Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a fun fantasy romp – Review

In this review for Tiny Tina’s “Wonderlands,” we take a look at what makes this game so enjoyable, including the lovable characters and surprisingly deep story.

The Borderlands 2 DLC that inspired Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon’s Keep, stunned me with a touching narrative about bereavement. Perhaps my expectations were skewed by that experience, but Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a game that flirts with delivering an emotional tale but never quite delivers. Tiny’s newest Bunkers and Badasses campaign with her new companions Valentine, Frette, and you is the focus of the narrative.

The scenario is simple: the Dragonlord has been revived and is attempting to suck all of the Wonderlands’ soul energy, since that’s what terrible villains do. While the quest’s plot never actually changes throughout the campaign, the game continuously teases Tina with additional emotional beats without really allowing them to fully develop. The emotional surprise comes late in the campaign, and it doesn’t get the attention it deserves by the time it arrives. There are so many instances at the conclusion of the game when it nearly deals with Tina’s loss, Tina’s dread of being alone, and Tina’s guilt, but instead all of it is left as background noise for the game’s ridiculous plot. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, despite its narrative flaws, breathes new life into the Borderlands model.

Making the game more fun

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Borderlands is a game about outrageous comedy, horrible jokes, and collecting as much loot as possible. Because Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is set in a tabletop RPG, many of these elements are amplified and enhanced in ways that would be impossible in the “real” Borderlands. This shows itself in the Wonderlands’ overworld, which looks like a tabletop and is explored by a bigheaded version of your character. This reduces the amount of in-between sections in the game, allowing for larger and more detailed dungeons and landscapes. Other aspects, such as mini round-based dungeons and random encounters, are included, giving you brief bursts of action and an opportunity to gain some fast riches.

This wide region also allows you to meet a large number of folks who will give you side quests and gives a natural approach to locate some of the side places. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands’ primary objective is shorter than in past Borderlands games, although this is more than compensated for by the presence of many enormous regions devoted just to side quests. There are a variety of collectibles in the game, with the primary emphasis on lucky dice, which provide improved loot luck, and shrine pieces, which activate shrines that provide permanent advantages. The main drawback to this overworld map is that your character travels too slowly, making exploring difficult. There is a shrine that increases the speed with which you travel across the global map, although it is still slow.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands’ tabletop environment is manifested in subtler ways, such as frequent criticism from your trusted advisers and Tina, both in-campaign and meta. They all keep the tale going along with lots of jokes and observations to keep things interesting. Unfortunately, all three of them have nothing to say throughout several side quests and chaos chamber runs, which makes for a silent and at times monotonous experience.

Wonderland Exploration

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The settings of Wonderlands, which take place in Tina’s dream world, are significantly more colorful than Pandora’s awful globe. The forest, ocean bottom, and desert are all brilliant and vibrant places with colorful people and exciting adventures. While the game’s locations all focus on distinct fantasy biomes, there doesn’t seem to be as much variation as I had hoped for. Each location is substantially bigger than any of the areas in earlier Borderlands games, but it seems a little generic in a universe where Tina could come up with anything. The fact that there are two ocean bottom parts back-to-back, followed by back-to-back desert regions, is the major contributing element. While there are some stylistic distinctions between these locations, they nonetheless seem too identical.

The primary quest’s second flaw is that it never truly shocks you with what you have to accomplish. There are suggestions that the Dragonlord has more control over the game than he should, but this never materializes. Tiny sets you the task of reaching his stronghold and destroying him early on in the game, and after you’ve done so, the objective is accomplished. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands skips out on a number of story twists and turns, instead opting for a more straightforward plot.

However, the game succeeds in a number of areas. The gunplay is tremendously fluid, particularly now that melee assaults and spells have been introduced to the mix. Spells are similar to grenades in earlier games, but they have a far wider range of element kinds and effects. I was always eager to try out new spells and see how they worked. Some handguns and rifles are transformed into crossbows or shotguns that fire magical waves, giving them a fantastical flair. These are mixed in with some standard weaponry, yet they stand out enough to keep you in the fantastical world. 

After a few levels, the new class system lets you to switch to a different class, allowing you the ability to combine skills to build powerful combinations. I merged the Spellshot and Stabbomancer classes to develop a build that allowed me to cast spells that caused additional critical damage on a regular basis. 

The Chamber of Chaos

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Instead of having a final raid boss or a new game plus mode, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands endgame mode is The Chamber of Chaoss, which provide a series of dungeons, some randomized, some not, where you can earn special rewards. These dungeons also let you increase your chaos level, which increases the difficulty of enemies both in The Chamber of Chaoss and the rest of the game, so you can have better loot drops.

The Chamber of Chaoss are enjoyable enough, but suffer from some of the same issues as the dungeons in the overworld. You will quickly begin to recognize which of the set maps you are on, taking away the sense of randomness the chamber is supposed to have. Another issue is sometimes the enemies don’t behave in the way you would like or don’t attack quickly enough. One room you can be constantly under attack, without a moment to breathe. Other rooms you have to keep running around trying to find enemies, because they either aren’t spawning in fast enough or don’t seem to know where you are. These issues make for an uneven experience in an already draining and quickly boring endgame.

The Final Word

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Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is without question the best Borderlands game to date. The shooting feels precise and the fantasy weapons and equipment feel more like D&D than Borderlands, really leaning into the setting of the game. Given a focused setting and topic to riff off, the jokes feel more consistent than previous games, especially some of the more meta or off the wall bits. The Wonderlands are colorful and full of interesting and fun characters.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is likewise a shorter experience that seems rushed to finish, never quite delivering on the huge moments it builds up for. There are hints of a more emotional plot, one that delves further into Tina’s shortcomings and regrets, but it’s left to linger in the background. The surroundings could need more diversity and places for a fantasy world that might be whatever Tina comes up with. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a fun addition to the Borderlands franchise, but it never quite reaches the heights it aspires to.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you create your own character in Tiny Tinas wonderlands?

A: If you want to create your own character in Tiny Tinas wonderlands, the answer is no. Other wise, it would be possible but unlikely because of copyright restrictions that Sony fears would be leveled against them should they allow something like this.

Is Tiny Tinas wonderlands a FPS?

A: Yes, Tiny Tinas Wonderlusts is a first person shooter game.

How long is Tiny Tinas wonderlands?

A: Tiny Tinas Wanderlust is a six episode-long DLC that extends the main game with new adventures. The whole thing takes about 8 hours to finish, so if you have time, you can play through it on one sitting!