Tiny Tina's Wonderlands
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands is an action role-playing first-person shooter video game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games. It is a spin-off in the "Borderlands" series. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in March 2022. Gameplay. Similar to its predecessors, the game is a first-person shooter with elements of an action role-playing game. The game can be played solo or with up to three other players in online or local split-screen multiplayer. The game  is set within the world of a fantasy-themed tabletop role-playing game. The game features an overworld, which is used by the playable characters to traverse the various locations in the game. There are random combat encounters and quests that can only be completed in the overworld. "Tiny Tina's Wonderlands" builds upon the standards set by the "Borderlands" franchise that it originated from while also differing in several key aspects. In terms of the characters themselves rather than playing as a specific vault hunter, with their own personality and voice lines, players instead play as a custom made  character using the games character creator system. The game features six different character classes, and for the first time in the series, players can mix and match these skills for their characters. The playable avatars have stats that can be upgraded using "hero points". Players have a large arsenal of weapons and firearms at their disposal, and for the first time in the series, players can wield melee weapons. The game features the same procedurally generated loot system from the "Borderlands" series that is capable of generating numerous combinations of weapons and other gear. The game also features new types  of gear for the players to use to improve their strength. Melee weapons have their own 5th weapon slot to encourage the player to fight up close. Grenades, which have been a franchise staple, have been replaced with a spell slot on a cooldown. Players can cast spells such as summoning meteors, or transforming enemies into sheep. Lastly in terms of new equipment are two ring slots, and an amulet slot to further increase the power of the character. Story. Set before "Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep", the campaign is set within the world of a fantasy-themed  tabletop role-playing game named "Bunkers & Badasses". Tiny Tina (Ashly Burch) is its dungeon master and can change the game's world on the fly. The story starts with Valentine (Andy Samberg), Frette (Wanda Sykes), and the player, known as The Newbie, about to defeat the Dragon Lord, (Will Arnett). The Dragon Lord then uses his magic to raise the undead, but is stopped by Butt Stallion, wielding the Sword of Souls. The Dragon Lord is then imprisoned for centuries, and then the game begins anew, this time with the Newbie being "The Fatemaker". The Fatemaker goes through the starting  area with the help of Butt Stallion as their guide. They are then stopped by a gang of skeletons and their leader, who has plans to awaken The Dragon Lord, who was banished in a crypt hidden in a dungeon. Despite defeating the skeleton leader, The Dragon Lord is awakened, and disappears. The player then goes to Brighthoof, which is under siege by skeletons brought by The Dragon Lord. After defeating the rest of the skeleton army the Player is tasked by Queen Butt Stallion to retrieve the Sword of Souls from the nearby graveyard. The Player (aided by Queen  Butt Stallion) storms the graveyard and retrieves the Sword of Souls. After charging it up with the soul of The Dragon Lord’s poltergeist ally, the Player returns to Brighthoof and places the sword into the central fountain repairing the town. For their efforts the Queen decides to make the Player an official Knight of Brighthoof. Before she is able to, The Dragon Lord himself appears and steals the Sword of Souls, using it to decapitate Queen Butt Stallion. He disappeares, taking the Sword and Queen Butt Stallion’s head back to his base, The Fear-amid. The Player is  tasked to cross the ocean on a ship and stop the Dragon Lord before he uses the Sword’s power to destroy the Wonderlands. Before they can cross the Player is told to get their boat blessed by a bard or risk getting killed by an ocean monster. After finding a bard (Chris Rager), the bard dispels the bad vibes surrounding the player (Valentine and Frette’s arguing over how to play the game). Unfortunately the spell works too well and instead unleashes an explosion that destroys the ocean, forcing the Player to cross on foot instead. While crossing several  dangerous locations, The Dragon Lord secretly talks to the Player revealing that he has become fully aware that Wonderlands is just a game. He further reveals that his real plan is to harvest a massive amount of soul energy to use the Sword of Souls to sever Tina’s control over the Wonderlands as he views her as insecure and quick to anger, which is fully confirmed throughout the journey. Before entering the Fear-amid, the Dragon Lord shows the Player his backstory. That he was originally Tina’s personal character when she was first introduced to Bunkers and Badasses  by Roland (Markus Lloyd). However, after she improperly used the Sword of Souls to wipe out all evil, this caused her character to turn evil which angered Tina. She swore to only play as Bunker Master from then on, creating a world where only heroes win and the Dragon Lord, as a reoccurring villain, always loses. When the Dragon Lord realized his actions weren’t his own, he swore vengeance on Tina. After entering the Fear-amid and successfully defeating the Dragon Lord, the Player is encouraged by Tina, Valentine, and Frette to use the Sword of Souls improperly again . However the Player decides to use the Sword to fully revive Queen Butt Stallion and neutralize the Dragon Lord instead of killing him. Valentine, Frette and the Newbie had so much fun playing Tina’s adventure that they decide to continue playing. The Player is made an official Knight of Brighthoof, while the Dragon Lord is sentenced to 200 years of imprisonment for his crimes. The Player then gains access to an infinite dungeon mode ran by the Dragon Lord called the Chaos Chamber. Development. "Tiny Tina's Wonderlands" was developed by Gearbox Software with support from Lost Boys Interactive . According to Gearbox founder Randy Pitchford, the studio has been planning to release a fantasy spin-off of the series since the early 2010s, and it had unsuccessfully pitched several fantasy projects to publishers during the early days of the studio. The game's overworld system was inspired by Japanese role-playing games such as the "Final Fantasy" series. Gearbox intentionally designed five maps that can only be accessed through the overworld. These maps feature their own narrative threads that are also connected to the main story. Ashly Burch returned to provide her voice for Tiny Tina, while Andy Samberg , Will Arnett and Wanda Sykes portrayed other main characters in the game. Despite Embracer Group's acquisition of Gearbox Software in 2020, the studio continued to partner with series publisher 2K Games. The game was officially announced by 2K on June 10, 2021. It is set to be released on March 25, 2022 for Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and Series S. The PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions will include the Dragon Lord Pack downloadable content. Players who pre-ordered the game would gain access to the Golden Hero Armor  Pack. "Tiny Tina's Wonderlands" is the first game in the "Borderlands" franchise to feature full crossplay between PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. Although "Borderlands 3" did feature crossplay, the feature was limited in the platforms that could play together. Ahead of "Wonderlands"s release, Gearbox made the "Borderlands 2" DLC "Assault on Dragon Keep" available as a standalone game "Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-Shot Adventure", released on November 8, 2021 for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Post-release. Although limited information is known about the plans for post-launch content a brief synopsis of  season pass one has been revealed. Players can expect a new endgame content named the Mirrors of Mystery featuring constantly increasing difficulty on repeat playthroughs as well as a yet to be announced 7th class. Reception. "Tiny Tina's Wonderlands" received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Reviewers praised the game's new dynamic environments, gameplay, humor and voice acting but felt that many of the problems present in "Borderlands 3" were also present in this game. "EGM" criticized the game's meaningless reward system, lack of resemblance to an actual tabletop role-playing experience, and quality of  life issues, but commended the build customization and fantastical subclasses, claiming that "Tiny Tina's Wonderlands" had "...the best FPS action in the series so far." "Game Informer" wrote highly of the game, praising the voice acting, dialogue, story scenarios, flow, humor, fantasy elements, and gunplay, stating, ""Tiny Tina's Wonderlands" is Gearbox Software's best game." "GameSpot" praised the fantasy environments, gameplay variety, and the Chaos Chamber mode while lamenting its tonally disjointed key moments, overabundance of exposition, UI, and quest structure. While "GamesRadar+" lauded the cast, humor, and gunplay, they criticized the game's repetitive nature and its  inability to retain the player's engagement. "Hardcore Gamer" stated that the "Wonderlands" humor was a marked improvement over that of "Borderlands 3" and heavily praised the ability to combine classes. "IGN" noted that while the game's premise felt safe, it still had excellent writing and voice acting, writing, "The excellent laugh-out-loud writing is elevated by one of the strongest comedy casts of any game." "PC Gamer" similarly praised the game's tone and comedy while acknowledging that the quality of the game was a result of how the "Borderlands" formula had been honed over the years . "PCGamesN" gave the game an 8 out of 10, writing, "Still recognisably "Borderlands", but the sense of place and improvisation elevates "Tiny Tina's Wonderlands" beyond expectations. The overworld map feels tacked-on, but Gearbox commits to the bit in every other aspect." "Shacknews" found merit in the game's character building options, humor, art style, and usage of "Dungeons & Dragons" tropes and mechanics.