With all the hype forTiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Gearbox made the clever decision to releaseBorderlands’ other fantasy-inspired content as a standalone game.Tiny Tina’s Wonderlandswould not exist without the excellentBorderlands 2DLC Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep, with the memorable expansion standing out from everything else in the series.
While many see Assault on Dragon Keep as the bestDLC fromBorderlands 2and the series as a whole, the franchise has had many great expansions. As such, while it made sense to re-release Assault on Dragon Keep in the lead-up toTiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Gearbox should not stop there. Some of the franchise’s other expansions would work great as standalone games, providing longtime players with an opportunity to easily revisit their favorite DLCs and giving newcomers a chance to experience some ofBorderlands’ best content.
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The Case for Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty To Become a One-Shot Adventure
Borderlands 2’s first DLC, Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty, was a memorable expansion for a number of reasons. Not only was the pirate theming unique to the series, but the Sandskiff vehicles were a lot of fun to use as well. Excellent weapons like the Sandhawk made their debut here, as did the Seraph vendor. Story-wise, the DLC was a lot of fun, withCaptain Scarlettserving as a memorable antagonist that elevated the story.
Aside from being a good DLC that makes the most out of its theme, Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty is highly replayable. One reason for this is the vault full of chests that players come across at the end of the story, something that is always a hit with series veterans. Another factor contributing to this replaybility is that the DLC has two raid bosses. While Master Gee The Invincible is widely considered the series’ worst raid boss,Hyperius the Invincibleis one of the best. As such, players would have a great endgame challenge to pursue in a standalone version, something that Assault on Dragon Keep’s One-Shot Adventure provides through the Ancient Dragons of Destruction.
The Case for Claptastic Voyage To Become a One-Shot Adventure
While Captain Scarlett would be a great One-Shot Adventure, Claptastic Voyage is even more deserving of this treatment. The DLC highlights an important part oftheBorderlandsuniverse, as it explains what happened to all the other Claptrap units prior to the start ofBorderlands 2. It also features some hilarious side missions, memorable locations, and a challenging final boss that ranks as one of the series’ most difficult.
Aside from adding depth to Claptrap and showing off the worst qualities ofHandsome Jack, the expansion is criminally underrated due to the fact that it was part ofBorderlands: The Pre-Sequel. With the game still viewed as the black sheep of the series, many have not played it, and in turn have not experienced the stellar Claptastic Voyage. The expansion serves as the very best content fromBorderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and a re-release as a One-Shot Adventure could bring it to a new audience. Players may not want to play through the entirety ofThe Pre-Sequeljust to get to the expansion, so a standalone version would be a good way to make the DLC more accessible.
No matter which expansions Gearbox chooses to adapt to this format, though, the one thing that is clear is that this approach should be taken more often in the future. Regardless of whether players downloadA Wonderlands One-Shot Adventureto complete a new trophy set, experience the story, or just to try out afree PS Plus game, they will have the chance to hop straight into some of the bestBorderlandscontent with no setup required. Going forward, it would be nice to see this format used to draw attention to some of the franchise’s other top-notch expansions.
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