Tiny Tina’s Wonderland’s is a spin off of the Borderlands franchise where you play through the imagination of Tiny Tina’s “Bunkers and Badasses” (the Dungeons and Dragons of the Borderlands) campaign. The gameplay consists of shooting and looting to level up your character and unlock new skills in a ludicrous world where guns, dragons and spells all mix together.. 

What sets the game apart from most modern shooters is the ridiculous writing. There is no shortage of witty lines and funny situations to keep players entertained. Everything from the dialogue to the quest objective boxes on the HUD is filled to the brim with flat out absurdity. For example, one quest has you in search of a bard to bless your ship, Balsagna, for safe passage across the ocean. The only problem is that there are no full bards around, so you are sent to find a half bard, who is later revealed to be Torque, the bardbarian. His dialogue is in all caps, his curse words are censored by a lute note and he loves explosions to death. After meeting him, the party helped him play a song with vibes that were so powerful, the blessing became a “blasting” that resulted in Torque casting magic missile and firing off several ballistic missiles that blew up the entire ocean. The cherry on top was the quest object box saying “BLOW UP THE %#$&ING OCEAN.” Yes, it was censored just like that in the game. It is rated T after all.

The gameplay also holds up to Borderlands standards. Players have the option of choosing between 6 different classes, each with their own unique passive ability and one of two action skills that can be switched between at any time. Each class has its own set of playstyles depending on what action skill you use and what skills you choose to level up. For example, the graveborn’s action skill “dire sacrifice” lets you sacrifice hp to cause a massive explosion of dark magic that deals more damage the more hp you sacrifice (up to 40% of your current hp). By unlocking skills that deal more dark magic damage, the graveborn can become a massive aeo damage dealer than can wipe out groups of enemies with a single button. The other skill, “Reaper of Bones,” heals you to full health, gives you bonus dark magic damage and “leech damage,” but drains your health slowly over time. Using this skill makes the graveborn a tank that can be difficult to take down.

If you find yourself getting bored of your class halfway through the game, don’t worry! The game allows you to multiclass after progressing through a bit of the story, allowing you to gain another passive and even have access to two new action skills. Given that there are six classes to mix and match, the possible builds players can create are seemingly endless.

Another fantastic element of game design is the level up system. The game never feels like a grindfest because of how fast you level up. In roughly six hours of play, I managed to reach level 20. No fight feels too tough or too easy (although to be fair, I did play on the intermediate level).

If you want to do all of this with a friend, Gearbox Software will not stop you. Borderlands allows local and online co-op with up to 4 players. It even has cross play, so you don’t have to worry about your friends on different platforms. Loot, shoot and laugh with friends as you tear your way through the skeletons and land sharks and wyverns of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands.

The game is a refreshing remix of the borderlands formula that new and longtime fans alike can enjoy. If you want a dumb fun game full of hilarious moments, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is sure not to disappoint. It is available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and PC.

Categories: Arts & Entertainment