In anticipation of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Borderlands 2's celebrated Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep DLC has been re-released as a standalone, and it's free for PC players for a limited time. The Borderlands series oscillates between sci-fi and fantasy with wacky ease, and Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep was widely praised for its Dungeons & Dragons references and fantasy setting in 2013.
Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep originally released as a Borderlands 2 DLC expansion. A departure from the main game’s sci-fi setting, it took the form of a tabletop RPG session run by unhinged NPC Tiny Tina, featuring the Borderlands 2 protagonists playing more fantasy-flavored versions of themselves. While it was very much a looter-shooter like the mainline entries in the series and carried its trademark irreverence and humor, the setting and framing allowed for a more meta gaming experience as the Borderlands protagonists commented on the game in fourth wall-breaking moments. With Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands' release only a few months away, now is a reasonable time to get a taste of what’s in store.
To make that easier, 2K Games is re-releasing Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep (with a new suffix calling it A Wonderlands One-Shot Adventure) as a $10 standalone purchase, and PC players can temporarily download the game to own for free. Until 11 PM PST on November 16, PC customers can download Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep for free through Epic Games Store. There’s no word on what the game will cost in the Epic Games Store after that, but the game is $10 on every other platform, so it’s a good bet that’s what it’ll be. As a lead-in for Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands' story, which doesn’t require broader Borderlands knowledge, Assault on Dragon Keep is a cheap (or free) way to get a handle on what to expect out of Wonderlands.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is an interesting direction in which to take the series after Borderlands 3’s long-awaited release was a return to form, placing players back on Pandora and reuniting them with some old favorite characters while introducing some new ones. Borderlands 3 has gotten plenty of DLC, though, from the four original expansions to the more recent “Designer’s” and “Director’s Cuts” versions of the game. For now, it’s unclear whether Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands will be as big as a mainline Borderlands game or a larger spin-off building on Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep. Either way, its unique take on the series, with Wonderlands classes like the Stabbomancer and the Brr-zerker sure to excite those who want a bit more dragon-slaying in their Borderlands.
The Borderlands series is showing no signs of showing down, with both a new game and a movie set to release next year. With Assault on Dragon Keep and Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands for the fantasy lovers and the movie for the sci-fi lovers, the series could be entering its most diverse year yet.
Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-Shot Adventure is available for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Sources: 2K Games, Epic Games Store, Borderlands/YouTube