Borderlands 3: Almost Exactly Like Borderlands 2

I have been playing Borderlands 3, and this game feels more like a continuation of Borderlands 2 rather than being a stand-alone game, because little has changed between 2 and 3. Borderlands 3 is by no means a bad game, but I would have liked to see some major improvements for this game. In fact, Borderlands 3 is even worse than Borderlands 2 in two major ways.

One of the strengths of Borderlands 2 is its clever and hilarious script writing that feels silly but polished. I think the script writing in Borderlands 3 tried to capture the same spirit, but ultimately tried too hard. The writing feels too silly, and many of the jokes felt like preteens were the target audience. I am astonished at the ability of the writing to make current references feel somewhat dated, and this will make the game suffer in subsequent replays years down the line.

Related to the writing issue, I feel like there are also flaws in the character development, especially with the villains of Borderlands 3. In Borderlands 2, Handsome Jack was such an excellent and compelling villain, and the Calypso Twins (the main villains of Borderlands 3) feel boring and dull by comparison. Handsome Jack was menacing and maniacal, but also felt real. On the other hand, the Calypso twins felt like cartoon villains, and had no real story or backstory about them. All they want to do is take over the world.

Other than those two issues, I had the exact same gameplay experience as I had with Borderlands 2. The looting and shooting mechanics still feel incredibly satisfying, and Borderlands 3 still feels easy to just pick up and play. I can just put on some music and pop some Children of the Vault in the head for a couple of hours. Borderlands 3 still helps me with de-stressing after work better than most games out there.

If you liked Borderlands 2 and its story, then Borderlands 3 is essentially the same experience with the continuation of the story. I understand Gearbox software not wanting to change something that is already working, but the gameplay is getting stale for me, and if Gearbox is going to continue with the series, then they will need to find ways to make the gameplay feel fresher.