For the first time in a long while, I’m looking forward to playing another Borderlands game. A few months ago, I enjoyed Borderlands 2 for its inventive combat system and absurd humor but never felt like it was truly my favorite of the series.
With Borderlands 3 SHiFT codes, Gearbox has taken the best elements from previous games and added new content that seems to be more focused on giving players freedom. The open-world nature of the game is fantastic; you can go anywhere from one hour to 100 hours (or more) without ever feeling like you’re running out of things to do.
Gearbox is taking the right approach with this game because the game’s success will largely depend on how much people enjoy their free time. You don’t have to worry about spending an excessive amount of money trying to find the perfect gear set or weapon combination—you just need to make sure you play enough to unlock everything.
Gearbox’s philosophy
In order to keep you busy, Gearbox has done something I’ve rarely seen in other games: It’s made it so you don’t have to grind through missions in order to progress. This isn’t to say there aren’t any missions—there are quite a few, and they all serve a purpose. But instead of forcing you to finish every mission before you move on, you can skip directly to what interests you most.
This means that even if you want to spend your entire playtime exploring the world, you still won’t feel bored. You also can’t complain about not having enough time to complete all the quests or missions. If you’re short on time, you can just pick up where you left off when you come back, and you won’t lose anything by skipping ahead.
It’s not always easy to see why certain parts of the game are so important, but Gearbox makes it clear how to access them. For example, you might notice that you can’t enter the main hub of the Sanctuary until you finish a side quest called “Hound Dog.” You can choose to ignore the quest, but then you won’t be able to enter the hub until you complete it.
I appreciate that Gearbox is making it easier to get into the game and stay engaged. It doesn’t seem like there’s too much to do or places to explore, and that keeps me coming back for more. With Borderlands 2, I often got tired of finding collectible items just to get them and then putting them down again. There were times when I wanted to explore the world, but I didn’t know what to do.
Now, thanks to the map screen, I can look up information about different places to visit and decide whether it’s worth going there, or if there are better places to check out. It’s like being given a cheat code.
The loot system
One thing that really sets Borderlands apart from other games is the fact that it gives you a lot of choice over which guns to use and what kind of mods to apply to them. Instead of being forced to equip specific weapons, you can take the gun you want and modify it however you choose. In previous games, you might be limited to only two or three different types of guns, but now you can mix-and-match with as many as you can handle.
As you level up, you’ll start to earn more points, and you can use those points to buy special perks that let you add additional functionality to your guns. These can range from modifying the way a gun shoots to adding a scope for accuracy. Some perks are useful for a particular type of enemy, whereas others boost your stats overall or help you survive in any situation.
You might think that since you always have a ton of ammo, you don’t need to worry about needing extra clips. But Gearbox is allowing you to customize your loadout to fit your current needs. For example, I found myself using pistols less than I expected because I could switch to shotguns, machine guns, rocket launchers, sniper rifles, and grenade launchers. I could also swap out my primary weapon for a secondary one if I needed to focus on a specific task.
Even though I enjoy customization, it’s nice to be able to equip the same gun regardless of whether I’m fighting enemies or completing quests. It makes leveling up a little bit easier, and it helps me avoid getting frustrated if I accidentally run out of ammo.
In the past, we’ve talked about how to improve your loot drops by playing the game a certain number of times. Now, I can just play as much as I can and level up without worrying about a specific reward. Instead, I’m just looking for ways to increase my stats, and I’m happy to see that the game rewards you no matter what you do.
Boss battles and boss fights
Another big change in Borderlands 3 is the addition of boss battles. These are essentially mini-bosses that you fight after you’ve defeated a group of weaker enemies. They give you the opportunity to upgrade your skills and gear, and they provide a nice challenge once you’ve reached a certain point.
These bosses aren’t as challenging as some of the bosses you might face in Destiny or other popular online shooter games, but they’re fun to beat nonetheless. You might be thinking that these are just minor additions, but they actually end up improving the game significantly. They allow for more variety, and they create tension between you and the enemy. Boss fights are tense, exciting moments when you have to strategize how to deal with the situation.
If you thought that a boss battle would be frustrating because you wouldn’t be able to use your favorite skills, think again. Boss battles don’t require you to level up your skills in order to beat the boss. Instead, you simply have to complete objectives during the encounter. And even if you die, you can respawn immediately, and you can continue to use whatever skills you had equipped before you died.
When you play the game, you probably won’t realize how much you’re missing out on when you don’t have a boss fight under your belt. They’re small challenges that end up adding a whole bunch of excitement to the game.
All of these changes add up to make Borderlands 3 a great game, and I can’t wait to dive back into it!
