On the occasion of 'E3 2019, we got to try the latest effort of the Gearbox Software guys, that is Borderlands 3. After a short presentation in which the developers introduced us to the main novelties of the game, we had the opportunity to try a handson demo in which we will play the role of an unreleased character.
The last chapter of the famous saga is extremely ambitious compared to its predecessors. This time around we will not only be bound within Pandora, but it will be possible to visit 5 other planets for a total of 6. Any movement through the game galaxy will take place by means of your own ship. The only planet we are aware of, besides Pandora, is Eden-65. As you can already guess from the name, Eden-65 represents a tropical oasis, completely different from the inhospitable deserts of Pandora. On this planet we will be surrounded by jungles, swamps and vegetation of all kinds. Each planet will have its own completely different flora and fauna, as well as presenting a variety of enemies never before seen in previous Borderland chapters.
Borderlands 3, like all its predecessors, it is possible to play it alone, in Co-Op with friends in the friend List, in Multiplayer and for the first time in shared screen.
At the beginning of the adventure it will be possible to select your main character among the four present: Amara, Moze, Zane, Fl4k. In addition to differing in appearance, they also differ in class and special ability. Once we have selected the character that best suits us, we can customize it to our liking: there are many skins and each of this will be completely customizable.
We also find an infinite number of social emotes to use when we are in the company of our friends or in multiplayer during a public match. Even the weapons have their own editor, and here besides Cha to enhance them, we will be able to change the aesthetic appearance by choosing between various skins and change their color, add accessories or apply nice gadgets in order to make our weapon unique.
The developers have paid particular attention to the social part of Borderlands 3, in addition to staying in close contact with our friends at any time, we have the possibility to send them weapons even if they are offline.
The Borderlands 3 developers introduced us It can, new unreleased character of the saga. It is a wrecking woman, whose specialty is destroy anything or anyone who stands in front of them with their Mech. The latter represents the special ability and once the necessary time is reached it will be possible to call him.
Moze's Mech will have two attacks available and it will be possible to choose them through the skill menu. It will be possible to equip two Mini Guns, a rocket launcher, a rocket launcher and a flame launcher, in practice we will have a complete arsenal of destruction and mass. Moze's Mech will have limited autonomy and, once called in the field, a bar will appear named Fuel and once finished we will no longer be able to use it until the special ability recharges. The robot, however, is not immune from damage, it will in fact be protected by a shield and if the enemies get the better of us by destroying it, the Mech will also be destroyed. If we play Co-Op or multiplayer, our fellow soldiers will have the opportunity to hang onto the Mech and collaborate with us.
After the short presentation of the developers, we had the opportunity to try the title for about 20 minutes. Each station on which Borderlands 3 was running was equipped with AMD CPU and GPU, this is because the title is properly optimized on the hardware of the Santa Clara house.
In the demo we will take on the role of Moze, the new character announced just now, and her Mech. In the demo we are in Pandora and we have to break through a fortress and kill the boss on duty. Here we have had the opportunity to find all the typical enemies of the planet, including the Physco. Right from the start, the demo proved to be hilarious, and clearing away enemies aboard the Mech is something magical. The mechanics are pretty much the same as in other Borderlands. There are loot crates where we will find random weapons, ammo and syringes for health. The latter, unlike the shield, will not regenerate automatically. The enemies have a good artificial intelligence, they will try to surround us and attack us from every point, so it is good to keep your eyes open so as not to find a bandit behind your back, while the Physco will take the charge and attack us from the front. Once we breach the fortress we will find ourselves facing the boss on duty. Although we were playing the demo completely on our own, we managed to face the boss with some difficulty. Borderlands 3 for what we have seen, has a good level of challenge, which varies depending on which enemy we are facing.
As said before, the demo ran on a PC equipped with an AMD processor and Radeon Vega 64 video card. The graphics quality is really excellent, every detail is well defined and has a fairly high viewing distance. The frame rate has almost always been stable, except when we used the Mech, where we noticed some slowdown, but nothing to worry about.
Borderlands 3 represents the turning point for Gearbox Software's beloved kids' series. Many new features have been introduced, but the most interesting without a shadow of a doubt is the presence of 5 other planets compared to Pandora, which bodes well for longevity. We can't wait for the 13th of September to put our hands on the final product.
► Borderlands 3 is a Shooter type game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Google Stadia, the video game was released on 13/09/2019
Version for PlayStation 5 from 12/11/2020
Version for Xbox Series X from 10/11/2020
Version for Google Stadia from 17/12/2019
Borderlands 3 is a game to own at all costs: we decided to evaluate it with a 93%, if you are interested in learning more you can read the Borderlands 3 Review
