The Borderlands franchise is back, finally rather incognito since it is Tiny Tina’s Wonderland which arrives with a bang. The youngest offers us an experience that is both new and close to what we expected, our detailed test.
[Mis à jour le 25 mars 2022 à 10h51] A pointed hat on her head and her faithful companions by her side, Tiny Tina immerses us in a new adventure in the world of the Borderlands. But not quite, since this time, failing to discover a new planet in this traditionally futuristic and dystopian universe, we are immersed in part of a role-playing game straight out of the imagination of the young lady. In short, in Tiny Tina’s Wonderland, we swapped the Mad Max side of space for a Dungeons and Dragons universe, for a game in the game of a freshness necessary for a license in decline. We tell you what we thought of it and we summarize everything you need to know about this new release.
Our review of Tiny Tina’s Wonderland
The universe that Gearbox and 2k Games have managed to create in their famous Borderlands series has it all. Crazy characters, breathtaking landscapes and epic plots. The three episodes of the series, their DLCs and their prequels quickly established themselves as references, even pioneers of the looter-shooter genre. With explosive gameplay, story and art direction, Borderlands 2 quickly entered the pantheon of the most beloved games of all time, while Borderlands 3 managed to make its mark, despite a slight loss of speed due no doubt to a certain form of weariness on the part of a good part of the players. Killing looters and goliaths by the thousands has indeed a certain limit, especially when these game-services have been feeding us content non-stop since 2012. But here we are in 2022, and Gearbox and 2K are doing it again, with the release of Tiny Tina’s Wonderland. An exit that could have seemed fast, less than three years after that of Borderlands 3.
And, this time, out of the question for Gearbox to serve us the same potato soup. The studio has indeed understood the interest of culinary variation, and offers us with Tiny Tina a very good onion soup. So indeed, as much to tell you right away, if you don’t like soup, you have to move on very quickly. Because the game basically takes up everything that is the heart of the Borderlands experience; cartoon graphics, wacky characters and plots, loot we don’t know what to do with and skill trees to cut according to our goodwill, nothing is fundamentally different in terms of gameplay in this new experience. Only we are fans of soup, and this one has a very special, unique flavor. Well, not quite because we found her in the acclaimed Borderlands 2 DLC, Tiny Tina and the Dragon Fortress. But without going back, Tiny Tina’s Wonderland capitalizes on the success of this brief episode and especially on that of the game within the game.
Because in Tiny Tina’s Wonderland, we are immersed in a role-playing and board game hosted by the now famous and still chtarbé little Tina and her companions (PNJs from Borderlands 2). And the world built by the little girl and her friends is as surprising as one can imagine. It feels like Dungeons and Dragons, but always of offbeat inspiration, giving us the impression of being immersed in Shrek and his failed fairy tales or in the Dungeon of Naheulbeuk for a more cocorico reference. Art direction and storytelling that are actually funny and refreshing, emerging once and for all from the dystopian space world that was that of all previous Borderlands. The world is different, the landscapes are different, and above all, the weapons and enemies are different. The last two points being essential to take a deep breath and reconnect with the pleasure of the raw gameplay of the series.
Gearbox understood this perfectly and insisted on the creation of an original universe, more role-playing oriented, offering us the opportunity to create our hero, to choose his class(es), to find him an armor , rings, medallions, spells and weapons. In short, happiness for fans of RPGs and those of looter-shooters. Add to that some great actors, top-notch French dubbing, even if we’d much prefer the original version and its finer humour, and a more than enjoyable coop mode and you’ll get a Borderlands 3 and a half (not 4, the fault of a technique that remains very close to the previous opus) which is worth it and will quickly and easily attract you into the infernally happy spiral of the hunt for loot.
Trailer
Tiny Tina’s Wonderland Gameplay
We told you in the introduction, Tiny Tina’s Wonderland is a Borderlands-style looter-shooter. You embody characters straight from the imagination of the little girl, from the hands of destiny, as part of a Dungeon and Dragon role-playing game. Except that for you, the monsters are very real. This game-within-a-game offers us a narrative on par with the first titles in the franchise, adding a pinch of heroic fantasy to the detriment of the Mad-Max space side of previous Borderlands, a breath of fresh air after a quite Borderlands 3 Medium. Moreover, this new game also introduces new mechanics, we find the million weapons available, and the usual shields, but we can also find rings that can strengthen certain skills. The skill trees and classes are also completely new, as well as the elemental damage of black magic. There is also a lot more magic which offers a little more variety to the fights.
Because you have to understand that Tina’s Wonderland intends to dive head first into the popular fantasy RPG genre. That is to say that it will both respect the respected looter-shooter formula of the Borderlands series, but by fully integrating heroic-fantasy RPG elements. We will therefore find a character creation menu, six classes, spells, dungeons and everything that is the traditional prerogative of more traditional RPGs. For the first time in the Boderlands universe, the player will be able to create his character in detail, shaping his face from toe to nose, thanks to a customization on which 2K Games and Gearbox seem to have put the package. On the skill tree side too, since your character will be able to build his own active and passive skills, in particular thanks to the multiclass system which allows you to adopt a second archetype a little later in your game. A combination of both classic and original ideas, which seem to make this release an event not to be missed in the world of video games.
Split-screen co-op mode?
If there’s one thing that Borderlands games really know how to master, it’s co-op play. Tiny Tina’s Wonderland is no exception, delivering a unique adventure through two co-op modes; the coopetition mode where the players share the loot and where the enemies are of the level of the group leader, and the classic cooperation mode where everyone benefits from their own loot and where the enemies are of the level of the low average of the group. Also, you should know that Tiny Tina’s Wonderland will indeed offer a split-screen game, but only on consoles. It will accommodate two players on PS4 and Xbox One and up to four players on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Of course, in online mode, the game can accommodate up to four players on all platforms.
What PC config to play Tiny Tina’s Wonderland?
Minimum requirements:
- OS – Windows 10 (latest service pack)
- Processor – AMD FX-8350 (Intel i5-3570)
- Memory – 6 GB RAM
- Graphics Card – AMD Radeon RX470 (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 4GB)
- HDD – 75 GB
- DirectX: Version 11
Recommended PC Requirements:
- OS – Windows 10 (latest service pack)
- Processor – AMD Ryzen™ 5 2600 (Intel i7-4770)
- Memory – 16 GB RAM
- Graphics card – AMD Radeon™ RX 590 8GB (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB)
- HDD – 75 GB
- DirectX: Version 11
What is the release date for Tiny Tina’s Wonderland?
Tiny Tina’s Wonderland will be released on March 25 at 00:00 French time, directly on PC via the Epic Games Store, Xbox Series and Playsation 5. Last-gen console owners are not left out since the game will also be released on Playstation 4 and Xbox One. It can already be pre-ordered in its three different versions: the Standard Edition, the Marvelous Chaos Edition or the Next-Level Edition.