Now released (Friday 25th March 2022), Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a Dungeons and dragons-infused cooperative shooter that blends unicorn queens, hi-tech weaponry, zany comedy and music from Baby Metal to create 20+ hours of chaotic mayhem. And our Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands review is here to spill the tea.
That’s right. It’s a Borderlands title that has direct connections with the popular Tiny Tina’s Assault that was first released with the Dragon Keep DLC from Borderlands 2.
But make no mistake, this game is no rehashed repeat!
As you could expect with anything remotely Borderlands, madness will follow and when you throw a psychotic teenager playing out dungeons and dragons fantasies into the mix, you can only hope that the carnage-ometer has been turned up to the max. But with much to live up to following Borderlands 3, will Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands be good enough to keep Borderlands fanatics fulfilled until the release of part 4?
Or will players feel cheated that this potentially could have just been a DLC instead?
Find out all there is to know about the latest wild adventure with our extensive Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands review. Let’s get into it!
Scroll down or click below to skip sections:
- Storyline Review.
- Characters, Classes & Skilltree.
- Loot & Weaponry.
- Sidequests & Overworld.
- Online & Multiplayer Modes.
- Game Faults & Negatives.
- Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands Review Verdict.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands Storyline.
From the outset, Tiny Tina invites a few friends over to a zany table-top game called Bunkers & Badasses. This is essentially a buck-wild version of Dungeons & Dragons that only a game as insane as Borderlands could conjure. With voiceovers from American comedians Wanda Sykes and Andy Samberg, there’s much for you to be excited about here alone. Not to mention that Canadien actor Will Arnett shows up as the villain, the Dragon Lord further down the track.
It stands to reason that 2K Games would cast a Canadian as a villain!
At the core, Tiny Tina is the dungeon master and you are the newest recruit ready to save the realm. Instead of taking on the role of a Vault Hunter like in previous Borderlands games, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands players instead play as “The Fatemaker”. You will repel the gigantic skeleton army through any means possible with a vast array of loot, characters and spells available. But more on weaponry in a moment.
Through creating your own character, selecting a class and customising your persona, the game immediately makes you feel like you are within the heart of D&D as you start to assume and perfect your role. Throughout the game, you will bounce between the cutscenes, the carnage, the Overworld and back again.
It’s fast, characterful, erratic and offers plenty of light humour.
No seriously, just wait until you meet Paladin Mike!
Characters, Classes & Skilltree.
One thing that Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands does very well to enable is the ability to mix two character classes together. In turn, this allows you to create interesting hybrid builds of your favourite play styles. This is something that not many other games have introduced and was a huge plus point throughout our Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands review.
During play, we spent the majority of time with the class of Spore Warden. We have no idea why we specifically chose the Spore Warden but the cute poisonous mushroom sidekick for sure had some sway in the matter! 😊
While the skill trees are significant, every class only gets one tree which results in fewer end game options compared to Borderlands’ traditional four classes with three (later four) skill trees each. So, when mixing characters Spellshot with Clawbringer for example, you can max out your Spellshot tree to peak at level 40.
However, this will only enable you to get part way down the Clawbringer tree which barely feels like it impacts your build very much.
Nevertheless, there’s plenty of variation here.
As you team up with friends to play out Tiny Tina’s fantasy; slaying hordes of skeletons in the process, the onus is definitely placed on being as playful as Tiny Tina herself with your characters’ outfits, abilities and power-ups. Melding weapons together and conjuring insane combos is definitely a lot of fun.
Believe us, it will be carnage!
Tiny Tina’s Loot & Weaponry.
Featuring the same procedurally acquired Borderlands loot that you could arguably stick within a hall of fame, players can also expect some new melee weapons too. In addition (on top of what already seems like an infinite number of firearms) players will also enjoy shattering bones through a variety of dark spells.
We kid you not, we’ve already seen meteors that turn enemies into sheep!
Further to this, the loot enemies drop can completely change load-outs and approaches to combat. While the majority of weaponry is incredibly unique out of the box, the ability to meld fantasy tropes with modernised arms is truly something to behold.
Your creations are limited only by your imagination.
When further into the game, you will most definitely want to find rare weapons which subsequently offers a strong enough incentive to scour the entire map for lucky dice and secret stashes. The more sidequests you endure, the better your chance at crazy loot and this will be well worth the grind later on throughout the game.
If you are concerned that there will be a lot of hunting and scavenging then fear not. While some of the looting sessions are a little repetitive, each side mission is rich with good storytelling and comes diversified enough to keep you interested.
Thanks to smooth platforming mechanics and cleverly hidden areas, exploring the world is actually quite good fun too.
Sidequests & The Overworld.
Beyond the main storyline and looting, end game grinders rejoice!
While you can pretty much expect Borderlands’ DNA throughout Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, the ”Overworld” is a fresh and new addition to what is already an incredible game. Akin to an old Final Fantasy game, the Overworld serves as Tiny Tina’s tabletop board game that enables you to quickly traverse between missions and enjoy plenty of action in between.
Unlike a lot of time-draining periods you might have previously experienced with Borderlands games, the Overworld overcomes this with many secrets to find, plenty of humour and tons of side missions to help you progress your character quickly. From beating down foes in the long grass to knocking down bottlecaps that help you reach new areas that lead through to the main storyline, the Overworld is a beautiful design to connect the dots.
Think Mario Party mashed with Borderlands.
What’s more, the Overworld handles charting progress superbly too which keeps you on track with what has been completed and what still needs to be mopped up. We know you completionists are smiling right now!
Tiny Tina’s Multiplayer Mode.
During our Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands review, we couldn’t help but keep returning back to multiplayer modes. This is without question a standout feature. In fact, to be frank, the mechanics of this mode are almost perfect. So much so, it looks like the whole world has been loving Tiny Tina’s Wonderland what with Take Two’s recent earnings report.
Every member of your crew has equal footing on the battlefield and teamwork is a must. Similarly to Borderlands 3, should you finally convince your friends to join the carnage after you’ve spent hours grinding, they will not be disadvantaged during co-op mode.
For example, a level 5 player will encounter a level 5 enemy, whereas the same foe will read as level 20 for a level 20 member within your crew. This eliminates the need for your friends to grind out XP to unlock certain powers and we personally think this is a revelation for bringing people together.
In addition, teams can also determine how loot is divvied up, allowing for everyone to get their own drops or for it to be shared. Will you be generous or are you a total loot hog?
The Downside.
Depending on what you’re looking for with a stop-gap between Borderlands 3 and the much anticipated Borderlands 4, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands may feel a little too familiar. There’s a clear attempt here to fill a void while we wait for Borderlands 4 and for some, the game may feel a little safe from 2K. In the AAA arms race, we often see developers sticking to proven mechanics to guarantee profit and Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands definitely falls into this category. Not that this would be necessarily a bad thing for newbies to the genre. However, for seasoned Borderlanders, the familiarity could be a disappointment.
In addition, unless you are in hardcore mode or with friends, the fighting might become slightly repetitive. If you’re a flat out FPS player that doesn’t care much for storytelling, you’re probably going to hate it.
As for the storyline itself, hardcore Borderlands players may not appreciate all of the jokes. There are references to plenty of other genres and some good one-liners throughout the game. Yet, depending on your mood, at times, they will make you cringe. Some of the best humour comes from when Tiny Tina is making stuff up as the storyline winds up not going how she wanted rather than the clearly scripted lines.
In truth, we’re seriously nitpicking here.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands Review Verdict
Did we enjoy Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands? You bet we did!
If there was a drinks recipe that included Borderlands, Baby Metal, dungeons and dragons, looting and a psychotic teenager then you’ve got everything you need to create a delicious Tiny Tina Mohito. Except for a shitload of guns in your arsenal of course.
And for that, our Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands review scores a respectable 91%.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is an absolute joy to play and captures everything that we loved about Borderlands 1 & 2. The game also addresses the majority of issues that were noticeable throughout Borderlands 3 and makes for a very promising platform to start getting excited about Borderlands 4.
As one of the biggest names in gaming, the Borderlands series had much to live up to with Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. Of which we were not disappointed. Will you feel slightly cheated about paying full price for a game that could easily have been published as DLC for Borderlands 3? Perhaps.
But you’ll be too preoccupied fending off the massive skeleton army as you defend the glorious capital of Borghoff to really give a damn!
Thoughts on Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands? Share your comments below!
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Tiny Tina Wonderlands FAQs
Still not sure whether Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is the right purchase for your collection? Check out some of the most frequently asked questions our editors receive about this classic looter, shooter. If you have any questions about our Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands review, please do not hesitate to contact us.
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