Tiny Tina's Wonderlands
Review
Rolling the Dice
by William Thompson
reviewed on PC
Design your own character
I was an hour into Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands and had not yet shot a weapon in anger, the character customization keeping me entertained during all that time. Although Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands borrows much (probably too much) from the Borderlands series, it has changed up the beginning by allowing players to create their own character instead of selecting from one of the pre-made Vault Hunters. Players firstly get the opportunity to design their character aesthetics, and then in true Dungeons and Dragons fashion choose a class for their avatar.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands has players selecting one of the six character classes, allocating points toward starting attributes and then moving through the Wonderlands as directed by the dungeon master Tiny Tina. Set in the medieval Wonderlands, our hero must defend the city of Brighthoof, save Queen Butt Stallion and defeat the evil Dragon Lord. It is a simple story, but after all, it does come from the mind of thirteen-year-old Tiny Tina.
The game takes place within two distinct areas – the Overworld, which plays out like a tabletop game where the player moves their avatar from one location to the next, and the Wonderlands themselves, where players control their avatar in the first-person shooter style that we’ve come to expect from a Borderlands title.
Under a spell
Like other Borderlands titles, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands has a plethora of weapons at a player’s disposal. They can be looted from fallen foes, founds in loot boxes or collected upon completing quests. Being that the Wonderlands has a medieval theme, the guns have been given a steampunk makeover, with many shooting out arrow bolts rather than the traditional bullets. The guns feel like they’ve been nerfed somewhat, but this is probably to allow players to make better use of the melee weapons (swords, axes, claymores etc) and the magical spells.
These spells have a range of effects and determining the best time to use them can take a bit of practice. Unlike other magic based RPG’s where mana is spent when casting spells, Wonderlands employs a cool-down function for each. A player’s attributes and class can affect the timing, as can rings and amulets that a player is wearing. As well as a Ward (or shield), players can collect and equip two rings (although one slot is locked until later in the game) and an amulet. And like the magical spells, each will perform differently depending on the class selected.
Losing your marbles
If you’re a fan of in-game collectibles, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands has you covered. As mentioned earlier, players start off by designing their character, but along the way new options for clothing, banners, armour colour and styles, tattoos, emotes and poses can be looted from destroyed enemies. Also scattered across the Wonderlands are D&D style 20 -sided dice, Lore Scrolls, and special marbles. Whilst the latter two don’t provide for much other than some back stories, the dice does spew out several objects. However, I did find that the rewards provided were generally of a lower quality than those I could scavenge off fallen enemies. In a way, it lessens the requirement for exploration.
However, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands has countered this by designing the main quest line so that players require (or suggest) a higher level to complete the next mission. As a result, players are somewhat forced to complete some of the numerous side quests in order to grind up to the suggested level or risk being overpowered by higher level enemies. The side quests can be gained from talking to special NPC’s or collected from the numerous Bounty Boards positioned in each town. The side quests are varied enough to keep things interesting, but it is the Borderlands signature humour in the storylines that had me chuckling to myself as I was playing.
Areas are generally smaller than Borderlands games, and so player will travel everywhere on foot, or via selected fast-travel stations once they’ve been unlocked. In Borderlands titles, players have required the use of vehicles to journey across the sprawling maps, but for the most part, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands keeps players in a relatively confined playing area. This further encourages exploration, as anywhere you go is not too far from the main storyline. Sure, many of the side-quests will have you travelling back and forth across a well beaten track, but the map size doesn’t seem as daunting for those travelling everywhere on foot.
Tributes galore
Although Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands has a more medieval feel, it definitely looks like a Borderlands title. Indeed, much of the visual assets have just been borrowed or re-skinned from past titles. Whether this has been borne from laziness on behalf of the developers, I’m not sure, but Borderlands fans will immediately feel a sense of comfort within the locations. Each of the locations within the Wonderlands has its own theme, with the pirate themed area of Wargtooth Shallows my favourite to visit. The developers have included homages to other video games, and the nod to Monkey Island had me reminiscing of the classic Insult Sword Fighting scene. Indeed, the game is littered with hilarious pop culture references, with some even relating to the voice acting cast themselves.
The voice actors do a tremendous job of keeping the mood upbeat and comical. Will Arnett sets the tone with his role of the evil Dragon Lord, whilst the unique sound of Wanda Sykes as robotic Frette tries to keep everything in some semblance of order. Andy Samberg has been perfectly cast as the bumbling, yet dashing Valentine, although his accent masks some of Samberg’s natural comedic flair. Along with Ashly Burch’s return as the titular Tina, the banter between the main characters livens up the story as players journey through the medieval setting.
If you’re a fan of Borderlands, then playing Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands will be a no-brainer. The main storyline does feel shorter than previous Borderlands games, and this is probably indicated by the fact that players top out at level 40. Gamers will still get in excess of 20 hours gameplay for a single character, but the fact that players have six classes to try out and loads of exploration means that this can be multiplied. The humorous banter between characters keeps the mood light as do the vibrant colours in the wonderfully designed medieval lands. The spellcraft fits in wonderfully well within the setting and accentuates the enjoyment of the gunplay and all the looting that is customary for a Borderlands title. Dungeons and Dragon (Lords) has never been so much fun.
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8.9
fun score
Pros
New gameplay mechanics and locations, superb voice acting
Cons
Is it worth paying full price for more of the same
