I gave Borderlands 2 a couple of hours, hoping to get hooked, but it just didn’t click with me, I don't even know why I gave this one a chance if I didn't really liked the first title. The art style is striking, the humor is sharp, and the gunplay feels tight and varied, yet I never found myself fully engaged. The constant stream of loot and quirky characters clearly has a lot of charm, but it didn’t pull me in the way it seems to for so many others.

It’s easy to see why the game has such a dedicated fanbase, there’s a lot of creativity and polish here. The world is vibrant, the writing has personality, and the co-op focus is a big draw for the right crowd. Still, despite recognizing its quality, it just isn’t my kind of experience. Some games you admire from a distance, and for me, Borderlands 2 falls into that category. I really wanted to like this one but it is simply too repetitive for my taste, and I was not willing to give the coop a chance, my guess is that it is more bearable if played with others.

On a more mechanical level, the RPG systems and progression also felt like they demanded a longer commitment than I was willing to give. Skills unlock slowly, and early encounters are meshed together, making the opening hours feel like a prolonged warm-up rather than a strong hook. And I'm particularly against this approach, even though I enjoy Soulslike games very much, and they like to implement this kind of introduction. Enemy encounters often devolve into shooting galleries with familiar patterns, and while the variety of weapons is impressive on paper, most drops quickly became interchangeable noise instead of exciting rewards.

In the end, it strikes me as a game that knows exactly what it wants to be and executes that vision confidently, just not in a way that aligns with my preferences. I can appreciate its identity, humor, and the joy it clearly brings to its audience, especially as a shared experience. But as a mostly solo, repetition-averse player, it left me more fatigued than entertained. Sometimes a game can be good, even great, and still not be for you, and this title is a clear example of that for me.

I've always been interested in the loot shooter genre, but I don't think I could ever get one that was absolutely amazing. I liked the Destiny franchise, but those are guilty pleasures. I wasn't a fan of Warframe. I wasn't a fan of the Division. I hated what I had played of Anthem. That was until I played Borderlands 2 after 2 long hiatuses from 2015 to now.

Borderlands 2 is the crowning king of all these painfully average loot shooters. A diamond in the rough.

What I love about BL2 is the loot. sometimes, it doesn't take too long to get one of the best weapons unlike other games.cough Destiny cough The Bee, the Sham, the Lyuda, the Unkempt Harold. There is always an item that will click with you. Whether it's be a gun that screams whenever you shoot it or a gun that shoots swords that explode. Synergies are everywhere in this game. Zer0's 0ne Sh0t 0ne Kill Skill combined with the Infinity pistol makes the pistol deal even more damage. The Bee shield with any hard hitting gun will deal a boat load of damage. The Fabled Tortoise Shield combined with any class mod that depletes your entire shield capacity will increase your movement speed. There is a lot of depth in this game yet that depth is so simple to grasp.

The characters are the best in the genre. The tough Roland,the drunken petkeeper Mordecai, the annoying Cl4p-TP aka Claptrap, the boisterous Mr. Torgue, the haiku-speaking Zer0. Handsome Jack is the most interesting character in the series as he can make you question whether he is actually good or not. Angel, an important character from the previous game, has her own backstory and it definitely gives some fanservice for those who have first played the first game.

BL2 has some of the best quests in an RPG. There are quests based on pop culture like TMNT, Cowboy Bebop, or the Batman. In Mr. Torgue's DLC, you hunt down a game critic for hating on a game Me. Torgue likes. You start a clan war and put the blame on both opposing clans. You celebrate the worst birthday party ever. The obvious crown jewel is Face McShooty as all you have to do is shoot him in the face. Yes. I like the humor a lot in this game. This game has so much personality compared to it's other competitors.

This game, in my opinion, is the most replayable game ever. You have 3 playthroughs per character, 6 different characters to play as over 30 hours per playthrough including DLC.

The DLC is pretty good. Captain Scarlet has the best raid boss in the game. You can get the Sandhawk and the Pimpernel. Torgue DLC gives us the greatest character in the game and another good raid boss but the worst boss in the game. Sir Hammerlock lacks the new loot. Tiny Tina DLC is the best because FEELS, you can farm the bee shield from trees and you can get the grog nozzle which slags enemies and heals you a lot. Commander Lilith DLC sets up the story really well for Borderlands 3 but I can't remember the villain. Hector sucks. Still has some really good bosses to farm.

As for criticisms, there are definitely some technical issues, there is a lot of padding but it is not as bad as the PreSequel. Sawtooth Cauldron is just pointless. The Sir Hammerlock DLC is not good. If you play coop you have to farm for another of the same weapon. Your character doesn't make any remarks throughout the story, which the PreSequel and BL3 improve on. UVHM is a bit too hard and unbalanced. Most of the story is told through ECHO's. Some characters are overpowered like Zer0 and Salvador. Fuck Lilith.

But even with the criticisms, I adore this game. I can definitely look past those flaws. From May to now I went from 24 hours played to 200 hours played. I love it that much. I could even go far as to say it's one of my favorites. If you like gun hoarding or loot shooters, please get this game. Especially on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It is a sequel that improved over the original in almost every way. Definitely can't wait for Borderlands 3 when it comes out on Steam (because fuck Epic Games[or I'll just pirate the EGS version first and then purchase the Steam version]).

FINAL RATING: 9/10

Borderlands 2, i had a lot of hype going into this game, i searched in the internet for the most fun class to start as so that i could enjoy the game to the max. But after few hours it turns out i cannot stand this game at all.

Let me start first by saying which things i liked about it: The art-style. Yep..thats it xD

Everything else i really really hated, the LOOT sucks, its the same garbage weapons mostly with different stats. The characters didnt interest me at all, and the story didnt catch my attention for some reason, maybe because its awfully paced and the game is a grind-fest. Monster keep re-spawning and its a chore to fight them everytime, all you do in this game is just shooooot shoooot shooot, i bet gun lovers worship this kind of game, for me though...nope.. after around 30 hours i said: I'm out! i deleted it and i regret buying this game.

The music is not my type too, only the main theme is worth listening to. Leveling takes too much time. And i found the car controls to be very bad.

Seriously i have no idea why this game is considered good, i tried to like it for the whole 30 hours i forced myself to play then i just dropped it.

I think I finally figured out my problem with Borderlands 2. It represents this new vision of gaming at its worst, when "look at loser anon and his vidya!" turned into "I'm playing vidya, I'm such a nerd". Gearbox, the developers, didn't expected that their game will be so successful and second installment was created by usual formula "bigger and better, while saving the same gameplay". Anyway, their sense of humor, sense of taste and maybe even a sense of propriety failed them.
Borderlands 2 is sort of a game equivalent of "hip" (not really) internet content - 4chan, reddit, 9gag, you know - that kind of stuff. The problem is, you guys just created this new universe, which is cool, but it based certainly on /b/-tier jokes and memes. Sometimes they're good, sometimes not. References to everything are still here and they're the better part of game's design.

There's a good written review focused on loot system- with which I fully agree. Loot is one of the main things in Borderlands, and with these changes gameplay lost it's attraction.

Probably it's a great game for everyone. Just not for me. At least Gearbox got many new fans of this series, sold [s]gazillions[/s] millions of copies. People buy it, play with friends and spend good time. I can't judge publishers or developers. But... was it worth it? Relying too much on the gimmick never lead to a legendary game that will be remembered in years.
Just a question - how can a thing be so familiar and so strange at the same time? It's like a sell-out album of you favorite independent band.

P.S. Time showed that everything just got worse. Pre-Sequel. Games by Telltale. What next? How low can you go?
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3-3,5 stars. It actually goes well in a right mood.

I loved Borderlands 2 and had a great time with this amazing sequel. The humor, silly atmosphere and new features created a fresh new experience for me.

In Borderlands 2, the story continues from the first game. There is a new vault, discovered by our main villain, Handsome Jack. You start as one of the four new Vault Hunters, employed by Handsome Jack himself. Like the bastard he is, he betrays you and blows up the train you are traveling on, leaving you for dead. You are found by Claptrap, who takes you to safety. You travel to Sanctuary, a protected city with bandits, ex-Crimson Raiders and other adventures, who resist Handsome Jack's monopoly and power of the planet Pandora.

You learn that the new Vault Key is being transported via train and you, your buddies Roland, Mordecai, Brick and Lilith (from the first game) make plans to intercept and raid the train. You stop the train but instead of the Vault key, a big ass robot comes out and ambushes you. You defeat him and eventually discover that Angel (the entity that guided you through the first game) is a Siren and actually Jack’s daughter. He is using her Siren powers to charge up the Vault Key. She begs you to end her existence to stop Jack and after an successful attack on Jack’s main facility, you grant her wish, ending her life support. Handsome Jack is furious and launches a full scale assault on Sanctuary, almost destroying it. Lilith uses her bling bling witch Siren powers to teleport the whole freaking city to a different location, saving the day. Lilith is captured however, and Jack is using her instead of Angel to charge up the Vault Key.

The Vault Hunters eventually learn the location of the new vault and prepare to stop Jack, who is already close upon opening it. They fight their way there, confront Handsome Jack and defeat him. They fail to prevent the Vault from being opened and the Vault Warrior is unleashed. In this final fight, the Vault Hunters make short work of him, saving the planet. The game ends with a cliffhanger, revealing multiple other Vaults in the galaxy as shown by Lilith in the aftermath with Jack. This created the opportunity for multiple other sequels and/or prequels.

I really liked Handsome Jack. He is one of the best villains that I encountered in a videogame. His personality, voice acting, dark humor and overall presentation is just perfect. His comments, actions and threats to your characters were hilarious and I laughed more than I ever thought possible.

The graphics are upgraded from the previous game and are still in the Cell Shading format. For Borderlands games, this works perfectly and gives the game its charm. The animations and effects are a lot better compared to the first game and I think this game had some more color and depth in it.

In terms of sound, Borderlands 2 improved greatly from its predecessor. The sound effects are spot on and the new dubstep soundtracks are great. But the best improvement is the voice acting. It is funny, crystal clear and overall, I can only praise it.

The movement, controls and mechanics are improved with various GUI tweaks, better menus and improved control of inventory management. The mechanics work fluently and in terms of gunplay, I have nothing to complain. It is fast paced, accurate and overall, just great.

Borderlands 2 also introduced a million new weapons, new brands, new types of guns and a lot more variation in enemies and biomes. Classic weapons and enemies are also present like Skags and Rakks, which all have more variants now.

I still think the best part of this game is the humor. Every mission, every encounter, everything is one big joke. Names of bosses, many times, refer to pop culture icons and certain missions are just hilarious and stupid. It is just as good (if not better) than the first Borderlands game.

The only big downside with Borderlands 2, is the introduction of loot boxes, in which you need to buy Golden Keys, so you can use your hard earned, real life money to get a chance of a legendary gun, giving you an paid edge over other players in case of duels. Borderlands 2 is a product of its time, in which this “genius” idea was introduced in many games, including Shadow of Mordor, Star Wars Battlefront and many more.

Another small issue, for me at least, is the ridiculous amount of DLC that the game offers. It is almost as bad as The Sims. DLC on it’s own is not bad, and the DLC campaigns where all fun to play, but besides extra missions and campaigns, millions of skins, Upgrade pack 1, Upgrade Pack 2, soundtracks, animations, unorganized bundles of diverse skins and content (but not all), and Season Passes are added, and it is a complete mess. I never had/have the feeling that I could experience the full game because “I am always missing something”. I also completely lost the chronological order of DLC, what is playable content and what is just a soundtrack or a new skin.

Lastly, some boss encounters are ridiculously hard. So hard in fact, that you can only complete them with friends or random people. I did not like the “forced co-op” aspect of the game in which you can get stuck on your progress (mainly raid bosses) because you do not have the friends or people to complete it.

Speaking of the DLC, so far I completed the following DLC, besides the main game:

I started with the expansion Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt. In this DLC, you need to stop professor Nakayama, a former Hyperion scientist who is trying to create a clone of Handsome Jack. You fight your way to his super-secret laboratory and eventually, defeat him.

Alongside this, you receive multiple “hunting missions” from Sir Hammerlock, to test your skill and in which you need to defeat a series of bosses. There are multiple new enemies in the DLC, although many of them are just reskinned assets from the main game. Only the shaman enemies are unique (and very annoying).

I did not like this DLC that much. It was a little repetitive and blend, and features the worst and most relentlessly hard boss in history, Voracidous the Invincible.

After this, I completed Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty. In this DLC, you aid captain Scarlett, in her search for Captain Blade's Lost Treasure of the Sands. She warns you multiple times that she will betray you when you/she finds it, the very thing she eventually does. You fight her and her big ass pet, destroying it. Scarlett escapes afterwards via a Teleporter. You find the treasure and collect the precious loot, ending the DLC. This expansion also added a new vehicle, the Sandskiff.

I completed the Mister Torgue's Campaign of Carnage DLC. In this expansion, you need to become the champion of the arena by beating all the challenges and rounds against increasingly difficult enemies.

Before this however, a little campaign can be played in which you prepare for the challenges ahead. This DLC is all about completing challenges and doing them again for extra experience. You got a race against the clock, the battle arena, the “shoot down enemy aircraft in time” and the bar brawling missions.

I did like doing all the challenges, however, the constant quest that remains in your quest log because the missions can be repeated infinitly, is a little anoying.

This is also the one DLC that has capped level 50 missions in the end, so when you are playing on level 36 for example, you got some work to do.

Overall, I liked this DLC and would recommend it.

I completed the Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep DLC. In this expansion you play a game of Dungeons and Dragons in a full medieval setting.

In this campaign, you must save the Queen, while defeating the great evil sorcerer. You meet many characters on your journey, each an original character from the main game.

I loved this DLC, the humor, the story, the different enemies and environments, the extra content like a new raid boss and a new arena and much more. The best part is the constant change in scenery when Tina’s imagination created something new and put it in the game.

Apparently, I am not the only one that loved this DLC, because a whole new game has been made from it: Tiny Tina’s Wonderland.

I enjoyed every second of this DLC and would recommend it to everyone.

I completed Commander Lilith & the Fight for Sanctuary. In this expansion, set after the events of the main campaign, some plant dude is attacking Sanctuary and wants to change everyone into plant zombies by means of a special gas. You are tasked with stopping said plant dude and save sanctuary.

Personally, I did not like this DLC. It was too generic, boring and low effort. Enemies where just recycled assets with some plant matter grown out of them and the overall level design was blend. The newly added rainbow weapons were kind of cool but seeing the same design over and over made it boring real quick. The only good aspect of this DLC was the raid boss.

The story was okay-ish but nothing special. Completing this DLC felt like a chore halfway trough and I would not recommend it, especially for the insane price it asks.

I played the Headhunter DLC, called Borderlands 2: Headhunter 3: How Marcus Saved Mercenary Day. In this DLC, you need to save Mercenary day in a Christmas themed town, while fighting Hyperion and, eventually, a big ass snow man.

It is the job of the vault hunter to guide the train full of weapons to the town and bring the people want they want most: guns.

I thought this DLC was okay. The whole setting, level design and background music made it very playable. The design of the Town Mayor was totally unique, and this surprised me a little. No recycled assets for once. I would recommend it.

I played the Headhunter DLC, called Borderlands 2: Headhunter 2: The Horrible Hunger of the Ravenous Wattle Gobbler. Here, you are on a TV Battle Royale show and need to stop the big Ravenous Wattle Gobbler from wreaking havoc.

To do this, you poison his food while fighting the cooks. Eventually, you face the Gobbler and destroy its ass.

This DLC is very short but is made longer by one simple quest/task: The tales of grandma Torgue. Good Lord this was torture. It was fully intentional to make you die of boredom, but one time, an enemy appeared out of nowhere behind me, I shot his ass and then failed the “listen to grandma quest”, forcing me to listen again from the beginning.

In the end, I thought this piece of DLC did not need to exist and I would not recommend it.

I played the Headhunter DLC, called Borderlands 2: Headhunter 1: TK Baha's Bloody Harvest. Here, you need to satisfy the needs of Zombie T.K. Baha once again, by bringing him brain candy.

To do this, you travel through different graveyards while fighting skeletons and pumpkin monster things. Eventually, you kill the Pumpkin king, bring T.K. Baha his candy and that’s it, headhunter complete.

This DLC was actually fun. It was just as short as the rest, but the whole setting, theme and enemy design made it somewhat unique. In the end, I would recommend this one.

I also finished another headhunter mission: Mad Moxxi and the Wedding Day Massacre.

In this DLC, a man and woman from the Hodunk and Zaford clan are getting married, to settle the feud between them. Mad Moxxi is the ceremonial head for the wedding and needs to make sure that it succeeds. For this, she needs to make a love potion, just in case.

It is the job of the vault hunter to gather the ingredients for the potion, which are spread through several mission objectives.

Personally, I thought this was the most boring DLC in Borderlands 2. You are just an errand boy that needs to complete several fetch quests. The setting was boring, the atmosphere and surroundings dark and depressing and overall, I just thought that this DLC was not worth it.

Overall, I liked this expansion and its story, although the desert biome, in which it plays, was a little boring in my opinion.

The other two main DLC campaigns (and the billions of other mini stories and add-ons), I yet have to complete.

In the end, the main game was a lot of fun and my completed DLC’s so far, were enjoyable enough.

Purely based on the main game alone, I would definitely recommend this awesome game.

So, I finally cheesed my way past the final boss (I don't think I could've beaten it any other way without grinding some serious levels)...

Now I apparently need to play The Pre-Sequel. Then Tales from the Borderlands. Then come back to this game and play the Commander Lilith DLC. Then I can start Borderlands 3.

This was a decent enough game. The series is one of those I've always meant to play, but never actually gotten around to doing, aside from beating the first game quite a few years ago. I kind of wanted to mainline my way through the main missions to get to BL3 quicker, but eventually found that I was super under-levelled. So I was forced to focus on side quests for awhile.

I didn't mind the writing & humor, but I'm also an idiot. Every once in awhile they throw in some genuine not-stupid stuff, and it catches you off guard. And they do a good job of making the villain a truly evil sociopath mofo (with a tiny bit of humanization near the end).

Enemies near the end start getting ridiculously bullet spongy, which can get annoying. And the Handsome Collection PS4 version of this game crashed a lot on my PS5, which lost me some really good loot a couple times.