BEYOND THE BORDER

Seven years have passed since the release of Borderlands 2, with the team at Gearbox constantly teasing that they’d like to see the series return. And now it’s back – we’ve played three hours of Borderlands 3 completely unfettered, and seen the beginning. At a glance it looks a lot like the previous games in the series. But that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’s the best thing.

Borderlands 3 has the unique cel-shaded look of its forebears, but it looks incredibly crisp running on the newer hardware. Mechanically, you’re doing what you were doing before: looting the massive number of crates for money, ammo, and ridiculous guns; and using that very same wacky weaponry to shoot hordes of bizarre enemies. But, like the visuals, the action’s been given a fresh go-over.

BIG MOMENT

For Borderland 3’s creative director Paul Sage, the core of