,
so
they
were
already
starting
from
the
back
foot.
On
top
of
that,
the
writing
just
wasn’t
as
strong
as
the
original
Tales
from
the
Borderlands,
a
huge
problem
in
a
genre
where
the
writing
and
narrative
are
everything.
Part
of
the
problem
is
that
New
Tales
from
the
Borderlands
did
what
the
franchise
has
been
doing
since
Borderlands
2;
failing
to
understand
what
made
the
humour
and
writing
tick.
Everything
has
to
be
a
joke,
everything
has
to
be
quirky
and
crazy
and
weird,
and
nothing
is
ever
allowed
to
breath
or
be
serious
for
a
moment.
The
few
moments
in
which
New
Tales
from
the
Borderlands
tries
to
dig
deep
and
draw
out
some
genuine
emotion
fails
because
everything
else
is
a
joke.

It
didn’t
do
much
to
wow
critics
and
gamers
on
the
gameplay
front,
either.
Quebec
aped
the
original
Telltale
style
quite
closely,
but
even
when
Telltale
closed
in
2018
that
style
was
outdated
and
in
dire
need
of
an
update,
so
by
2022
people
just
weren’t
interested.

Even
now,
it
has
a
“Mostly
Negative”
rating
on
Steam,
the
lowest
of
the
entire
franchise.