Last month, gameplay for Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands essentially confirmed it was changing the gun manufacturer’s name in-game. This is seen in a recent Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands trailer where “Feriore” is seen on a Tediore weapon, with Feriore being its name in the in-universe Bunkers and Badasses tabletop game.
Many of the name changes are pretty much to the point. For example, as Tediore weapons are known to be so cheap that they’re worth more to throw than to reload, Feriore makes sense for the rename because it’s short for the Italian “inferiore.” Some name changes in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands are a little less obvious, though, such as that of Hyperion to Hyperius.
It stands to reason that Hyperion’s name change may even be due to multiple reasons in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. For example, by changing the -on to -us, it automatically sounds more befitting in a fantasy setting. Yet, at the same time, it’s hard to ignore how it shares a name with a character from Borderlands 2.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands’ Hyperius – A Borderlands 2 Easter Egg?
Indeed, the renamed manufacturer Hyperius shares a name with the raid boss found in Borderlands 2’s Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty, Hyperius The Invincible. It adds to the potential evidence of the Easter Egg that Hyperius resembles the Hyperion company overall. He was a typical Engineer who grew mad with power, being forever changed after the Vault opened, and strengthened to the point of becoming a Seraph Guardian.
It’s not an exact 1:1, but that’s essentially Handsome Jack’s story with Hyperion too. As such, while there are potentially other reasons Hyperion was renamed as Hyperius, that doesn’t negate how it effectively operates as a Borderlands 2 Easter egg as well. Indeed, chances are that this is only one of many Easter eggs Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands will feature, with many more connecting it to the mainline franchise being a high possibility.
There is, of course, an exception to this. Because Tina is still “Tiny” here and the game takes place before Borderlands 3, it’s unlikely fans will see many references to those events, such as Lilith’s presumed death. On the other hand, as it took some time for Borderlands 3’s twin antagonists, Troy and Tyreen Calypso, to build their cult-like following, it’s possible they’ll appear in the background somehow. For now, fans will just have to wait and see how Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands connects to the greater Borderlands universe.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands releases March 25, 2022, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.