Fighting wave after wave of interstellar psychos, corporate henchmen, and alien monsters is just a taste of what Borderlands 3 has to offer players. As the fourth entry in the series, 2K and Gearbox Software compile aspects of all past entries into a smorgasbord of violence, guns, and absurd characters.

The Borderlands series has always followed the same ragtag group of fighters, named Vault Hunters, as they hunt alien vaults holding unforetold riches that lay scattered across the galaxy. This entry follows the same theme, but taking the players to many planets instead of just one.

With classic returning characters who are sure to please long time fans, as well as exciting new changes to both the gameplay and plot, new players will surely be in for a treat when venturing into the Borderlands 3 universe.

The story begins right after a cut scene of a bar fight goes wrong. Soon after a pile of dead bodies accumulates, the four heroes stand at a bus stop and wait for the player to choose their class.

The classes let you pick from four vastly different and uniquely colorful characters. Zane is a support/tech class who lets players distract or decimate his enemies with his various gadgets. Amara, a siren, uses magic like powers to dominate the battlefield. The third option can be FL4K, an imposing hunter robot who uses his three different tamed alien wildlife to fight off his foes. Lastly, players can also pick the heavy Moze, a character who uses her massive mechanical suit to cause all sorts of mayhem on alien worlds.

Returning player will notice many new changes to the series. With the added climbing feature, vault hunters can now clamber over most obstacles that stand in their way. This feature is often used for finding collectibles in hard-to-reach places. The newly tweaked skill tree mechanic allows players to reset their spent action points easily so they can evolve their class as they play the game.

Customization has also taken a large leap in this entry. Weapons have trinkets, skins, and secondary fire options, and with the newly changed shade-changing option for classes outfits, players can truly make their class their own.

An issue that still affects this game is awkward NPC interactions. Powerful narrative dialogue is often given in-game, rather than cut scene, which can make for many clunky and puppet like exchanges. This game’s action-packed pacing is thrown off often with the mundane task missions or ping ponging from dialogue exchange to dialogue exchange.

Borderlands 3 shines in all the ways you expect it to with additional details that make for a next generation experience. With zany characters and bizarrely absurd missions, players will have plenty of excuses to dive back into the game longer after the story is over.