What we are going to review is the retail version of one of the graphic adventures of Telltale Games (in this case flanked by 2K Games) that has fascinated thousands of gamers who love the genre: Tales from the Borderlands. As you can imagine, it is all 5 episodes of the game, enclosed in a single disc, but obviously maintaining its own structure. So let's see what this title puts us in front of, which we remember is available at a price of about € 25.
We would like to clarify that to play this title, it is not necessary to know the Borderlands series: or rather, even if the location is the same, the plot will be different from that of the series, and everything you need to know about it will be there. it will simply be explained. During our adventure, we will find ourselves alternately guiding our two protagonists: Rhys e Fiona. The first, is an avid fan of the legendary (evil) Handsome Jack, and a businessman of Hyperion, the company that reigns supreme from Helios, while our maiden is a cunning and cunning scammer from Pandora. For some reason we don't want to spoil, the two will meet and begin their surreal adventure, which is mirrored in the quest for the coveted “Key to the Crypt”.
Obviously our two protagonists won't be the only characters we will have to deal with: Tales from the Borderlands is full of main and secondary characters from start to finish that you can't help but love. This is in fact one of the greatest strengths of the game born from Telltale and 2K Games: being able to create an engaging plot full of twists, with funny characters, or totally crazy, in full Borderlands style. As we have already mentioned, the plot is divided into 5 episodes of more or less the same longevity. Even if on the same disc, these will be played individually, all with their animated preface, and their credits and consequent statistics.
Same style, with more barrel
As for the gameplay, there's nothing new to say if you've already played a few Telltale titles. The story will take place practically like an interactive film, where we will find ourselves impersonating one or the other protagonist. We will carefully choose the answers to give and the opinions to express (we can also choose the uncomfortable path of silence), and above all we will find ourselves making decisive choices for the continuation of the story, which will be nothing less than the first card of a domino of consequences. The phases in which we will physically control our characters are not very many, and are mainly limited to investigating inside some rooms to look for clues or useful objects at that moment.
One of the characteristics that pleasantly affects the plot, however, is a good but never heavy presence of quick time events, especially in the numerous conflict scenes. In fact, Tales from the Borderlands is a game that will never bore you, much less leave you on your hands.. Fighting and fighting scenes, scenes of danger, or simply adrenaline and reckless, will make your gaming experience surprisingly dynamic. The icing on the cake is given by the paradoxical and hilarious sequences that you will find yourself experiencing and playing, but which purpose is simply to make you have a lot of fun! Seeing is believing! (I point out a particular chapter of episode 4, but which I will not talk about so as not to spoil the surprise).
A chameleon soul
The beauty of this title lies in knowing how to overturn the player's thoughts and feelings continuously, chapter after chapter, and with completely unexpected events. By managing to create a perfect fit, worthy of a puzzle, Telltale and 2K they offer us a game in which we will be able to alternate with a coherently logical thread emotions such as pure fun and laughter, to an unexpected melancholy and sadness (possible? absolutely yes). This iridescent soul is also fully reflected in the image that the characters (protagonists or secondary ones) are able to give: on more than one occasion you will find yourself re-evaluating people, judging them again, and above all you will seem to really know them.
Less chameleonic and dynamic is the graphics that Tales from the Borderlands offers us. It is true that we are talking about a title not of 2016, but as regards the porting to disc, some small corrections that had to be made have been omitted, such as small and almost imperceptible texture bugs during the video sequences. All in all, this does not greatly undermine good graphics quality, which finds a fair compromise: manages to stay true to both the somewhat comic style of the Borderlands series (including HUD), and the classic Telltale game graphics.
Small feature that will certainly appeal to the most imaginative: in Tales from the Borderlands there is the possibility of buying skins, or clothes (only on some occasions as you progress through the game), both to customize our vehicle and to change our characters' clothes! An extra touch of style that never hurts! In any case, we will have limited money to buy them, which will be what we will find around during the gameplay sessions with Fiona. But pay attention to how much you spend ... maybe saving will be useful?
Did you say Bossanova?
The sound sector is absolutely not to be underestimated. This does not only imply a classic "has the beautiful music tracks", but it goes much further: the music is used only when it is needed, and do not be surprised if in some moments of the game you find yourself alone with your thoughts. , and accompanied by the voices of the protagonists and the simple background noises.
Nothing bad to report about the sound effects or dubbing, quite the contrary. No problems encountered regarding synchronization, much less registration defects. It must be acknowledged the great skill shown by the original voice actors, for having been able to interpret their parts in the best possible way, which contributed significantly to the good characterization of the characters. Yes, even robots.
The call of the nerd
Like any self-respecting graphic adventure (especially if inspired by an existing video game series), some nice easter eggs, quotes, or references to other realities of the media world could not be missing even in Tales from the Borderlands. To give you an example, here is a photo of our dear friend Loader Bot, who in the scene from which the image is taken will clearly quote Terminator with his evergreen “Come with me if you want to live”. Certainly they are nice ideas that can not help but snatch a smile from even the most skeptical.
Conclusion
The long-awaited and much-feared moment therefore arrives: the moment of voting. The number that you will see now in the final vote could turn out to be a liar, according to everything we have told you, and it seems a liar to me too who assign it. Apparently, apart from some visual flaws, we have done nothing but praise Tales from the Borderlands, in all respects, but we are still far from saying that it is a perfect game. In any case, what we analyze for the most is the technical aspect of the title, and how the choices made can work or not. Now I will tell you mine: as much as this game is fun, it deserves at least half a point more in my vote: is it not just for fun that video games are born? So I tell you (in this case, but not only) to trust the numbers, but not completely, because there are so many personal criteria that we cannot analyze here.
