Underrated Episodic Fun

I am not really sure where episodic story games fall in the world of gaming.  Are they too casual for those who consider themselves to be more "hardcore?"  Or too simplistic?  It just doesn't really feel like they get much attention.  This is unfortunate because I've had a lot of fun and had to really think through some difficult choices in several of them.  I recently decided to revisit (and finally review) one of my favorite episodic story games, Tales from the Borderlands.

Tales from the Borderlands follows the TellTale pattern of taking a pre-existing fandom and spinning off a choice based series of stories set in a specific universe.  The Borderlands games are a whacky combination of FPS mixed with RPG and a wicked sense of strange humor.  Taking those genres and throwing them together into an episodic story game seemed like a misstep, but somehow it works.  It more than just works though, it's one of the best TellTale games.

The story is centered around two very different characters--Rhys, who is your typical Hyperion corporate climber, but who harbors a not-so-secret vein of admiration for Handsome Jack--and Fiona, part of a sisterly duo of Pandoran con-artists who are out to land a big score.  You begin the game playing as Rhys, who has recently found out that he is up for a promotion, and who is heading to the office of his boss to receive the good news.  Once there, he discovers that his boss has been replaced by an arrogant, jackass named Vasquez.  Rather than receive his promotion, Rhys instead finds himself demoted to "head janitor" and is looking for a way to get back at Vasquez.  He overhears a conversation about a possible deal to buy a vault key and decides that stealing the key would be the perfect opportunity to get revenge.  Rhys teams up with his accounting buddy, Vaughn, and his requisitions pal Yvette, to steal $10 million from Hyperion to land on Pandora and buy the key out from under Vasquez.  What could possibly go wrong?

It turns out that everything could go wrong.  The entire idea of two mid-level corporate idiots navigating the dangerous world of Pandora, even for a short trip, is laughable.  Things go bad from the start--Rhys and Vaughn get lost and end up getting attacked by the locals (bandits...of course) and barely manage to make it out of that scrape.  They finally make it to the deal and have to try to negotiate a deal with August (a Pandoran gangster/pierced scumbag) and Sasha (Fion's con-artist sister).  The deal seems to be progressing well when Sasha starts acting weird and decides she doesn't want to sell the key.  It looks like the deal has gone south, so Rhys has to come up with some way to salvage it...

At this point the perspective changes to that of Fiona.  It turns out that the vault key was a fake all along and that Fiona and Sasha, with the help of their master con-artist adopted father, Felix, have set up this entire elaborate scheme.  You play as Fiona and get to see the work to set up the deal as it plays out.  Fiona enters the scene as Rhys is trying his absolute best to save the deal--she knows that Rhys can use his echo eye to scan the vault key and that he will know it's a fake.  She has to slip an electronic device onto the case that will scramble the signal from his echo eye.  With some crafty help from Sasha, Fiona manages to get the device onto the case.  The deal seems like it's actually going to go through, Rhys opens the case and is awed by the key and Vaughn offers to pony up the cash.  Disaster strikes when the vault key is accidentally dropped and broken, revealing that it is a fake, and the party is massively crashed by Zero (a vault hunter from Borderlands 2) and a large contingent of angry bandits.  In the chaos the money is stolen and Rhys and Vaughn decide to team up with Fiona and Sasha in an effort to get it back.

The rest of the story follows this unlikely team as they try to recover their stolen money, then stumble onto a horde of Atlas technology that promises to lead them to an actual vault.  The journey is filled with action packed moments, a boatload of choices, and a wide range of emotions--from laughs, to being grossed out, to being sad.

Pros:

--Borderlands characters and related humor.  If you're at all familiar with any of the Borderlands games you will enjoy the zany humor infused throughout the game.  It's dark, it's violent, and it's hilarious.  Bandits entertain you with their typical mix of strange talk--meat bicycles, face pizzas...that kind of thing.  Some of your favorite vault hunters make an appearance or play a big role in the story--Zero, Athena, Brick, and Mordecai all pop up at some point.  Other characters from the series also play a large role--Handsome Jack, Scooter, Janey Springs, and even Loader Bot.  Thankfully, there's no Claptrap.

--Storyline that follows two characters.  Switching back between Rhys and Fiona provides the opportunity to make choices and mold those characters into who you want them to be.  It also is a fun way to provide background on both characters and give them more of their own story.  I cannot remember if I've played any other TellTale games that have used this character switching approach.

--Same graphical/art style as the Borderlands games.  Having 2K work hand in hand with TellTale helped make the game feel like another piece of the Borderlands series.  Pandora and Helios felt like the same places, but that we got to experience them as different characters.

--Amazing soundtrack and opening sequences.  I really enjoyed the music that they sprinkled throughout the game and loved the credit sequences at the beginning of each game.  There are some cool songs as well as some music from Borderlands throughout the series.  (I wrote about this here).

--LoaderBot.  They managed to take one of the most annoying foes from Borderlands and turn it into a lovable, loyal, robot buddy.

--Choices that feel meaningful.  Yes, I know that it's the illusion of choice, but dammit if those choices aren't tough!  In a few seconds you have to decide whether or not to trust the AI version of Handsome Jack (don't do ti!  Or do...it's up to you...which is my point).  TellTale are the masters of this particular illusion.

--A fun story.  It zigs and zags all over the place and you have no idea how things are going to end up, but the journey is an absolute blast.  Sprinkled throughout are tons of moments where you will be laughing (or possibly crying).

--Weirdly gross moments that add to the flavor of the story.  They involve an eyeball and a face.  That's all I'm going to say.

Cons:
--QTE sequences that feel weird on a PC.  I kind of like them, but I know that some people loathe them.  They're super easy with a keyboard.

That's really my only con...I have genuinely enjoyed this series both of the times I have played through all five parts.

If you're a fan of the Borderlands series, someone who wants to play a less serious (but still fun!) TellTale game, or just someone who's looking for something new you really should check out Tales from the Borderlands.  It's by far one of my favorite TellTale series and one that didn't get the attention and love that it really deserved.  I think I actually liked it better than Borderlands:  The Pre-Sequel.