Gearbox Software's popular Borderlands franchise continues to expand. The latest entry, 2019's Borderlands 3, is still receiving updates adding features like cross-play; and there are rumors circulating online about a Borderlands 4 in production. However, most notably, a spin-off game called Tiny Tina's Wonderlands was announced during E3 2021's Summer Game Fest.
Wonderlands is a take on the Borderlands' looter-shooter formula set in a fantasy world, inspired by Borderlands 2's DLC Assault on Dragon Keep that saw players participate in a Dungeons and Dragons-inspired game called "Bunkers and Badasses." Tiny Tina served as the equivalent of a Dungeon Master in the DLC and will continue to oversee the upcoming title, with voice actor Ashly Burch reprising her role alongside stars including Andy Samberg, Will Arnett, and Wanda Sykes. With the spin-off leaning so heavily into its D&D roots, it would make sense for Gearbox to really dig into the customization features allowed by most tabletop games.
Character Customization in Tiny Tina's Wonderlands
Borderlands games typically have four distinct characters with different classes to choose from. For example, in Borderlands 3 players can choose between Zane, Amara, Moze, and FL4K, who each have unique skill trees but ultimately serve one general purpose on a team. Tiny Tina's Wonderlands appears to be making big changes to the formula, with creative director Matt Cox saying players will be able to create their own characters who can be "multi-classed;" more openly using skills from a variety of archetypes at once.
Though Gearbox has yet to delve into exactly how this customization will work, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands would stand out better if it saturates itself in the broad choices available in tabletop games. On a surface level, players can likely expect the physical customization that meshes with what Borderlands as an RPG series already offers: Swapping out gear and weapons, classes with branching skill trees, and stat points that can be loaded into anything ranging from higher damage output to better diplomatic skills. It's likely the big Hollywood names like Samberg will play NPCs, and they could have different things to offer depending on a character's stats.
However, the game should go one step further. A big component of Dungeons and Dragons, intertwined with the ability to choose between violent and diplomatic approaches, is developing a character's alignment and backstory. Giving players the chance to decide whether they want their character to do things on a range from "lawful good" to "chaotic evil" in every circumstance could be difficult for a video game, but the idea could map with mechanics like Natures in Pokemon. Whatever alignment a player chooses, perhaps they would earn better stat growths in one area and lesser growths in another - something that could also overlap with the inherent benefits of different classes.
Being able to pick between different backstories could have a similar effect. That said, choosing what a character did before they became one of Tiny Tina's players in the narrative seems like the perfect way to impact what inherent abilities are available outside of class constraints. A wizard with a background in some kind of mechanical work may also be good at constructing weapons, for example. That same wizard could even get unique dialogue options when talking to certain NPCs because they relate in some way. Like with D&D, the possibilities are potentially endless.
At this point, it's up to Gearbox to decide what's feasible and what isn't. One of the last updates on the official Tiny Tina's Wonderlands' Twitter account as of this writing, posted June 15, 2021, says fans will have to wait until "later this summer" to find out more. Whether that means later this month or sometime in August remains to be seen, but either way hopefully there will be a lot to say regarding character customization.
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands is set for release in 2022 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.