So I think at this point most people who are looking into buying this game knows what the Borderlands games are, so I'm not going to explain all the little details about the game as a whole if you are looking to get into the Borderlands game series I'd say start with Borderlands 2 or 3 but if you are already a fan of the games and are wondering if this one is worth it then I think I can help with that!
Starting off with the story, while the Borderlands games aren't really known for good writing I think Pre-Sequel can stand on its own pretty well and does get a few laughs out of me every now and again but it's not a cinematic masterpiece by any means. It's great to hear more from Jack as Dameon Clarke did a great job voicing him, as he did in 2, and the banter from the vault hunters and other NPCs' is fairly charming and quite funny at times, The motive and descent into madness are fine but not overly focused on with is a bit of a shame as the whole point of this game is to be a Pre-Sequel to Borderlands 2, with Jacks descent into insanity feeling somewhat forced at times, but overall I can still say I somewhat like the story, though I guess as long as it's somewhat amusing I don't really mind the holes in it.
The gameplay is fairly good, Heck I even think it's a step above 2 at times! The Vault Hunters have more to their skill trees and more interesting abilities to boot with the DLC Characters in mind you have a diverse cast of characters to choose from, Athena the Gladiator a tanky and melee focused Character, Nisha the Lawbringer a high damage gunslinger, Wilhelm the Enforcer an allrounder Summoner type, and...Fragtrap, And the two DLC Characters are, Jack the Doppelganger a different flavor of Summoner that's made to look and sound like Jack And Aurelia the Baroness a cold-hearted hunter that does high damage at far ranges, with an ensemble like this it makes replaying the game a lot of fun and its even more fun with friends. The quest design however can be a bit lacking as most side quests lack diversity and while the main quests are fun the bosses leave something to be desired. The biggest disappointment was with legendary weapons, legendary weapons make up a huge part of what makes the Borderlands games so fun, and in this game, there is just a lack of spawn locations which makes the whole game feel a bit hollow as instead of killing a boss and getting some sweet loot you mostly just get Moonstone and some nothing weapons. The late game as a whole is lacking for the former reason and there's just not any real endgame content outside of New Game Plus which I'm not counting here while it's a big part of the Borderlands games it would be nice to have something else to do post ending besides killing one raid boss and finishing up all the side quests you missed.
The Graphics are pretty good, and a lot of the areas are well-lit with funky colors which makes them pop out more, everything has that signature cell-shaded look which helps it still look good 9 years later, and the general art direction is fairly decent, the weapons look great, even though the iron sights suck, the environment is often times gorgeous with some of my favorite areas being the nice reds and light blues of the early game, the fake industrial lighting of the Hyperion space station and the deep purple of the later game areas, really I think they knocked it out of the park on the visual design!
The music is kind of forgettable...that is all, hell as I was writing this I had to go back and write that the music exists I guess, nothing groundbreaking.
And Finally the DLC, ill keep it short. I've already talked about the DLC characters and I do really like them, it is just the other three that I think are...subpar. I won't add to the negative reviews on The Holodome Onslaught as I think it's fineish just a waste of money to buy it really as it doesn't add much and the 10 extra levels are incidental at best, I haven't and won't get the Shock Drop Slaughter Pit...I just won't. Finally, the Claptastic Voyage is fine, not great, and not terrible, if you can get it on sale then I'd say do so as the environments are still really cool, the ending is cathartic and the glitched weapons are pretty neat but that's about it really as the story is pretty bland overall the Claptrap is well... Claptrap so I guess buy at your own risk.
My closing thoughts even though my review isn't the most positive in the world is still one of my favorites Borderlands games as I think what it brings to the table is fairly unique looking at the franchise as a whole however I do understand why some people do not like or even hate this game as its nothing outstanding and it came after that titan that is Borderlands 2. Overall I can recommend this game but if you are still a bit iffy about it then I'd say if you want to play it wait on a sale first and get some friends together, just make sure to bully whoever plays Claptrap.
