Is Borderlands 2 still worth it in 2018? Yes, maybe, kinda.

Played on

1070
7700HQ
X1 16GB Ram
256GB SSD

The Bad

I feel like I really need to get these out more as fair warnings for people

- GOTY EDITION DOES NOT INCLUDE ALL DLCs:
Yeap fair warning, you are STILL gonna end up missing out on a couple story expansion DLCs and almost all cosmetics DLCs if you end up buying the GOTY edition.

- Performance has been anecdotaly eh for me, with my specs I'm barely managing over 70 at Very High most of the times but that could just be me. Even though there are a few Steam threads claiming the same thing with higher/similar specs.

- Unskippable intros
While it is fun to see the intro of a character for the first time... Not exactly the 5th or 6th time.
"ur just a lifeless ♥♥♥"

In a game franchise where you're encouraged to try multiple play throughs (at most 3 times for a SINGLE character, True Vault Hunter and Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode). You reaaaally wish you could have gotten something as simple as "skip cutscene" option would go a very long way. Especially considering how some people have multiple saves of multiple play throughs. It's not a huge negative but, a negative.


The Good

Graphics/Art Style:
Visually speaking I think Borderlands 2 has a "timeless" art style where even a 6 years later you can't really call the graphics or art style "outdated". The game simply has an art style which looks good to great thanks to how cartoony it looks. Where you can see other games like Elder Scrolls Skyrim heavily show its age, the game really doesn't and I find it still visually pleasing in 2018. While some effects likes fire and explosives etc don't really look as "amazing" as what we get in more modern titlesthey're still serviceable without you thinking "wow this game has terrible graphics".

This is also one of the rarer games that heavily benefits on the visual sides if you have an Nvidia card and have PhysX on. While some games like Batman or AC have it and you just go like "wow more smoke". Elementals (except fire) have additional liquids that actually interact with the environment in really cool ways, even debris and certain cloths from the environment interact with it.

Graphics are definitely a +

Sound:
+ I've been playing these with my Razer Krakens and I gotta say the sound positioning is pretty great, this, CS:GO and Metro Last Light Redux are examples of old games that really help immerse you if you have a good pair of surround sound speakers or just plug in a pair headphones. Everything actually does feel like it's just coming from a specific side of your headphones. It really does add add a layer of depth into the immersion.

The music is an overall eh, nothing really memorable but nothing terrible either.


- However, I do feel like this does need to be mentioned. There are far too many moments where a piece of dialogue cuts out a newer piece of dialogue. For example, let's say I take a recording and it starts playing, suddenly my friend accepts a quest and the recording just gets cut in favor of the newer dialogue. This can even happen if you end up trying to take up too many side quests at the same time, which not shockingly does happen here and there.

Gameplay:
So you can play as 4 (6 if you buy the GOTY edition which you should anyway) main vault hunters, a Commando, a Gunzerker, an Assassin and a magical g- a Siren.

I've personally only played as the Siren, Assassin and Commando so there's my perspective.

Assassin:
Z3R0 is more "melee" and sniper focused depending on how you build him. But I think he's one of the harder characters to use in my experience. His ability which lets you send out a decoy but also gives you extra (melee) bonus damage mostly does require you to constantly be in well, melee range of your target. While the bonus damage and your builds can be great I think he's a class that will only show his strengths compared to others the higher the level you get.

Siren:
Maya is the more elemental/healing focused characters also depending on how you build her. Her ability at first allows you to phaselock a single target into a "stasis" form where they're lifted up into the air incapable of doing anything for a set amount of time. While at first all it does at first is just make a person immobile you can also build her to do things like make the target actually take instant extra elemental damage, give you and your teammates extra health while it's active etc. She's personally one of my favorites to use.

Commando:
Axton is probably the most basic to use, you get a turret and well from there on then you can upgrade it (and you) to do more things like, hey, have the turret put up a shield, shoot extra missiles, or hell. Have 2 turrets in one go.

Combat:
The gunplay does feel solid and the for the most part a lot of weapons have a unique distinct feeling to them. Most are great, some are just eh and some personally speaking feel awful. But that's probably a strength or a weakness depending on how you see it, what gun may feel "awful" to me maybe good to others. There are also legendary weapons which may have unique fire patterns or just bonuses like a sniper that has 6 bullets for a single shot.

Dying in this game simply sends you back to a respawn station alongside losing money. You can however try to get revived by your friend or kill an enemy to instantly get back into the game.


Skill trees
if you've played any recent RPG-ish games you know what skill trees are, if you've played Fallout they're essentially perks you get for each level up. For the most part these can significantly change the way you play. Some significantly change the way you can play a character while some are just straight up buffs like extra melee damage, more magazine etc etc. The skill trees also emphasize what weapons would usually fit who, like Maya the Siren emphasizing more on SMGs while Zero the Assassin more on Sniper rifles.

{Side}quests:
There are dozens of sidequests, ones that can last a minute or two or some that can even last half an hour. While some of these are just dumb short and plain ones some do try to expand on the game's worlds and characters. All of them having some guy or gal talk to you every now and then.

Levelling balance:
In a game like this everyone potentially can over shoot there levels too high, in this game's case you should at MOST be 3-4 levels higher than the suggested main story level as going higher than a level 5 gap may just end up with you getting 1XP or very low exp from each kill you do. Fortunately in this game's case you're most likely going to be somewhat under levelled for the next main quest than you are ever to be over levelled by the time you reach it. Which is why there's an abundance of side quests to do to gain exp for said main quests.

I find the levelling balance to be great-good depending on how you end up playing the game. While you can end up over levelling 5-7 levels for a side quests rarely have I ever went over too far for main quests.

New Game+
New game + is definitely a strength in this game, if you want to get higher level equipment and get more skill points you have to play NG+, or in this case True Vault Hunter mode. All enemies start at a level near yours (which should be around 30-32) and there's even added variety for most enemies. You really question how game from 2012 is capable of doing NG+ so well while a game like FF XV can barely get the minimum for it.


Conclusion:
A REALLY fun game, however, I would suggest buying it ONLY if you have someone else to play it with to really enhance the experience. And just wait for a sale so it'll be super cheap.

Is Borderlands 2 still worth it in 2018? Yes, maybe, kinda. [b]Played on 1070 7700HQ X1 16GB Ram 256GB SSD[/b] [b]The Bad[/b] I feel like I really need to get these out more as fair warnings for people - GOTY EDITION DOES [b]NOT[/b] INCLUDE ALL DLCs: Yeap fair warning, you are STILL gonna end up missing out on a couple story expansion DLCs and almost all cosmetics DLCs if you end up buying the GOTY edition. - Performance has been anecdotaly eh for me, with my specs I'm barely managing over 70 at Very High most of the times but that could just be me. Even though there are a few Steam threads claiming the same thing with higher/similar specs. - Unskippable intros While it is fun to see the intro of a character for the first time... Not exactly the 5th or 6th time. "ur just a lifeless fag" In a game franchise where you're encouraged to try multiple play throughs (at most 3 times for a SINGLE character, True Vault Hunter and Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode). You reaaaally wish you could have gotten something as simple as "skip cutscene" option would go a very long way. Especially considering how some people have multiple saves of multiple play throughs. It's not a huge negative but, a negative. [b]The Good[/b] Graphics/Art Style: Visually speaking I think Borderlands 2 has a "timeless" art style where even a 6 years later you can't really call the graphics or art style "outdated". The game simply has an art style which looks good to great thanks to how cartoony it looks. Where you can see other games like Elder Scrolls Skyrim [i]heavily[/i] show its age, the game really doesn't and I find it still visually pleasing in 2018. While some effects likes fire and explosives etc don't really look as "amazing" as what we get in more modern titlesthey're still serviceable without you thinking "wow this game has terrible graphics". This is also one of the rarer games that heavily benefits on the visual sides if you have an Nvidia card and have PhysX on. While some games like Batman or AC have it and you just go like "wow more smoke". Elementals (except fire) have additional liquids that actually interact with the environment in really cool ways, even debris and certain cloths from the environment interact with it. Graphics are definitely a + Sound: + I've been playing these with my Razer Krakens and I gotta say the sound positioning is pretty great, this, CS:GO and Metro Last Light Redux are examples of old games that really help immerse you if you have a good pair of surround sound speakers or just plug in a pair headphones. Everything actually does feel like it's just coming from a specific side of your headphones. It really does add add a layer of depth into the immersion. The music is an overall eh, nothing really memorable but nothing terrible either. - However, I do feel like this does need to be mentioned. There are far too many moments where a piece of dialogue cuts out a newer piece of dialogue. For example, let's say I take a recording and it starts playing, suddenly my friend accepts a quest and the recording just gets cut in favor of the newer dialogue. This can even happen if you end up trying to take up too many side quests at the same time, which not shockingly does happen here and there. Gameplay: So you can play as 4 (6 if you buy the GOTY edition which you should anyway) main vault hunters, a Commando, a Gunzerker, an Assassin and a magical g- a Siren. I've personally only played as the Siren, Assassin and Commando so there's my perspective. Assassin: Z3R0 is more "melee" and sniper focused depending on how you build him. But I think he's one of the harder characters to use in my experience. His ability which lets you send out a decoy but also gives you extra (melee) bonus damage mostly does require you to constantly be in well, melee range of your target. While the bonus damage and your builds can be great I think he's a class that will only show his strengths compared to others the higher the level you get. Siren: Maya is the more elemental/healing focused characters also depending on how you build her. Her ability at first allows you to phaselock a single target into a "stasis" form where they're lifted up into the air incapable of doing anything for a set amount of time. While at first all it does at first is just make a person immobile you can also build her to do things like make the target actually take instant extra elemental damage, give you and your teammates extra health while it's active etc. She's personally one of my favorites to use. Commando: Axton is probably the most basic to use, you get a turret and well from there on then you can upgrade it (and you) to do more things like, hey, have the turret put up a shield, shoot extra missiles, or hell. Have 2 turrets in one go. Combat: The gunplay does feel solid and the for the most part a lot of weapons have a unique distinct feeling to them. Most are great, some are just eh and some personally speaking feel awful. But that's probably a strength or a weakness depending on how you see it, what gun may feel "awful" to me maybe good to others. There are also legendary weapons which may have unique fire patterns or just bonuses like a sniper that has 6 bullets for a single shot. Dying in this game simply sends you back to a respawn station alongside losing money. You can however try to get revived by your friend or kill an enemy to instantly get back into the game. [b]Skill trees[/b] if you've played any recent RPG-ish games you know what skill trees are, if you've played Fallout they're essentially perks you get for each level up. For the most part these can significantly change the way you play. Some significantly change the way you can play a character while some are just straight up buffs like extra melee damage, more magazine etc etc. The skill trees also emphasize what weapons would usually fit who, like Maya the Siren emphasizing more on SMGs while Zero the Assassin more on Sniper rifles. {Side}quests: There are dozens of sidequests, ones that can last a minute or two or some that can even last half an hour. While some of these are just dumb short and plain ones some do try to expand on the game's worlds and characters. All of them having some guy or gal talk to you every now and then. Levelling balance: In a game like this everyone potentially can over shoot there levels too high, in this game's case you should at MOST be 3-4 levels higher than the suggested main story level as going higher than a level 5 gap may just end up with you getting 1XP or very low exp from each kill you do. Fortunately in this game's case you're most likely going to be somewhat under levelled for the next main quest than you are ever to be over levelled by the time you reach it. Which is why there's an abundance of side quests to do to gain exp for said main quests. I find the levelling balance to be great-good depending on how you end up playing the game. While you can end up over levelling 5-7 levels for a side quests rarely have I ever went over too far for main quests. New Game+ New game + is definitely a strength in this game, if you want to get higher level equipment and get more skill points you have to play NG+, or in this case True Vault Hunter mode. All enemies start at a level near yours (which should be around 30-32) and there's even added variety for most enemies. You really question how game from 2012 is capable of doing NG+ so well while a game like FF XV can barely get the minimum for it. Conclusion: A REALLY fun game, however, I would suggest buying it ONLY if you have someone else to play it with to really enhance the experience. And just wait for a sale so it'll be super cheap.