After being announced during Gamescom last month, we now have our first in-depth look at New Tales From the Borderlands, a brand-new interactive narrative game set in the Borderlands universe.
James Lopez, director of production at Gearbox Software, Lin Joyce, head of writing at Gearbox Software and Frédéric Scheubel, producer at Gearbox Studio Quebec, sat down to answer our biggest questions about the upcoming game, which expertly combines classic Borderlands humour with player-driven storytelling and addictive mini-games.
From multiple endings to accessibility options, here’s everything we know about New Tales From the Borderlands and why it’s one of our must-play games.
What Is the New Tales From the Borderlands Release Date?
New Tales From the Borderlands will come out on October 21 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC on Steam and the Epic Games Store.
Who Do You Play As?
You’ll play as three loveable losers: altruistic scientist Anu, her ambitious “streetwise” brother Octavio and the fierce, frogurt-flinging Fran.
Anu dreams of a world without violence, which is definitely a new perspective for Borderlands. She’s good at calculating probabilities and solving puzzles with her Tech Glasses.
Her adopted brother Octavio is desperate to make it onto Forge’s Super Successful Dirty 30 list but is still “anonymous, unrecognised, a nobody.” But he’s great at digging up information no one can find.
The final member of the trio is Fran, whose frogurt shop was hit by a Maliwan laser and is out for vengeance. Her hoverchair contains an arsenal of hidden weapons, and she’s not afraid to use them.
How Does the Dialogue Work?
Instead of playing as one character per episode or scene, New Tales From the Borderlands lets you control Anu, Octavio and Fran together. In one early scene, we were shown a dialogue box for Octavio that led to a decision made by Anu. It’s a bit different to what we’re used to in similar games like The Quarry, but from what we’ve seen so far, it looks smooth and very engaging.
How Important Are Your Choices?
Every choice has an immediate consequence, but many also have mid to long-term consequences as well. It could take minutes to hours for the player to fully realise the full weight of a choice. Some are going to take you down branches that resolve themselves
Which of the five endings you get depends on the choices you make in the game, even potentially from choices you make in Episode 1. “It’s a culmination,” says Joyce.
Will New Tales From the Borderlands Have an Episodic Release?
The game will be split into five episodes, but they’ll be released at the same time. That means you can binge the whole thing in one weekend if you like, but there’ll also be a structure you can follow if you prefer taking your time.
Will You Get Stats After Each Episode?
Thankfully, yes! At the end of each episode, you’ll get a report of the choices you made and see where the character relationships stand. If you have a SHiFT account, you’ll also be able to compare your choices against the community’s.
Does New Tales From the Borderlands Have Cosmetics?
Again, yes! There’ll be a “good quantity” of outfits for Anu, Octavio and Fran, with some tied to the story and others “just because they look cool,” says Scheubel.
Will New Tales From the Borderlands Have QTEs?
QTEs will be the secondary method of gameplay after dialogue decisions, but they can be made easier, more challenging or turned off altogether.
Failing certain QTEs will force you to reload, but others can be played through and simply steer the story in a different direction.
What Are the New Tales From the Borderlands Accessibility Features?
The dev team spoke briefly about the accessibility features, which include being able to scale the speed and complexity of QTEs and support for multiple languages. POPSUGAR Australia has asked for more information about the accessibility features and options in the game and will update this post when we know more.
How Long Is New Tales From the Borderlands?
Scheubel teases “more than 12 hours of cinematic content” that’s been performance captured for the highest quality animations possible. Your playthrough might take you longer if you spend lots of time playing the mini-games or exploring every corner of the map.
Watch the New Tales From the Borderlands Trailer Here
How Much Will New Tales From the Borderlands Cost?
The Standard Edition will be $59.95 in Australia, while the Deluxe Edition will cost $79.95 and come with the previous Tales From the Borderlands game. The Standard Edition will also be a digital-only release, but you can pick up a physical copy of the Deluxe Edition if you prefer.
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