Tiny Tina's Wonderlands was a dream come true for those that fell in love with Borderlands 2's DLC, Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon's Keep. The high fantasy setting combined with modern language, humor, and armaments, still proves to be a creative concept teeming with possibilities, both narratively and in terms of gameplay.
While it should be stated that there currently are no official confirmations regarding any Tiny Tina's Wonderlands sequels or related projects, it's easy to imagine what one might entail, or at least be absorbed in the potential of the setting. The following list will look at additions that could better a possible sequel.
6 Rework The Overworld Map
Or At Least Don't Make My Head So Big!
The overworld map in Tiny Tina's Wonderlands refers to the tabletop-style map that players walk around on to get to different objectives. This map can be bypassed by the fast travel system, but it has its own little secrets, and some story events happen upon it that push the narrative forward. It's a fitting concept given the conceit of the game, but it's also very linear. It contains slight puzzle elements, but nothing that isn't already present in the gameplay.
A reworked version of this, maybe in the form of a connecting area like Hyrule Plains from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, or Estan Plains from Dragon's Dogma, could serve a similar purpose while also keeping players within the framework of the core sandbox. Changes in abilities and items could also unlock secrets within these plains, rewarding them for returning and exploring, all while housing the game's main city for accessible shopping.
5 Add Weapon Crafting
To Diversify The Gameplay Loop
While most looter shooters typically hinge on replaying content to fuel their gameplay loops, the Borderlands series has always been good at offering diverse content, and Tiny Tina's Wonderlands is no exception. Many of the game’s side quests are fantastically written, and unique from both a narrative and gameplay perspective. These missions, however, are severely underutilized when it comes to gear, with most of the interesting guns being farmed in the repeatable end game activities.
However, if Tiny Tina's Wonderlands added the ability to craft weapons, this could be used to leverage the rewards of not only side quests, but all other activities that aren't the repeatable end game arenas typical of the genre. This would not only incentivize more people to experience the side content, but it could also serve as bad luck protection for those chasing very specific rolls of guns.
4 Unlock All Body Cosmetics From The Start
For The Sake Of Player Choice
Unlike in previous Borderlands games, which had players embody established characters, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands has players create their own avatars to star in the adventure. However, on top of the already limited facial and body customization, there is a severe lack of other options like hair, eyebrow, facial hair, skin color, and wearable accessories such as glasses.
This is because many of these alterations are rewarded later in the game via random drops and side quests. This reward system is not only completely antithetical to the creative freedoms allowed by the game's largest inspiration, Dungeons and Dragons, but it is also just disappointing in general when many of the options are basic things like hair and skin color.
3 More Visual Class Distinction
To Better Sell The Class Fantasy
Another thing caused by the switch to custom characters is visual distinction between classes. Because players all share the same body silhouette, and armor only rarely changes with different classes, the bigger artistic distinctions seen in previous Borderlands characters are gone. To alleviate this, a sequel could focus on creating more visual identity through armor sets that are distinct, which could get pushed further by how players mix classes later in the game.
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands: Every Class, Ranked For Solo Players
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands has powerful classes. These are the best (and worst) of the bunch for solo players.
Settling on motifs for the individual classes, and allowing players to then mix and match between the two motifs of their assigned classes, could preserve player choice while giving each combination a distinct visual identity alongside their already diverse abilities.
2 New Game Plus
To Give The Campaign More Longevity
New Game Plus is a feature that has been in every Borderlands title, in some shape or form, and the premise is simple: Play through a nearly identical campaign, only more difficult, for more rewards and experience. The mode is simple but effective for those who want to replay the game's main story, while also progressing their character beyond their first campaign playthrough.
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, however, does not have this mode. It does not necessarily matter from a leveling standpoint, as experience gains and quest rewards scale with character levels, but it is one less option given to the player, and one definitely missed by those that are used to the old method and like to see how the campaign missions fair on higher difficulties.
1 Emphasize Melee & Magic
To Revolutionize The Formula
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands may be aesthetically different from the Borderlands games, but what it shares with its predecessors is its heavy emphasis on the "Shooting" part of the looter-shooter genre. However, because of its setting, it doesn't have to be this way. While the core gameplay loop of running and gunning should stay unaltered, a Tiny Tina's Wonderlands sequel could lean into its Medieval fantasy setting to open the door to new ways of play.
Making versions of spells and melee weapons that are equippable in the standard weapon slots could transform them from spins on existing mechanics (melee and grenades), and completely flip the gameplay loop on its head. This could lead to new and refreshing avenues of play, like a focus on melee that allows for builds without the need of guns, or the ability to use staffs and bows to shoot slow moving projectiles that in turn do increased damage, or have unique status effects.
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands
- Released
- March 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Gearbox Software
- Platform(s)
- PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, FPS
