Borderlands 3 Deals & Offers

Borderlands 3 Review: The Classic Loot Shooter Returns

Evil twins Troy and Tyreen Calypso are spreading carnage across the universe, and only you can save the galaxy from complete destruction. Yes, that's right. It's time to check out Borderlands 3, the fourth installation in the cult gaming series created by Gearbox Games. Available for PC, Xbox One, and PS4, the latest Borderlandsvideo game promises plenty of quests, shooting action, and multiplayer fun, but is it the right game for you to purchase?

In this hotukdeals buyer's guide, we'll introduce everything buyers need to know before purchasing Borderlands 3, from the loot system, to the various editions to be found at hotukdeals merchants. Of course, we will point out where to find the best Borderlands 3 deals and offers, but before we get into the details, let's get up to speed about the Borderlands franchise.

A Quick History of the Borderlands Saga

The very first Borderlands game appeared what seemed like an age ago, way back in 2009. When the first Borderlands arrived for PC, Mac, Xbox 360, and PS3, it propelled Gearbox Games to instant stardom, while introducing gameplay elements which still dominate the franchise today.

In the first Borderlands title, gamers travelled to Pandora, in search of a mysterious, and powerful alien technology. But things were complicated by the arrival of a competitor, in the form of the Atlas Corporation, an evil company, which wanted to harness the alien tech for its own ends. And things were complicated even more by the existence of roving bandit gangs and burned out colonies, from previous efforts to find the alien technology. It all added up to a massive open-world experience, with endless side quests, Vault Hunts, and character interaction.

Borderlands 2 appeared in 2012, and also saw players deposited on Pandora, this time battling against a monstrous dictator called Handsome Jack. As with the first Borderlands game, the sequel was followed by a steady stream of DLC packs. In fact, 13 separate extra adventures were added to the core game, resulting in a huge stream of narratives and quests to enjoy.

In 2014, Gearbox went “back to the future” with Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. In this title, players took control of Jack (before he became “handsome”), in a series of quests on Pandora's moon, Elpis. It wasn't much of a departure from the earlier two games, but retained the same sense of fun, simple quest-based episodes, and character development, making it a must for fans of the franchise.

After 2014, the line went quiet, and Gearbox seemed to have moved away from the Borderlands series. However, that was far from the case, as a third set of adventures in the Borderlands universe was always under development. And that's where we are today, with a whole new galaxy of vaults to explore, and loot to uncover.

What to Expect in the Latest Borderlands Adventure

The Borderlands 3 release date was September 13, 2019, and at last, gamers could discover that Gearbox had included in the third instalment of the cult franchise. This time around, the graphics, sound, and general smoothness of the gameplay has been fine-tuned and enhanced, as you'd expect when 7 years have passed since the last release.

In this instalment, Borderlands has gone galaxy-wide. However, it begins on the planet Pandora, a few years after the demise of Handsome Jack. Apparently, the death of Jack and the vanquishing of the Hyperion Corporation (another key adversary from Borderlands 2), wasn't the end of the story – not by a long shot. As you discover immediately, intelligence has uncovered evidence of alien technology in vaults located across the galaxy.

Unfortunately, there's a snag. After the death of Jack, the twins Troy and Tyreen Calypso rose to power on Pandora, creating a force called the Children of the Vault, and they have exactly the same idea as our vault hunters. So, as with the other Borderlands games, the storyline sees players battling it out to explore and map vaults before their competitors, with plenty of first-person fighting along the way.

Some of the most important Borderlands 3 characters are the vault hunters in your team. There are four characters to choose from, each with their own unique abilities and skill tree:

• Amara – Amara's major skill is in targeting large groups of enemies via a series of weapons known as Phasegrasp, Phaseslam, and Phasecast. All three of them are essential powerful attacks which can clear space during fights, giving you time to think and plan a winning strategy.

• FLK4 – FL4K is a rough and ready vault hunter with an important ally: his ability to communicate with animals and use them to his advantage. Attacks are based around various animals, including jabers, which boost speed, spiderants, which help you heal, and skags, which make your attacks more powerful. And those attacks can be potent, including dive-bombing Rakk Attacks, and Gamma Bursts.

• Zane – The trickster of the group, Zane fights through deception, putting up deflector cloaks to reduce damage, and creating clones to divert the attention of enemies. He also brings the SNTNL drone to the action, enabling players to deal destruction remotely, with their character safely away from danger.

• Moze – Moze is a ballistics expert, pure and simple. Her major skill is engineering, which allows you to mobilise the formidable Iron Bear – a robotic warrior with an endless array of weapons in its arsenal. Railguns, mini-guns, and grenade launchers make Moze's robotic buddy an essential ally.

Understanding Borderlands 3 Gameplay: A Few Pointers to Get You Started

Borderlands 3 doesn't depart much from the classic gameplay of the earlier games in the series, so experienced players will be right at home. For those who haven't landed on Pandora before, the action isn't hard to grasp. Borderlands 3 is basically a first-person shooter, where players carry out vault quests on a series of planets.

Players take control of the squad of 4 vault hunters (see above), and they have to choose which skill set to use. Each hunter has a set of possibilities, leading to different weapons and skill upgrades, such as speed, regeneration, stealth, and damage. Choosing the right “action skill” is vital, as it will determine how your team fares in melee battles throughout the game.

In Borderlands 3 skill trees are all important, so mastering how they work is a crucial first step. After you've selected your action skill, you'll quickly find that new abilities are unlocked. For instance, Amara's skills graduate from “Personal Space” attacks to “Blight Tiger”, “Vigor”, and “Jab Cross”. Skills get more powerful the more experience players acquire, and they rise in “tiers” the more you play.

In theory, this makes Borderlands 3 much more replayable, as you can unlock completely different sets of weapons, skills, and attacks. If it sounds complex now, don't worry. As you play the game and encounter branching skill trees, it all becomes much, much clearer.

Loot chests are also vital parts of the game. When you defeat enemies, you'll receive loot as a reward, which feeds into skill tree upgrades, and opens up new weapons. In fact, according to Gearbox, the way weapons upgrades work means that there are over a billion potential weapons for players to wield, depending on how they acquire loot. So the variations are massive.

As with many loot-based games, it's possible to “farm” crates in certain places, allowing players with the right amount of patience to upgrade their team's skills without taking too much damage.

Borderlands 3 Editions

Customers can purchase Borderlands 3 Xbox One, PC, and PS4 versions, and they all come in a range of editions, with different features and very different price points. Here are the major editions, with everything they contain:

• Borderlands 3 Standard Edition – The cheapest option for Borderlands 3 Playstation, PC, and Xbox gamers, the Standard Edition comes with the game, and very little else. Some Borderlands 3 offers may come with DLC included, but most of the time, Standard Editions will feature the core game, and require users to purchase add-ons separately.

• Borderlands 3 Deluxe Edition – Moving up the price scale, the Deluxe Edition comes with the game, as well as various vault hunter skins for multiplayer gaming, a couple of loot boxes, and extra weapons to get players started a few tiers above the crowd.

• Borderlands 3 Super Deluxe Edition – Retailing for much more than the Standard Edition, this version is more expensive, but hardened Borderlands fans may find the extra outlay worthwhile. It comes with everything you'll find in the Deluxe Edition, as well as a Season Pass for the multiplayer servers, four extra DLC campaigns, and extra weapon skins and loot mods

• Borderlands 3 Diamond Loot Chest – The most expensive way to purchase Borderlands 3, the Diamond Loot Chest first cost as much as £200 and is a limited edition, so if you see it on sale, snap it up fast. It comes with a huge set of figurines from the new Borderlands title and previous instalments, as well as a neat diamond chest replica, a model of the Sanctuary 3 ship which ferries vault hunters around the galaxy, four keychains, a beautiful cloth map of the galaxy, five lithographs of the major characters, and a premium steelbook case. And on top of that, you get all of the digital content that comes with the Super Deluxe Edition.

Most buyers will baulk at the cost of the Diamond Loot Chest edition, and that's understandable. It's worth remembering that you can purchase quite a lot of Borderlands merchandise separately, enabling buyers to curate their own “deluxe” editions as gifts for gamers. But if you know someone who adores Borderlands, and loves to kit their gaming room out with merchandise, why not check for Diamond Loot Chest deals? You never know what kind of prices could crop up at hotukdeals.

Minimum and Recommended Borderlands 3 PC Specs

Before you buy Borderlands 3 for PC, it's essential to understand whether the game will run on your system, and whether you have the recommended specifications. So, here are the minimum specs:

• OS: Windows 7 64-bit

• CPU: AMD FX-8350 (Intel i5-3570)

• GPU: AMD Radeon™ HD 7970 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB

• RAM: 6GB

• Disk space: 75GB

And here are the recommended specs:

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit

• CPU: AMD Ryzen™ 5 2600 (Intel i7-4770)

• GPU: AMD Radeon™ RX 590 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB

• RAM: 16GB

• Disk space: 75GB

Borderlands 3 Reviews

Another thing to do before purchasing any game is to check for the response from the UK's gaming press. These days, every title is rigorously play-tested and assessed before it hits the shops, giving a good impression of what kind of audience will enjoy it, and whether it measures up.

In the case of Borderlands 3, the feedback from reviewers is pretty encouraging all-round. As Trusted Reviews puts it in its review, the game “shows modern looter shooters how to have fun the old-fashioned way.” The magazine's tester was wowed by the melee fighting system and the range of weapons available, as well as the way that skill trees and loot boxes lead to diverse gaming experiences. And the reviewer also liked the way Gearbox had expanded the “universe”, adding new planets with different conditions and looks – and not just action on Pandora itself.

However, Trusted Reviews wasn't so keen on the tone of the character dialogue. As veterans of the franchise will know, Borderlands is famous for its knockabout Australian humour. This can work for some people, but alienates others. And the reviewer was definitely not taken with Claptrap, the helper robot who follows your team around and offers handy (and supposedly amusing) advice. But aside from those character-based issues, the actual game was highly praised.

Most outlets have echoed Trusted Reviews, with Borderlands 3 enjoying an impressive Metacritic rating for PC (and Xbox and PS4). Feedback shows that reviewers are polarised by the humour (some love it, some hate it), as well as the retention of core gameplay aspects without moving things forward. But the consensus is that the classic Borderlands questing and fighting action is here, and it's as enjoyable as ever.

Can You Play Multiplayer Borderlands 3?

Yes! While there's no Battle Royale style action on offer here, Gearbox have included a more subtle, fun, and team-based multiplayer co-op mode. In this mode, players can join forces with three other human players. This is arranged via the “Social” option on the Borderlands menu, which launches a match-making tool, which in turn links you up with available players across the world.

One neat aspect of this is that you can find players who have reached the same stage in the game as yourself, and work together to move forward. Usually, first-person shooters separate main quests from multiplayer modes, but Gearbox have taken a different approach.

However, that's not the only option. There are a couple of multiplayer modes to join which have nothing to do with the central narrative:

• Circle of Slaughter – A battle to the death as you and your buddies fight off successive waves of attackers.

• Proving Grounds – Creates special vaults for multiplayer action, which culminate in plenty of loot to use in the main quest.

Is Borderlands 3 Cross-Platform?

Apparently, yes. Gearbox once stated that they were considering cross-platform play as an option, but as of the release date in September 2019, this wasn't actually included. So you'll be limited to co-operating with PC, Xbox or PS4 players, which could be annoying if your friends own different games consoles.

Do you need a Season Pass to play Borderlands 3 online?

Finally, we need to mention the Season Pass again. As you'll remember, this was part of the Super Deluxe Edition, but not the Deluxe or Standard editions, but it can be purchased separately if desired.

Why would you purchase a season pass? Well, passes come with certain benefits, including 4 new DLC episodes, weapon skins and mods. So they open up a whole new set of adventures that don't come with the core title. If you finish the main game and want more storylines to follow, check for season pass deals at hotukdeals. They can often be cheaper than spending extra for the Super Deluxe Edition.

Borderlands 3 - Official Cinematic Launch Trailer: "Let's Make Some Mayhem"

How, When and Where to Buy Borderlands 3: Some Key Buying Advice

Borderlands 3 offers up another dose of vault exploring, grenade launching, loot acquiring fun, with the trademark wit of the cult series very much in evidence once again. Whether you're a long-time Borderlands fan, or you are looking for a quirky space shooter with plenty of replay value, this PS4, Xbox One, and PC title is a great bet. But it doesn't always come cheap, especially for Super Deluxe and Diamond Loot Crate editions.

Thankfully, finding great Borderlands 3 deals won't be hard, and it's often possible to slash the cost of a ticket to Pandora. The key to finding a cheap Borderlands 3 edition is to hunt for offers at hotukdeals. Our listings site features discount codes and money off deals from all of the UK's biggest gaming merchants. From GAME and CDKeys, to Base.com, the PlayStation Network, Steam, and Asda, if a retailer is offering Borderlands 3 offers, you'll find the details here.

If you're looking for the most expensive editions, timing your purchase can also help. There's a strong possibility that Diamond Loot Crate Editions will be released around Black Friday in November, and there may be New Year deals to explore. Amazon Prime Day is also a happy hunting ground for Borderlands 3 deals, no matter what platform you use.

But the key thing is to shop around. Check multiple vendors, compare prices (and check for season passes as well). That way, you'll be able to start vault hunting in no time.

Save the Galaxy with the Borderlands 3 Offers at hotukdeals

One of gaming's most popular franchises returns for Xbox One, PS4, and PCs, in the shape of Borderlands 3. Created by Gearbox Games, this first-person shooter mixes quirky humour, exciting questing, character development, and co-operative multiplayer modes in a way that has reviewers purring. And gamers can find the best prices for any Borderlands 3 products at hotukdeals.