Battleborn

Gameplay in Battleborn is the real meat so it needs to engaging and rewarding. I can safely check the engaging box but I feel hesitant to check off rewarding. I have a lot of fun playing Battleborn, something I often take for granted on highly competitive games where progression up the ranks often overtake the experience. Battleborn is certainly competitive but it doesn’t feel stressful like MOBAs. Even when I’m losing I’m still able to put up a fight and have some fun (unless it’s an all-out stomp which have been pretty rare in my experience). Even the campaign is engaging enough for me. True...

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Gearbox Software's latest game is a hilarious good time, but still has a few flaws.

Battleborn ended up stretching itself too thin by trying to include too many modes. If Gearbox had focused on the competitive aspect of the game only, I’m sure Battleborn would’ve ended up being much better. The campaign adds nothing of value to the game but the multiplayer modes are worth playing if you can get a team together. It’s a shame solo players have been completely ignored by Gearbox, otherwise Battleborn may have been worth recommending to people.

Gearbox Software’s smash hit trilogy Borderlands was deliciously more than the sum of its cartoonish, firearms-obsessed parts. Much the same is true of Battleborn, proving beyond reasonable doubt the old adage, ‘It’s not where you take it from, it’s where you take it to.’ Just so long as that place has loads of guns.

Battleborn is a solid title that deserves to be kept an eye on. It's a fast and action packed shooter with a humourous vibe in it. It has some flaws that prevent it from reaching even higher peaks but nothing that few content patches can't fix.

The cast of Battleborn is fantastic; I've enjoyed exploring the ins and outs of characters like the steampunk sniper Marquis and fungal healer Miko, and every time I play I'm focused on earning further access to the unique roster. However, there’s no interesting story for them to take part in, and a lack of interesting stages and multiplayer modes inspiring me to power through the slow unlocking process. I'll return to the half of the campaign that doesn’t feel unfair and repetitive and enjoy two thirds of the scant multiplayer modes, but I can't help but feel Battleborn still has a lot of roo...

Too many hooks.

Battleborn is a well-oiled machine with the potential for some great times to be had, but sometimes getting to those great times can take some patience.

The Battleborn experiment has been largely successful. Fusing humour and shooting together with the mechanics from a MOBA sounds like it should be a recipe for disaster, but the charm of the graphical style and characterisation lifts the whole game. The story (or lack of it compared to Borderlands 2, say) is a bit of a let down, but it does enough to keep you interested and eager to see the next mission. There are issues with online play, which we're hoping get ironed out, but there's fun to be had as you and your fireteam roll up the battlefield, combined with the genuine laugh out loud momen...

Back in 2014, Gearbox Software head honcho Randy Pitchford incomprehensibly described Battleborn as an "FPS; hobby-grade co-op campaign; genre-blended, multi-mode competitive e-sports; meta-growth, choice [plus] epic Battleborn Heroes". While no one could quite decipher just what he was going on about, it was safe to assume that this wouldn't be your usual first-person shooter. While the recent open beta proved – or, more importantly, disproved – certain assumptions made since that infamous tweet, only now can it be judged if the gamble of mashing together an FPS and a MOBA has actually paid o...

It's clear that Battleborn is a little rough around the edges, but the game has some things going for it. Again, it has a good sense of humor, the core shooting mechanics are satisfying, and it has a strong lineup of 25 characters that all feel like they bring something to the table. This ensemble cast of 25 characters all being fun to play is perhaps Battleborn's biggest achievement, but the game's lack of content in terms of game modes, coupled with its ongoing server issues, make it a bit of a letdown. If Gearbox addresses these concerns in future updates, Battleborn could become much close...