I used to love Borderlands...

Then they locked characters behind expensive DLC. So I started waiting for the "everything" editions, but then it made sense to just wait for big sales...

And eventually not caring about the franchise.

Its like Crusader Kings or Sims. It's better than annual releases that don't really change, but the DLC structure turns people away from the entire game. Even if you wait for a sale, all the "new" DLC stays expensive.

So people put off buying anything till they just don't care.

Okay. And...?

Alright alright, I want to wrap a negative comment back to a point. All other comments in this thread are going to be moping huffy attitude towards Gearbox being jerks, Borderlands sucking now, etc. No disagreement, but also: What is the point? I just came back from PAX East, looking at a good dozen indie game devs eagerly seeking their next source of attention. And here people are filling the front page with junk about games they don't like getting railed?

New plan! Whoever's reading this: Post about a cool-looking game you've heard about that you'd like to see get positive impressions! Don't just let Borderlands get negative attention - let it sink.

For context, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion came out about 20 years ago in 2006, most notable for its controversial "Horse Armor" DLC, which added armour to horses and was mostly lampooned for being unnecessary. That game also featured a $30 DLC called "Shivering Isles" which added about 5-6 hours of gameplay across a huge island. Most of the time was spent running from place to place as it was way too big, but gamers loved it, and rightly so. You're working for the god of (literally) madness, who is at war with (minor spoiler) himself, and you're to be his pawn, whether you like it or not. (Shivering Isles is included in the Oblivion remake that came out a couple years ago.)

I never thought Borderlands games were all that good, personally. The first one was a lot of fun, but it seemed like most people wanted to be either fake Roland (the soldier who could drop a shielded turret) or Lilith (the alien power infused Siren who could phase in and out of reality), and either way you were gonna have a good time. Then there was actual Roland, as in Roland Deschain from Stephen King's Dark Tower series, only he was called something else ("because 'Roland' was already taken! get it? he he") and some other character we didn't care about. I liked those choices. The choices felt weaker all around in Borderlands 2 (I went with the Mechromancer, the little girl who could summon the mech, because she was cool) but the stakes and difficulty were higher, with obtuse areas with more obtuse maps. And the story held my interest much less. Rather than treasure hunters and a back story with corporate greed, we're still treasure hunters, but now we gotta save the treasure hunters from the first game for some reason. I never played 3 or Pre-Sequel (wherever that fits), but I tried BL4 on GamePass, and it just felt soulless? But I only played the first area.

I feel like these games are best bought on sale at deep discount. I couldn't tell you what I'd do differently with the newer ones but to gesture wildly at the first one. Either the first one got it right and the rest failed to do that, or the series is a one trick pony and they never should have made sequels. I'm open to that possibility, but I don't like defeatism. I think there was something BL2 could have done better, I just can't figure it out.

I get how that can be a hard sell at $30. I did buy the deluxe edition of the game, so I've got this in my account, but I haven't played the DLC yet because my co-op partner doesn't have it. You can make an argument that the new character class bundled with it makes it worth it, if you're in the market to replay the game again with a new play style, but that's only going to appeal to so many people. I did have a great time with the game, and I will be checking out the DLC sooner or later. I would recommend it on a sale, if nothing else, especially since a few years down the line, whatever your new PC is will be able to brute force its way paced the unfortunately high system requirements. The game still excels in combat design, character class design, and encounter design. They made a really good looter shooter, and unlike most of its contemporaries, they actually let you own it without always-online bullshit.