The main reason I was drawn to Battleborn was due to some of the similarities it had to the Borderlands series. There are very few game series that I can say I truly love and could never tire of, with one of those being Borderlands. Like any die-hard Borderlands fan, I was automatically intrigued by Battleborn and had the hope that it would be very similar in regards to gameplay and graphics.
Battleborn features a very futuristic storyline that takes place on Solus where all of the civilizations have gathered to take down the evil Varelsi. There are 25 heroes to help protect the universe's very last star with each one having their own specific talents, weapons and perks. Gamers have to complete various tasks in order to unlock the different playable characters, and it can be a grueling and difficult process.
There are five factions in Battleborn:
- The Peacekeepers are sworn protectors of Solus.
- The Eldrid are preservers of the natural order of the universe.
- The Rogues are mercenaries only concerned with their own survival.
- The Last Light Consortium (LLC) are war profiteers, exploiting others for their own gain.
- The Jennerit Empire rule others by force, valuing power above all else.
When Battleborn first booted up, the animation scenes almost seemed like an old Saturday morning cartoon, the visuals were brightly colored accompanied by an energetic soundtrack to get you pumped for the show to come.
After the energetic opening passes, you soon realize that there isn't much left in regards to story, and learning the art of balancing your character is all that truly matters in the end. There are two methods of gameplay in Battleborn consisting of the campaign and the versus mode. You can venture into the story mode alone or go on the adventure with others through online play. My recommendation after hours of dying in the solo campaign is to do it with a team. For example, I played the first chapter of the campaign solo and it took about an hour and a half to beat. However, when playing the same chapter online, it only took a mere 30 minutes or less to finish.
The most annoying aspect of Battleborn’s campaign is that there are no checkpoints. This means that if you play for an hour and die at the very last of the chapter--then all of your progress is for nothing (well besides leveling up). As you progress, then you can level up and unlock new abilities and characters, but this seems to take forever and a day. When I have time to play a game (when not being a mom to two teenagers and working a 40+ hour week as a PR Manager) then I want every minute to count, because I don‘t have a ton of time to spare. For the normal person, there just isn’t the time in a day to replay the same level (especially eight of them) a dozen times to progress throughout the campaign. On the other hand, I am not naive, and I know that every game isn’t there to cater to all gamers and audiences. Battleborn is a MOBA-like shooter that has a very unique gameplay style all its own--this takes some getting used to--which means that it requires players to put in a lot more time to master.
Battleborn really shines is in its multiplayer portion--where 10 players can play online in 5 versus 5 matches in three (Incursion, Capture, and Meltdown) different game modes. My favorite game mode was Meltdown where you must guide your minions to the center of the map and throw them in the incinerator to gain points. While with Incursion, gamers must defend their base from hordes of incoming AI enemies, or face off in a death match through capturing and holding objectives in Capture.
There is a persistent progression system in Battleborn where you can level your individual heroes up to the rank of 10 and increase your player profile with the command rank. This system allows you to swap out augments in the helix tree, unlock skins & badges, and gain impressive new loot. So with all of that being said, Battleborn contains infinite possibilities for replay giving users more gameplay for their buck.
In the end, Battleborn turned out to be a pretty fun game--despite its ridiculously hard gameplay and lackluster story. The game’s non-stop action combined with the brightly colored visuals can give you a pounding headache, but once you learn how to mange this new style of gameplay, then you can explore and experience quite the adventure. Battleborn doesn’t have the charm and allure of Borderlands but makes for a great interlude before the big show that everyone is waiting for--Borderlands 3. To learn more, visit the official Battleborn website.
Reviewed for PS4