Tiny Tina's Wonderlands has now been available for a week and Borderlands fans are rediscovering their love for Gearbox's looter shooters. While many players are still progressing through Tiny Tina's Wonderlands' campaign, others are reaching the game's endgame and seeing just what kind of experience it offers. To Borderlands fans' surprise, there's a notable difference and criticism; Tiny Tina's Wonderlands has a significantly lower enemy density than prior Borderlands games.
A post on the Wonderlands subreddit climbed to the top, discussing the subject of enemy density in Tiny Tina's Wonderlands' endgame. The post focuses on a video recorded from Tiny Tina's Wonderlands showing a player going up against a huge wave of enemies, which they say reminds them of Borderlands 3. The screen is full of enemies, damage numbers, and attack effects -- both from the player and the enemies. It's fast-paced and chaotic, and it shows just how capable the player is to be able to handle it all at the same time. It's also, according to Tiny Tina's Wonderlands players, an incredible rarity.
The accusation in the post is that Tiny Tina's Wonderlands doesn't reach this level of intensity. The top comment in the thread describes a player and his friends spending their timing killing one or two enemies, running to the opposite side of a chamber to fight another one or two, and then repeating. Some say that they want Tiny Tina's Wonderlands' Chaos Chambers to be more like the Borderlands 3 location named the Slaughter Shaft.
To be fair to Gearbox, there are some who prefer the new enemy density in Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. It's been described as clearing up screenspace and allowing for better combat clarity. This isn't necessarily a topic where there's a consistent perspective, though more hardcore Borderlands fans will definitely lean toward higher density.
As for why Tiny Tina's Wonderlands has lower enemy density, there could be multiple reasons. It may be purely a gameplay and design decision, with Gearbox wanting to focus in on tighter encounters rather than overwhelming fodder. It could also be a technical limitation, with too many enemies potentially causing performance unacceptable performance issues. Either way, it isn't likely something Gearbox could change on a whim.
What's important is that Tiny Tina's Wonderlands players are making it clear to Gearbox what they'd like to see in the future. It's possible Gearbox will be able to create an endgame experience that aligns with its design principles for Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, maintains performance limitations, and also packs the screen with enemies. It's up to Gearbox now.
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.