Eli Roth’s Borderlands might not be the most popular celebration of Gearbox Software’s video game, but it might be enough to steer newbies to the source material.
The looter shooter phenomenon has been a fixture of the gaming landscape since 2009 and has spawned multiple branching spin-offs, covering everything from fantasy-themed shooters, narrative adventures, to some now-defunct mobile games.
Gearbox has teased another mainline entry, but if you’re craving more Borderlands right now, there’s plenty of options.
Before we jump in, you can save money through various bundles. Borderlands Collection: Pandora’s Box includes every game in the series (excluding Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands) and their respective DLCs, and is available for £30.99 digitally on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Nintendo Switch (until August 15). This is a massive reduction from £123.99, and for six games, it’s the best deal available at the time of writing.
There are other cheaper bundles if you merely fancy dabbling in the series. The Borderlands Legendary Collection is the second best option as it combines Borderlands, Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. While Borderlands: The Handsome Collection combines Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel.
If you’re looking to try out the games individually, however, here’s how:
Borderlands
The first game might be the most difficult to return to, with both sequels improving somewhat upon the formula. If you fancy starting from the beginning though, go for the remastered Game Of The Year edition, which adds quality of life improvements like a minimap and four player local split-screen on consoles.
Steam: £8.24 (offer ends August 22)
PlayStation Store: £8.24 (offer ends August 14)
Xbox Store: £24.99
Nintendo eShop: £24.99
Borderlands 2
This is arguably the best entry in the series, with better writing and gun variety. If the original Borderlands was an unexpected success, the sequel is the reason the series has managed to stick around all these years later.
Steam: £5.00 (offer ends August 22)
PlayStation Store (via The Handsome Collection): £8.74
Xbox Store: £7.99
Nintendo eShop (via The Handsome Collection): £8.74
Borderlands 3
If you want the latest mainline instalment, Borderlands 3 is the best place to jump in. The formula had started to wear thin by 2019, with little to separate this sequel beyond minor improvements, but it’s still a great option for those new to the series. There’s also several editions, including the Next Level edition with some extra cosmetics, or the Ultimate Edition which includes all DLC across both season passes.
Steam: £4.99 (offer ends August 22)
PlayStation Store: £5.99 (offer ends August 14)
Xbox Store: £5.99 (offer ends August 19)
Nintendo eShop (via the Ultimate Edition): £19.99 (offer ends August 15)
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
As the name implies, this spin-off is set between events of 2009’s Borderlands and its sequel, only centred around four characters who were not playable in either. The main draw of The Pre-Sequel is its space station setting, which adds new low gravity environments.
Steam: £29.99
PlayStation Store (via The Handsome Collection): £8.74
Xbox Store: (via The Handsome Collection): £8.74
Nintendo eShop (via The Handsome Collection): £8.74
Tales From The Borderlands
Developed by Telltale Games, who are known for narrative adventure games based on The Walking Dead and Game Of Thrones, this episodic title is set after events in Borderlands 2. It follows Hyperion employee Rhys and Pandoran con-artist Fiona, who come together to track down a vault. Instead of being a looter shooter, this is a story-driven game where you make choices which impact the overall narrative.
Steam: £11.99 (offer ends August 22)
PlayStation Store: £11.99 (offer ends August 14)
Xbox Store: £11.99 (offer ends August 19)
Nintendo eShop: £19.99
New Tales From The Borderlands
This is a sequel to Tales From The Borderlands which was released in 2022. It follows the same structure of the previous game, but this time the adventure is set after the events of Borderlands 3 with a new cast of characters, namely Anu Dhar, Fran Miscowicz, and Octavio Wallace-Dhar.
Steam: £17.49 (offer ends August 22)
PlayStation Store: £34.99
Xbox Store: £34.99
Nintendo eShop: £34.99
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
While it drops the Borderlands name, this is a familiar Borderlands shooter experience – albeit with some quirks. Its most distinctive quality is the fantasy-themed setting, which is modeled after a tabletop role-playing game.
Steam: £54.99
PlayStation Store (Next Level Edition): £16.24 (until August 14)
Xbox Store: £59.99