Tiny Tina's Wonderlands introduced some excellent brand new mechanics to the Borderlands series, and Borderlands 4 could take its RPG aspects and run with them. With its D&D-inspired theme, Wonderlands incorporated loads of RPG mechanics including character customization and multiclassing. In true RPG fashion, the player is put as the main character in both stories of the game as the "Newbie," a new member of Valentine's crew and a new player to Tiny Tina's favorite game, "Bunkers & Badasses". Borderlands 4 would serve well to follow Wonderlands suit, making the game more RPG-like, which would give players more of a connection to the story and characters.
Since 2009, the Borderlands series has told chaotic tales of the Vault Hunters of Pandora. With three main installments and three spin-offs, each game has adapted and improved both the gameplay and narrative of the series. While the Borderlands games are not in chronological order, each story tells its own tales of four to six Vault Hunters. Being a part of the looter-shooter genre, the game focus on collecting loot and feature millions of weapons players can use at their disposal.
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands is a spinoff game from borderlands and the latest installment in the looter-shooter series. Focusing on fan-favorite character, Tiny Tina, the game is basically a much grander version of Borderlands 2's expansion Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep, which also had a D&D-inspired theme. Wonderlands has brought many new cards to the table for Borderlands. From new characters to a fantastical setting to new game mechanics, this spinoff has given fans a unique twist on the iconic video game.
Borderlands 4 Should Have Character Customization Like Tiny Tina's Wonderlands
While the Borderlands franchise has consistently had four to six set playable characters to choose from, its next installment could change things for the better. Tiny Tina's Wonderlands' classes broke the pattern by making players create and customize their own player character who would be included as the main character of the story. From there, players could pick their class, appearance and stats in an extremely detailed character creator. Players were even able to choose aspects like their characters voice and face tattoos.
It would serve Borderlands 4 well if it decided to go a similar route like Wonderlands. The Borderlands series is already packed with so many unique and interesting characters that adding more into the world each game might make it feel a little too bloated. Even Borderlands 3 wasn't able to fit every single character into its main story and DLCs. Having a player character with selectable classes would not only reduce the major size of the Borderlands universe's characters, but also give the players a deeper connection to the story.
With a new Borderlands game confirmed to be in development, it would be best for the developers at Gearbox to try and emulate what Wonderlands did great. The fantasy looter-shooter's character customization was a great addition to the franchise and should be included in future games like Borderlands 4. From giving players a deeper connection to the story to allowing for more breathing room for other characters, the Borderlands franchise can be even better if it adopts more RPG mechanics like Tiny Tina's Wonderlands.