Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is the latest game in the long-running Borderlands series, and since its release, it has received widespread, critical acclaim. The tried-and-true formula of humor, adventure, and heaps of guns works as well today as it did when the series first debuted over a decade ago, and Wonderlands brings enough exciting new elements to set it apart from its predecessors.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlandsgets much of what it attempts right, but it doesn’t manage to escape every one of the ghosts that has haunted the franchise since its inception. Very few games are perfect, and while there’s a lot to love about Wonderlands, there are a few elements that just don’t work as well as they should.
9 Love: Spells
The Borderlands series has always had a love of explosions, as evidenced by the wildly experimental grenade mods many of the games have included. Wonderlands replaces those mods with the more thematically appropriate spells, and the profound effect they’ve had on the game’s combat is absolutely wonderful.
Spells come in such a wide variety that each one feels like a unique piece of equipment. One spell might rain down frozen comets on the battlefield, while another fires a single, fast-moving bolt of electricity that can fry even the toughest of bosses. They’re arguably the chief reason why Wonderlands feels so fresh compared to its predecessors.
8 Don’t Love: Clunky Menu Design
Wonderlands unfortunately doesn’t improve on the franchise’s persistent issue with inventory menus, and actually clutter things further by adding multiple, new equipment slots. The screen is full of different items, flavor text, and stats that it can be genuinely demoralizing to try and compare one piece of gear with another.
What’s worse, actually navigating this screen is an exercise in frustration, as the direction inputs can be wildly inconsistent. Scrolling across the screen will sometimes take players from the top of one menu to the bottom of the other, which often results in accidentally equipping the wrong item. Trying to get back is equally frustrating, as certain gear types aren’t visually distinct enough to easily tell them apart.
7 Love: Companions
The companion system has evolved once again since its upgrade for the Vault Hunter Flak in Borderlands 3. Now, certain classes bring their own pets into battle, and their skill trees have specific perks that improve the synergistic relationship with these companions.
Each companion also serves a unique purpose that suits the overall class. The Graveborn’s Demi-Lich casts supportive Dark Magic blasts to keep the Fatemaker at top health, while the Sporewarden’s Mushroom companion can taunt enemies, allowing the Fatemaker to pick them off at a distance.
6 Don’t Love: Unwanted Loot
As with every Borderlands game, there’s a staggering amount of loot in Wonderlands. New weapons, spells, and trinkets drop from every defeated enemy, and any piece could be a potential game-changer. It’s part of what makes the series fun to play long after the credits have rolled.
The only problem with it is just how much of this loot is almost completely useless, especially as players get closer to the later portions of the game. While the Chaos Chamber does afford players a method for honing in on a desired gear type, it can’t help the fact that Wonderlands drowns players in unwanted loot.
5 Love: Multi-Classing
Multi-classing is one of the best features Wonderlands introduces to the series, allowing players to combine two different classes to create a unique character with the benefits from both specializations. It gives players the freedom to truly lean into whatever type of Fatemaker they want to be.
Relying on spells? Combine the Spellshot and Graveborn to shorten cooldowns and heal with every spell cast. Want to get up close and personal with the Dragon Lord’s army? Mash the Brr-zerker with the Clawbringer to dish out powerful, elemental effects with each sword swing.
4 Don’t Love: Limited Fast Travel Options
Fast travel has long been a useful tool in video games for cutting down on long, manual travel time by simply teleporting to the desired location. The Borderlands games have used fast travel in the past, allowing players to jump to any region they’ve already visited, but Wonderlands makes some changes to the system that make it a little less useful.
While the accessibility of fast travel has improved, the actual options have been reduced to a handful of landmarks. There’s no way to fast travel to a specific region, forcing players to venture back out into the Overworld and walk to their destination. This was undoubtedly meant to encourage players to explore the Overworld, but it makes finishing side quests and exploring specific regions far more tedious.
3 Love: New Characters
As with every Borderlands game, Wonderlands introduces a handful of new characters to its zany and irreverent world. Two of these fresh faces are Valentine and Fret, a pair of space-faring adventurers who sit down for a round of Bunkers & Badasses while their ship gets repaired. Voiced by Andy Samberg and Wanda Sykes, respectively, the duo lends a lot of humor and heart to Wonderlands.
The standout, though, is the Dragon Lord, voiced with gravitas and melancholy by the inimitable Will Arnett. Arnett carries the emotional weight of Wonderlands on his back, channeling his signature performance as Bojack Horseman to create a multi-faceted and profound character that stands as one of the series’ best.
2 Don’t Love: Respeccing Is All-Or-Nothing
Building out a character is one of the greatest experiences in any RPG, especially when players have the freedom to experiment and find the setup that feels most fun. Wonderlands’ multi-classing system captures this sensation, allowing players to fine-tune their character until they’re just right.
But mistakes can happen, and Wonderlands does allow players to respec their skill points and hero points to try out different builds. The only problem is that players can’t select just one skill or one point to reallocate; they have to reset them all. This makes experimentation harder and more tedious, restricting creativity when it comes to character builds.
1 Love: Setting
Wonderlands brings a much-need breath of fresh air to the Borderlands series by infusing the typically gritty, science fiction series with a healthy dose of fantasy aesthetics. There are magic beanstalks, undersea caverns, snowy mountaintops, and sprawling deserts in the Wonderlands, and every biome has its own, natural beauty to admire.
Many of these fantastical locales are visually stunning and sport small, environmental touches that help sell the world of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. The world is also changing constantly as a result of the player’s actions, transforming seemingly normal regions into magical realms of mystery and wonder.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlandsis available now for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and the Epic Games Store.
