Borderlands games are known for their glorious universe, filled with deep mysteries, a compelling sense of humor, powerful enemies and vault bosses, and of course, lots of guns to be found. As a matter of fact, that is one of the most distinctive traits of Borderlands games. However, the recent announcement at Summer Game Fest of the upcoming Tiny Tina's Wonderlands does indeed shake things up for the franchise by adding spellcasting, too. In fact, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands will not be focusing exclusively on gunplay and occasional abilities.
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands is a new standalone game from 2K and Gearbox Software, and it seems to be the long-awaited sequel of sorts to the classic Borderlands 2 DLC with a similar setting, called Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep. This DLC was heavily inspired by tabletop RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons, which appealed to a lot of players. In the Assault on Dragon Keep, the fantasy elements were there, but not necessarily as dominant as they seem to be in Tiny Tina's Wonderlands thus far.
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands Spellcasting Could Change The Borderlands Series
The fact that Borderlands games always focused on gunplay makes the addition of spellcasting a very bold choice because of how different the new Tiny Tina's Wonderlands is going to be from the mainline games. Few details were disclosed during the short presentation at Summer Game Fest, but it seems like the standalone title will draw much more inspiration from Dungeons and Dragons than many imagined because of the character customization process. This could make the classic tabletop and the Borderlands series much closer than ever, and Dungeons and Dragons has always had a very healthy pool of spells for players to choose from.
This could translate into Tiny Tina's Wonderlands having multiple options for spells, meaning that they could be used as a primary source of damage like guns, or else they could be the character's equivalent of action skills. The former choice would be a much braver one, fundamentally changing the way Borderlands games are played, and the fact that Tiny Tina's Wonderlands is a standalone game doesn't change that for mainline games. Instead, this could mean that future Borderlands games could have new features based on the reception of Tiny Tina's Wonderlands and the act of casting spells, maybe allowing Vault Hunters to kill alien monsters with more than guns. Now, in the Borderlands universe proper, it probably wouldn't be in the form of "casting spells," but that could still shake up how players tackle the game.
However, there is a fair chance that casting spells could be a less frequent action in Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. It stands to reason that, no matter how customizable they may eventually be, the game's class will likely still come with skill trees and action skills, like in Borderlands games. Still, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands did confirm that spells are very much a thing, and they are likely going to be used to defeat the Dragon Lord and other big baddies.
It's worth to note that Dungeons and Dragons does have different sorts of spells, rather than simply damaging ones, and thus Tiny Tina's Wonderlands' spellcasting may include healing magic, maybe powers that buff the player or apply detrimental effects onto enemies, and much more. The primary thing that may further change or define this is the presentation of the class (different spellcasters?) and how these spells differ from skills. If it's fundamentally the same with a new name, it could just technically be new paint.
On the other hand, a detailed spellcasting system like The Elder Scrolls could make the proper looter-shooter franchise into something more like a hero looter-shooter with abilities/spells that match up, shake up, and change its gunplay. What could make that even more interesting is if the spells are as deeply intricate as the game's various loot. If so, abilities of future games will have a new bar to hit. This, of course, remains speculation for the time being, but it's not too far-fetched to think that the influence of Dungeons and Dragons will cast its shadow over the Borderlands series.
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands is set for release in 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.