Poll of the Day > Would I need to play Borderlands to understand Telltales Borderlands story?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Just wondering. Cuz its free on ps+. Wondering if un wasting my time.

it takes place directly after borderlands 2 so if you haven't played that at least you might be a bit confused but it's not too bad
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Kana posted...

it takes place directly after borderlands 2 so if you haven't played that at least you might be a bit confused but it's not too bad

Ah. Well darn. Guess itll collect dust then lol.

you wouldn't waste time but borderlands two is a very fun game (and has couch co-op!)
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You'll miss out on some references and character cameos, but the story is self-contained enough to still be enjoyable. I'd recommend watching the intro and final boss of borderlands 2 on youtube first, that should give you enough context to jump in.
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funkyfritter posted...

You'll miss out on some references and character cameos, but the story is self-contained enough to still be enjoyable. I'd recommend watching the intro and final boss of borderlands 2 on youtube first, that should give you enough context to jump in.

Appreciate you.

1 is not really worth playing so if you wanted to jump in you could go directly to 2

i didn't really like pre-sequel but it might be worth playing since characters from it appear in tales
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Kana posted...

1 is not really worth playing so if you wanted to jump in you could go directly to 2

i didn't really like pre-sequel but it might be worth playing since characters from it appear in tales

Why isn't 1 worth playing?

imo it didn't age well and the story doesn't feel like it really kicked off until 2

pre-sequel is kind of a different thing, it was made by another developer and just feels kind of off tbh
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i loved getting the mystery vault hunter to help at the end. i know some people hate that character but i like them.
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Half the story of 2 is about the characters from 1.

So.
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Not at all
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IAmNowGone posted...

Would I need to play Borderlands to understand Telltales Borderlands story?

To understand it? No. It's relatively self-contained with its own characters, and the parts you absolutely NEED to know to understand the plot are usually referenced in the game itself.

That being said, the game is pretty MASSIVELY into the idea of fan service, and you'll enjoy it a hell of a lot more if you've played Borderlands 2. There's a few in-jokes, cameos, and other references that will go completely over your head if you're new to the franchise, but which are fun callbacks if you're familiar with the other games. There's also a few parts that will have a hell of a lot more emotional impact (if any, depending on how emotionally invested you tend to get when playing story-heavy games) if you've played Borderlands 2.

Now, all THAT being said, Borderlands 2 is a fun game with a pretty good plot, so you should play it anyway. And there's a few people on PotD who have PS4 copies of the game who might be willing to play it with you if you're interested in the larger online team experience. And if not, it's still relatively easy to solo and pretty fun if you're into FPSes.

So I'd definitely recommend getting Tales from the Borderlands for free, then buying and playing Borderlands 2, and THEN playing Tales.

I'd also just recommend playing Tales in general, because at this point it's literally one of my favorite games ever made in the entire history of the video game industry.



Smarkil posted...

Half the story of 2 is about the characters from 1.

So.

To be fair, I started playing Borderlands with #2 (and enjoyed it enough to go back and get Borderlands 1 afterwards), and there's almost no real connection to the first game in spite of that. The setting is the same, and the main characters of the first game are all important NPCs in the second game, but pretty much every single thing you need to know from Borderlands 1 is summed up in Borderlands 2 in various dialogues, and the first game barely has a plot in the first place (a large part of why Borderlands 2 is the MUCH better game of the two). And really, none of the characters from the first game really had any personality in the first game - when you think of Roland, Lilith, etc, nearly every aspect of their characterization comes from 2, not 1.

And in a way, skipping the first game and starting with 2 is almost thematically more appropriate, because then you have the same point-of-view of the new Vault Hunters who've only just arrived on Pandora and are learning about things for the first time, as opposed to the jaded, been-there/done-that/seen-it-all attitude the characters from the first game have.


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Kana posted...

pre-sequel is kind of a different thing, it was made by another developer and just feels kind of off tbh

I like the Pre-Sequel a lot, because I feel like it helps establish the core themes of the story in ways that none of the other games really do. Namely, that you are NOT the "good guys" (something literally spelled out for you in the opening song of Borderlands 2, and which crops up from time-to-time at various points in both the main game and the DLC, especially Son of Crawmerax and Wedding Day Massacre).

That's also part of the appeal of Tales from the Borderlands - it adds yet another perspective, and more emphasis on the idea that Pandora is really a planet with a hell of a lot of shades of grey (most of them dark grey), and not much white to be found anywhere (and what little there is usually winds up dead 5 minutes after you find it).



Krazy_Kirby posted...

i loved getting the mystery vault hunter to help at the end. i know some people hate that character but i like them.

I own the Funko Pop figure of that character. I've always loved them, and was always sort of confused by why so many people seem to legitimately dislike them (except in-game - I totally understand why the characters hate them).

Needless to say, in the Pre-Sequel, I immediately picked them for my very first run solely to be annoying. Random special attacks for the win!


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ParanoidObsessive posted...

IAmNowGone posted...

Would I need to play Borderlands to understand Telltales Borderlands story?

To understand it? No. It's relatively self-contained with its own characters, and the parts you absolutely NEED to know to understand the plot are usually referenced in the game itself.

That being said, the game is pretty MASSIVELY into the idea of fan service, and you'll enjoy it a hell of a lot more if you've played Borderlands 2. There's a few in-jokes, cameos, and other references that will go completely over your head if you're new to the franchise, but which are fun callbacks if you're familiar with the other games. There's also a few parts that will have a hell of a lot more emotional impact (if any, depending on how emotionally invested you tend to get when playing story-heavy games) if you've played Borderlands 2.

Now, all THAT being said, Borderlands 2 is a fun game with a pretty good plot, so you should play it anyway. And there's a few people on PotD who have PS4 copies of the game who might be willing to play it with you if you're interested in the larger online team experience. And if not, it's still relatively easy to solo and pretty fun if you're into FPSes.

So I'd definitely recommend getting Tales from the Borderlands for free, then buying and playing Borderlands 2, and THEN playing Tales.

I'd also just recommend playing Tales in general, because at this point it's literally one of my favorite games ever made in the entire history of the video game industry.



Smarkil posted...

Half the story of 2 is about the characters from 1.

So.

To be fair, I started playing Borderlands with #2 (and enjoyed it enough to go back and get Borderlands 1 afterwards), and there's almost no real connection to the first game in spite of that. The setting is the same, and the main characters of the first game are all important NPCs in the second game, but pretty much every single thing you need to know from Borderlands 1 is summed up in Borderlands 2 in various dialogues, and the first game barely has a plot in the first place (a large part of why Borderlands 2 is the MUCH better game of the two). And really, none of the characters from the first game really had any personality in the first game - when you think of Roland, Lilith, etc, nearly every aspect of their characterization comes from 2, not 1.

And in a way, skipping the first game and starting with 2 is almost thematically more appropriate, because then you have the same point-of-view of the new Vault Hunters who've only just arrived on Pandora and are learning about things for the first time, as opposed to the jaded, been-there/done-that/seen-it-all attitude the characters from the first game have.

Thanks PO. I just might do that.

If you do, it would be cool to see if you eventually made a topic here when you play Tales to discuss what sort of choices you wind up making along the way (with appropriate spoiler tags, of course).

The Telltale games are one of the franchises where I absolutely love watching other people play, because I love seeing how people's minds work, and how they make different choices from the ones I made. Even if the overall story ultimately winds up being mostly the same, the fact that they chose a) while I chose b) is always pretty interesting to me. As is exploring WHY they made the choice they did (since even multiple people who make the same choice may make it for different reasons).

Tales From the Borderlands is pretty much my favorite out of all Telltale's games, though (with Minecraft: Story Mode a close second). I think it does a really good job of storytelling, and seems to have the most impactful major choices out of all of the Telltale games I've played (and I've played most of them). Part of that is because I really like Borderlands, but part of it is because it's a really well-written game.


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