Even in the original, Claptrap was an annoying little robot gag that frequently rattled ꦕon with useless banter. Weapon descriptions were pretty funny at times, but more or less could have been written by Gearbox's Randy Pitchford himself. Then there’s the overall zaniness of the entire series. The franchise continues to lean more into this immature, irreverent comedy that may have been hilarious to pl꧟ayers when they were children.
But now, with Borderlands 3, the ♓wacky and over-the-top satire 🔯is getting old.
An Unfunny Industry
Pulling off comedy in videogames isn’t an easy task. The few games that🅺 do it right might include Grand Theft Auto and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Saints Row, though many would beg to differ.
is another contender that more or less tries to be funny, yet fails. This problem has a lot to do with writing and overall tone. How does a game pull off something comical while sti𝓰ll implementing serious tones into the game? It boils down to a trend of forced com🦂edy, which is often cringe-worthy rather than humorous. Simply put: video game comedy is bad.
This is where Borderlands comes into the frꦓay. At times, the games can have funny moments. But that humor is clouded with a kind of Pitchford-esque weirdness that doesn’t reach the❀ audience as intended. Take, for instance, Borderlands 3 and its many pitfalls. As James Davenport says in ♈his (a lowly 63 out of 100):
"Borderlands 3 walks by dog poop, points at it, and laughs, and then sets it on fire. Borderlands 3 stays up until 11:30 pm drinking soda and goog♊ling crass Flash animations, taking detailed notes."
The biggest pitfall, at least for the game's more recent iteration, would have to be the writing. While the marketing campaign m🗹ay have been an absolute riot, the same can’t be said for the actual gameplay. Despite new weapons and characters, the game requires far better comedic writing for a potential sequel. This is one of the reasons Borderlands 4 might be in trouble.
A Satire on Vault Hunting
Many Redditors, like those in this and , have ꦓasked similar questions: “Am I the only one who thinks Borderlands' humor is mostly bad and hurts the game?” Certainly not. Although the first game had its fair share of laughs, this humor wouldn’t become a staple of the series until the sequel. The only thing that made the original humorouꦐ꧃s was Claptrap, who more or less grew into a parody of himself.
While Borderlands 3 is over the top in its approach to comedy. For🐽 example, in-game characters laugh after causing 69 damage to opponent𓄧s, a testament to the game's sensibilities. The or♈iginal Borderlands, on the other hand, didn’t need all of the sixth-grade jokes. It just was good in its unique ♑way. It didn't forcibly attempt humor that, in the end, gets muddled and laughed at (not for being funny, but for trying and failing miserably).
, and even , suffered in similar ways, though was merely try🃏ing to♌ find its footing.
“The first game could get a li𓆉ttle morose, a little monotone, and thꦡe second one could get a little meme-y and silly," said art director Scott Kester in an interview with .
The sequel had its share of TV references that worked well with the story, but now seem forced and stale. Handsome 💫Jack, among the most memorable video game villains🎐, offered a plentitude of hilarity. Yet the character sadly felt forced for the plot.
“What sort of villain just randomly talks to you about naming his horse Butt Stallion, or tells you a story about getting attacked by aᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ man wielding ꧂a spoon?” Sterling Silver asks.
Artistry Over Comedy
One thing that Borderlands does right, however, is the art. With years of irreverent and wacky comedy, Gearbox has failed to see the actual splendor inherent in their games. It🅠’s like playing a comic book. Instead of diving into the foray of satire, Pitchford and company should bear witness to the beautiful reality 𓄧they have engineered. They already have a voice — loud and obnoxious as it may be — but very few games have their own style and artistic perception. Two of the only games that come to mind with similarly self-stylized artwork are merely Minecraft and LSD: Dream Emulator.
As more players turn to Pornhub instead of playing the actual game, 🐽it’s clear there’s some disconnect between developer and audience. Alexander Pan so eloquently relates in an article on :
"While Borderlands 3 has no shortage of laughs (d꧋epending on your mileage since humour is subjective) and comedic bits, it definitely isn’t a 🃏comedy game."
Maybe it’s time for Gearꦕbox to let go of the laughs. With such incredible stories to tell in a world rife with absolute wonder and breathtaking possibilities, why waste it on silly one-liners and half-handed dramatics? Players understand it’s a crazy, zany world out there on Pandora, but they're through with it. Time for them to mature.🥀 And, maybe it will show in Borderlands 4, though all hopes are low.