New opportunities for comedy, like an inventory system, are rarely used, and only automatically. It’s mostly familiar: shift the tone of a conversation, choose to lie or tell the truth, make a binary choice here and there, and awkwardly poke around small areas until you’ve looked at everything. I like the format, and think it’s still an interesting way to present multiple angles on a plot, but I was a bit disappointed that Telltale didn’t deviate too much from its other games. They all end up running around the dangerous, alien Pandora searching for one of Borderlands’ legendary vaults, getting into death races with bandits, befriending robots, exploring technological ruins, and struggling to balance their ambitions with their consciences-which is where we interact. They’re both on shady ground when they meet, Fiona running a scam with her sister Sasha, and Rhys trying to screw over his corporate Hyperion boss with his best friend Vaughn. They’re a funny, self-interested pair with questionable morals-almost, but not quite a cheeseball bickering anime duo. I love the main characters-Fiona and Rhys-who are sardonic, conflicted, and cute but not nauseatingly so. There are are plenty of gruesome deaths, to be sure, but Telltale has created a stand-alone comedy adventure that succeeds because of great storytelling, not ‘midget psychos’ or freaking Claptrap. It’s not serious, but finds its levity through character-driven jokes more than screaming violence.

It’s a story adventure spin-off which balances Borderlands’ urge to be impressed with itself for using swears with some great new characters and a tinge of sincerity.

Tales from the borderlands game over