Gearbox reveals the first trailer for New Tales from the Borderlands, but fans are wondering just where the game fits into the series timeline.
So far, Gamescom 2022 has provided players with a plethora of announcements, game reveals, and development updates thanks to its Opening Night Live show. With interesting titles like Dead Island 2 and Killer Klowns From Outer Space, the start of Gamescom has already given gamers lots to talk about. But one of the other noteworthy games to feature was the New Tales from the Borderlands, an indirect follow-up to Telltale Games‘ 2014 spin-off Tales from the Borderlands.
Gearbox Software fully revealed the spiritual successor to Telltale’s earlier version this week, and fans of the narrative-focused choice-driven format will undoubtedly be excited to steer the chaotic journeys of another cast of characters with New Tales from the Borderlands. However, with a number of spin-offs and a prequel alongside the mainline entries within the Borderlands franchise, it can be a little hard to keep track of when everything is supposed to be taking place, and many players are wondering where New Tales from the Borderlands fits into the timeline.
A New Cast Of Characters In A Familiar Setting
Some players were disappointed that New Tales from the Borderlands seems to be moving on from Rhys, Fiona, Sasha, and Vaughn and instead focusing on a brand-new cast of eclectic outcasts, but others are excited about the new direction of the story. New Tales from the Borderlands will feature three protagonists – the idealistic genius Dr. Anuradha Dhar, her streetwise brother Octavio Wallace-Dhar, and Fran Miscowicz, a small business owner with anger issues. These lovable underdogs will be attempting to change the world as they take on a planetary invasion, a monstrous vault dweller, and a corrupt capitalist on the war-torn urbanized planet of Promethea.
Gamers will probably be familiar with this particular metropolis, as it is the headquarters of the Atlas corporation and one of the locations they visited in Borderlands 3. After Atlas’ downfall and then resurrection under the leadership of new CEO Rhys Strongfork (who players will also recognize from Tales from the Borderlands), Promethea has been through some tough times. Borderlands 3 takes place seven years after Borderlands 2 and Tales from the Borderlands, so Rhys has come a long way since players witnessed his adventures with Fiona, and with Promethea making a reappearance once again, it ties New Tales from the Borderlands more prominently to the fourth main entry in the Borderlands series.
Continuing On From Borderlands 3
It seems New Tales from the Borderlands picks up the action around a year after the Maliwan and Children of the Vault invasion of Promethea that was featured in Borderlands 3, so players can expect to encounter a changing planet. However, there are still plenty of threats, and it looks like the main trio of would-be heroes will have more than enough to deal with. They will be thrust into a dangerous situation after dangerous situation as they try to get their hands on a Vault Key, with players tasked with choosing how their adventures turn out through decision-based gameplay.
The change in developer from Telltale to Gearbox might bring about a host of modifications, but the first trailer for New Tales from the Borderlands indicates that the upcoming game won’t be moving away from the humorous and irreverent tone of its predecessors, or miss out on any self-referential jokes. The developer has also said that New Tales from the Borderlands will be a self-contained story, so fans don’t need to concern themselves with other entries in the franchise, even if it takes place soon after Borderlands 3 and has some crossover with the previous Tales from the Borderlands.
New Tales from the Borderlands launches October 21 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
