Hopes are sky high

I don't think I'm alone in saying that Tales from the Borderlands was far and away my favorite Telltale game. The quality of the writing and characters was amazing, and it set the standard for choice-based adventures for years to come. When the news dropped this week that Gearbox is working on another Tales game internally, everyone kind of freaked out, myself included. But even with the bare-bones information we have right now, I have a lot of thoughts about the game. I've had enough time to think about it?, haven't I?

The original Tales from the Borderlands came?? out in five episodes over the course of 2014-2015, and without giving away too much, the game ended on an ambiguous note, leaving room for a potential sequel in the future. My?? automatic assumption was that they'd be picking up right where the first game left off, but after thinking it through a bit more, I'm apprehensive.

//twit?ter?.com/JayShockblast/status/1517228741721825282

The game's publisher, 2K, said itself that the game will featur?e "new characters and new stories." That kind of makes me nervous.

So much of what made the first game so? great were its characters, their relationships to each other, and the performances the actors gave. Starting over from scratch when it comes to character is by no means impossible, but it would mean Gearbox putting th?emselves in a situation where they have even bigger shoes to fill.

Of course, that may not have been a conscious decision on their part �it's possible that they couldn't get some of the cast back for another game all these years later (Laura Bailey and Troy Baker are in high demand, after all). Legal stuff also got pretty screwy given the way Telltale shut down, so it's possible they weren't allowed to use some of the same characters from the first game due to logistics (although Rhys was a fairly prominent character in Borderlands 3).

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1280"] _{[Image Source: PlayStation LifeStyle]}[/caption]As our very own Jordan Devore pointed out, we also have no idea if anyone from the original Tales team will be working on the new title, so there's no saying whether it will have nearly the same quality when it co?mes to its tone ?and humor.

One potential upside that shines through this ??haze of uncertainty is that the game will likely be developed on a brand new engine, which would be a huge upgrade considering how rickety Telltale's old one was. Players have been complaining for years about the outdated systems, and former Telltale developers expressed their desire to update the engine so they could update how the games feel to play and add all-new features to the tried and true Telltale formula.

The devs at the newly-revived Telltale Games discussed ditching the old engine to make way for Unity all the way back in 2018. Of course, the "new" Telltale is a very different case than however Gearbox is working on the game in-house, but either way, it's pretty safe to assume Tales is being developed on a new engine. So rega?rdless of how the game turns out, hopefully we have that to look forward to, right? ...right?

My?? take is that if for any reason, Rhys and co. are nowhere to be found in the new game, I'm okay with that. As muc?h of a bummer it would be to not see that story continued when I was so invested, I'd rather see a whole new cast of characters than nothing at all.

I will say that above all else, my biggest wish is to keep the awesome musical intros for each episode, because those are honestly my favorite uses of licensed music in any pie??ce of media ever.

In the end, I really have no idea what to expect. I'm doing my best to keep my hopes as low as possible so as not to be disappointed, but Tales from the Borderlands really meant a lot to me wh??en I first played it back in like 2016, and regardless of what Gearbox does, there will be no escape from fan expectations. Now here's to hoping they can deliver.

//www.tiktok.com/@destructoid/video/7093205021864594693?is_from_we?bapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=70527881640??67706373

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"With new characters and new stories"

Whether you're into the main Borderlands series or not, plenty of us could pluck Tales from the Borderlands out of the Telltale Games catalog and consider it to be one of the best choice-based adventure titles. It turned out so mu?ch better than I excepted thanks to its funny writing and charm. Now, Gearbox is taking a ??????????????????????????crack at the spin-off with a new game.

Announced during PAX East 2022, there's a new Tales from the Borderlands g??ame on? the way from Gearbox Software and publisher 2K. It's coming out this year, surprisingly.

//twitter.com/Borderlands/status/15172285602720??03072

As the official tweet says, more details will be shared this summer �presumably at Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest. There's little to go on other than name recognition, but according to 2K, the game will star "new characters" and tell "new stories."

While the Telltale that came up with the original Tales from the Borderlands is no more, we have seen the company name �and certain series like The Wolf Among Us �live on.

In this case, 2022's Tales from the Borderlands game is developed internally at Gearbox Software, so while it will hopefully still capture what made the first game great, there are no guarantees it'll be another fan-favorite standout. That said, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands turned out better than expected, so there's some small hope it can win me over.

Honestly, no matter who's developing it �or writing it, or voicing it �expectations would be high. For me, it was one of those lightning-in-a-bottle moments. If you never got around to playing Borderlands 3, it's worth mentioning that Tales protagonist Rhys made a fairly significant appearance in the main story as the CEO of Atlas. So, Gearbox picking up Tales from the Borderlands in-house isn't completely out of left field.

Between the main series, side projects, and the movie, Borderlands is busy earnin'. Of all the upcoming proje?cts, though, this is the one I want to turn out the?? best.

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Nothin' like an endless scroll of names

This post contains mild spoilers for the end-credits sequences of Marvel's Spider-Man, Portal 2, and Tales from the Borderlands. If you still want to play these games and be surprised, maybe come back to this one later.

After the last ten years, Marvel has really conditioned us to sit all the way through the end credits of their movies. There is something fun about the anticipation that sinks in as you sit through the 10+ minutes of scrolling names, waiting for one last tidbit before the lights come up. Post-credits scenes are certainly a thing in games (the irony that Marvel's Spider-Man has one is not lost on me), but maybe there's some wasted potential? there considering most of them don't ?employ this same strategy.

When ?you don't have the promise of extra content at the end of something, do you ever sit through the credits anyway? Because I certainly do.

[caption id="attachment_305471" align="alignnone" width="2375"] _{[Image Source: WIRED]}[/caption]A lot of the time, I like to think that I do it out of respect. Making games is a tremendously difficult feat to accomplish, so I usually will sit through the credits and read the names because I want to. One of the most moving moments of my career thus far was seeing my name in the credits of a game for the first time, so maybe it's just my own wishful thinking that someone saw my name nestled in there with the other Q?A testers and was proud of me for a moment, too. Sometimes it's just fun to sit there, read someone's name, and say to yourself, "I don't know who you are, John Doe, but I appreciate the work you did on this t?hing I enjoyed." It's kind of weird, but I do it anyway.

Sometimes, developers go out of their way to make credits a lot of fun. Tales from the Borderlands is a great one, mostly because I love licensed music in games, and that use of "My Silver Lining" by First Aid Kit was iconic. It really felt like it brought the whole journey together, you know? I also love Portal 2's credits �that turret o?pera and GLaDOS' song were such a fun way to end one of the most hilarious games I've ever played.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVVZaZ8yO6o

Other times, sitting through credits can be a really cathartic thing too, especially if the game was emotionally moving. A prime example of this is the end of the first Last of Us game. That final moment is so poignant and heavy, you kind of have to take a minute to recover, and the credits can help ??with that.

So, do you usually sit through the end credits of games? What is your favorite end credits sequence you've seen in a game? Let's discuss belo??w.

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Finding family in unlikely places

Video games have always been a way to escape, but recently, they've become my favorite way to leave everything b?ehind for a while. That interactivity is pretty strong stuff, because of late I find myself much more immersed in game narratives than those of other media. I'm t?hankful for the distraction �these days, I really seem to need it.

Like everyone else, I've had a rough go of it the last year or so. Every part of my life went through some really significant changes, and many of them for the worse. It's kind of ironic that games were both the catalyst for that change �my desire to work in the games industry got me to move? across the country and confront my own rose-colored ideals �and now what I use to help me cope with it.

This Thanksgiving is causing me to get a bit more introspective than usual, I find, because I'm spending it away from my family. My family has always prioritized spending the holidays together, but recently, thi?ngs have shifted, and circumstances have changed. I find myself feeling somewhat alone, because well, I am. My house is not bustling with familiar voices and the smells of delicious food cooking. It's just me, my cats, and my delivered meal from a restaurant I've eaten from twice already this week, and I can't help but acknowledge the contrast.

So how do video games fall into this depressing mix? Well, they??'ve actually helped me remember what I'm most thankful for �the people in my life who may not be my biological family, but make up almost the entirety of my support system.

I think back to games that I've played that are special to me because of the relationships they depict �The Last of Us, Tales from the Borderlands, Life is Strange: True Colors, and Stardew Valley come to mind most immediately. These games all depict a version of characters finding solace in the relationships they create with people who were once strangers over the course of ?their respective runtimes. Not only are their storylines so moving and comforting to me, bu??t the act of playing these games versus reading or watching them made me feel all the more endeared to these characters.

For a long time, I used these fictional relationships to make up for something I felt I lacked in my real life. I'm such a sucker for found family stories, and now I'm realizing it's because my found family is ??one of the things I value most in my life.

I also appreciate games because my relationship to them in the real world is what helped me craft those relationships with others. The people who are now cl?osest to me are the people I met at my various jobs within the industry, or even the people I met while playing multiplayer games online. I even went to one of my online friends' weddings a few years ago, with that day being the first time (and as of now the only time) we ever saw each other in real person. It's a silly thing, but I can't help but be grateful for games that I have loved and played in the past for existing, because without them I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't have these people.

So I may not be back home with my family, but I have my Friendsgiving to go to this weekend. And you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm going to be jumping online to wish my Call of Duty friends a happy Thanksgiving.

For me, the most difficult part of ??becoming an adult was how much everything changed, but if I can find happiness in these fictional stories, I can find them without a controller in my hand, too. And at least I know that no matter how tough things get, my favorite games will be there waiting for me, just as I remember them.

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

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The best-written Borderlands game

I can't stress enough how good Tales from the Borderlands is. It made the number one spot on my personal game? of the year list for 2015. It's probably the most densely comedic Borderlands ??game and one of the most sharply written Telltale games. As a fan of both, I was immensely impressed.

For any who eschewed the series as episodes released digitally, there's a disc-based version out today on PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The computer version costs $20 while th??e console discs run $30.

Telltale and Gearbox released the video below to show off the physical release, though it does c??ontain some of the funnier moments. Rest assured, there are more like it in t?he full game, but if you want to go in cold you can skip the video.

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Hand me some Jack

Maybe Activision's new Tony Hawk game should be called Boarder Lands. A little bit of piggybacking, like when they named the newest Call of Duty after the Nintendo handheld classic Advanced Wars. 

Taking a break from hyping up its upcoming (apparently sooner than expected) Game of Thrones game. which we haven't seen even a screenshot of, Telltale has gone ahead and done up a Tales from the Borderlands trailer.

New Nolan North, Troy Baker, stars as a Handsome Jack wannabe Rhys opposite Laura Bailey (recently Fetch in Second Son) as Fiona. 

The first episode, "Zero Sum," is also coming soon. Presumably sooner than Game of Thrones as they've finally let us look at it. It'll run you $20 for the season (or $5 per episode) on PS3, PS4, 360, One and $25 on PC/Mac. And it's coming to iOS and ??Android before 2014 ends, so they're not kidding about it coming soon. 

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Hands off with Rhys in Episode One

Since its reveal at last year's VGX show, information on Tales from the Borderlands has been trickling out. With a launch planned for this fall, the Telltale adventure game set in Gearbox's kooky shooter universe is finally ready to show. At E3, Telltale is doing hands-off demonstrations of the first episode, focusing on one of the two pr??otagonists, Rhys.

In the first episode, we begin to learn a bit about Rhys, including his motivations for embarking on adventure, how his control of a Hyperion Loader Bot comes into play, and what the deal is with his heterochromia iridum. Spoiler: it's probably not genetic.

Episode One begins with a mysterious figure wearing a metal paddy hat and what looks like a Conference Call shotgun calling the two main characters together unbeknownst to one another, in order to finish what they had started a year before. Rhys and ?Fiona are refusing to work with one another and reluctant to explain why, calling it a long story. With a bit of menacing thre??at of bodily harm, the two are convinced to go into detail, and each tells a slightly different story of the events that led to their current situation.

The rest of the showing is a flashback from Rhys's point of view, beginning on the Hyperion moon base shortly after Handsome Jack's death. The Hyperion Corporation went int??o turmoil near the top, with a man named Hugo Sanchez taking the reins as the new head of the company. In a meeting inten?ded to gloat about his rise to power, Sanchez shows signs of weakness when an unexpected call comes in. He furiously brings up something on his computer, out of Rhys's vision.

This is where Rhys's blue eye comes into play. In addition to his robot arm, he also has a cybernetic eye that lets him perceive information that he otherwise would not be able to, and in greater detail at that. It acts a bit like the Terminator's vision, displaying useful information alongside objects. Rhys uses it to see that Sanchez is trying to buy a Vault ?Key, but does not have the money available.

Rhys, along with his friends Vaughn and Yvette, plan to snatch the Vault Key sale before Sanchez can get it, so Rhys and Vaughn travel down to Pandora. Once there, the two inevitably get into a fight with bandits, and Rhys must contact Yvette to call down a Hyperion Loader Bot for support. T?he Loader Bot? has a few options to it, where the player can choose what sorts of armor and weapons it sports. This appears to have a part in how the firefights play out.

Once Rhys makes it to the deal, it goes south, and the seller refuses to complete the transaction. In a scuffle, Rhys rips the man's heart out and makes a CSI-level pun, befo?re cutting back to present day, where Fiona accuses Rhys of bending the truth a bit. She says that he left out the most important part, and the player gets to choose what that part is. The repercussions of that choice look like they could be felt throughout the series.

So in all, it looks very Telltale in the sense that your choices matter, but it also feels very Borderlands as well, with loot, jokes, and explosions. The series will f?ocus on retelling events from the viewpoints of both Rhys and Fiona, and it will be up to the player to decide just how things actually happened.

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Starring Nolan North as -- every minion or goon ever

If you listen closely, you can hear Nolan North and Steve Blum as every thug in the three Batman: Arkham games. ??He's also the Penguin. He might be your brother. He's in ev?erything.

So it's no surprise that he will be joining the cast of Telltale's Tales from the Borderlands, along with Chris Hardwick, Sam Witwer, and Patrick "Kronk" Warburton. Now all we need is confirmation of Troy Baker and Tales from the Borderlands can be labeled as "a legit videogame."

Chri?s Hardwick Joins the Cast of Tales From the Borderlands [Nerdist]

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More details on the Telltale and Gearbox mashup

Telltale and Gearbox are talking Tales from the Borderlands at their SXSW panel. From the alcohol fueled conception (just like most of us) to talking protagonists, this lengthy chat?? has it all. Which is good because the episodic adventure is coming out this year.

You'll play as the two characters shown off in the reveal trailer, con artist Fiona and Hyperion man/Handsome Jack-alike Rhys. Because both characters are recalling Tales from the Borderlands ?in alternating flashbacks, you'll quickly find both ?narrators to be unreliable.

"You never really play what actually happened, you're playing this Big Fish version of what happened," Telltale's Kevin Bruner explained. Telltale's Harrison Pink explained that, like The Walking Dead, you're constantly choosing between awful options in Pandora's amoral frontier. The team is trying to preserve Borderlands' sense of action -- just in a Telltale way, probably more punctuated. Similarly, Telltale is able to go back to its comedic roots, which The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us were lighter on than Borderlands' zany world.

I'm behind on season 2 of The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us, so I'll likely be playing sporadic catch up up until Tales from the Borderlands' release, but I'm still fairly excited for it, even if I never finished Borderlands 2.

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Gearbox and Telltale to host

Are you going to SXSW next month? Then you should make it out to Telltale's and Gearbox's panel as they're going to reveal the very first details on Tales from the Borderlands, the??ir recently announced team-up title. Gearbox bos?s Randy Pitchford, our old friend Anthony Burch, and director Matthew Armstrong will be there, as will Telltale's Kevin Bruner and Harrison Pink.

The whole shebang will be narrated by The Nerdist Network's Kumail N??anjiani and Emily V. ??Gordon. 

The panel is scheduled for Saturday, ???March 8 at 5:30 p.m., on the Geek Stage.

See you there?

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