Borderlands 3 is Absolutely Worth Playing in 2025 – A Detailed Review

As a long-time Borderlands fan and expert, I can definitively say that Borderlands 3 is absolutely still worth playing in 2024 – and then some! Both loyal vault hunters and newcomers alike will find BL3 an incredible and addictive looter shooter experience for these reasons and more.

Let‘s dig in…

Introduction to Borderlands 3

Released on September 13, 2019, Borderlands 3 is the latest core entry in Gearbox Software‘s wildly popular looter shooter franchise. Selling over 12 million copies globally, BL3 has become the fastest-selling title in 2K‘s history.

To put that into perspective, it nearly doubled the sales of Borderlands 2, showing just how eagerly fans were awaiting this threequel. And it‘s still going strong – BL3 averages around 100,000 concurrent players daily on Steam alone as of February 2023.

BL3 delivers everything fans expect – frantic first-person shooter combat, bazillions of procedurally generated guns, slick vault hunter abilities, humor and charm to spare, and of course, copious amounts of loot. It also adds a ton of welcome new features and improvements.

But with the game more than 3 years old now, is Borderlands 3 still worth playing for both diehard fans and new players in 2024? Let‘s analyze its merits across all factors to find out!

The Core Gameplay Loop Is As Addicting As Ever

Let‘s start with the most important question – how does it feel to play BL3? The answer is extremely good! The primal gameplay loop of chopping through enemies and monsters to grab increasingly powerful sparkling gear remains incredibly addictive even after hundreds of hours.

Several key factors contribute to this endless gameplay loop:

• Gunplay – Firing BL3‘s wide array of pistols, shotguns, SMGs and more feels fantastic. Guns pack a punch, critical hits are satisfying, elements add bonuses, and the sound design is top-notch. Shooting alone is a joy.

• Procedural Guns – With over 1 billion procedurally generated guns, you never stop finding new and powerful weapons with random bonuses and effects. It‘s a constant dopamine rush.

• Build Diversity – Between the 4 vault hunters with 3 skill trees each, the combinations for viable builds are endless. Always chase the next great build!

• Co-op – Playing with friends quadruples the chaos, fun and gear. Synergize character skills and find the best guns to obliterate everything together!

• New Game+ & Mayhem – Keep ramping up the challenge and loot quality! Always improve your build.

Gearbox perfectly blended these elements together to create an endless gameplay loop that retains its addictiveness over hundreds of hours. The core feeling of enjoyment simply never expires.

Major Improvements Over Previous Games

While the formula remains familiar, Borderlands 3 also adds a ton of new features and quality-of-life improvements that enhance the core gameplay.

Traversal & Mobility

• Mantling & ledge-grabbing
• Sliding
• Sprinting

Vehicles

• Motorcycles, trucks
• Custom skins
• More driving sections

Accessibility

• Auto pick-up ammo
• Vending machines everywhere
• Fast travel from anywhere

Visuals

• Varied environments on different planets
• Great enemy designs
• Next-gen graphics on PC/PS5/XSX

BL3 is simply the most polished Borderlands experience yet while retaining everything fans loved from the previous games. And it only gets better with age as next-gen upgrades roll out.

The Loot Keeps On Coming

Of course, the real star of any Borderlands game is the seemingly endless smorgasbord of random guns. BL3 turns this up to 11 by having over 1 billion procedurally generated weapons according to Gearbox. Here are some examples of the insane weapon variety you‘ll find:

Weapon Type	Example Bonuses
Pistols	Elemental effects, ricocheting bullets, homing projectiles
Shotguns	Release explosive slugs or beams, bounce between enemies
SMGs	Alternate laser firing mode, bullets stick to enemies and explode
Sniper Rifles	Can shoot through walls, charge up for critical hits
Rocket Launchers	Fire entire volleys, nuke large areas

And that‘s just the tip of the iceberg – enemies also drop grenade mods, shields, class mods and more to optimize your vault hunter. There are so many viable builds and gear combinations to chase thanks to this legendary loot diversity.

Finding amazing guns with wild bonuses and seeing your power grow is incredibly rewarding. According to PCGamesN, "The endless and anarchic variation ensures discovery remains part of the experience for an abnormal amount of time." This loot loop will hook you for hundreds of hours.

4 Awesome New Vault Hunters

Previous Borderlands games let you play as just 4 vault hunters. BL3 generously expands this to offer 4 brand new characters with diverse backgrounds, personalities and playstyles:

Moze – The Gunner who summons powerful mechs and unleashes endless fiery explosions.

FL4K – The Beastmaster who befriends deadly creatures to fight alongside them.

Amara – The mystical Siren who phase-locks enemies in place with elemental powers.

Zane – The high-tech Operative who utilizes gadgets, drones and decoys.

Having 3 unique skill trees each results in nearly limitless build options. You can be a mech-piloting, grenade spamming maniac as Moze. Or control the battlefield with clones, shields and speed as Zane. Each vault hunter brings something special to the table for different playstyles.

Popular gaming YouTuber SkillUp perfectly summarizes why the new vault hunters shine in his BL3 review:

"Gearbox has knocked it out of the park with the new vault hunters. Their abilities complement multiple playstyles, mobbing and bossing builds very nicely."

There are so many killer character and gear build combinations to assemble – you won‘t stop fine-tuning and experimenting for ages.

Excellent Replayability & Endgame Content

Of course, the real test for a looter shooter comes after you‘ve beaten the story. How does the endgame hold up? Extremely well in BL3! Once you hit max level, there are countless ways to continue the loot hunt:

• Mayhem Levels (1-11) – Scale enemy health, damage and loot quality
• New Game+ – Replay the full campaign on True Vault Hunter mode
• Takedowns – Special endgame co-op boss rushes
• Circle of Slaughter – Horde mode arenas
• Raid Bosses – Epic battles requiring optimized builds (Wotan, Hemovorous etc.)
• Arms Race – Roguelike loot mode on new map
• Chaos Chamber – Randomized dungeon endgame content

Taking on higher Mayhem levels, repeated playthroughs and extreme endgame challenges will put your perfected builds and gear to the test. According to PCGamer, the endgame content variety ensures "there’s always something new to See, Shoot, Loot."

Hundreds of hours in, you‘ll still be experimenting with builds and grinding for that next great drop. The replayability is virtually endless.

6 Expansions Add Tremendous Value

Beyond the stellar base game, BL3 has expanded massively through 6 paid DLC expansions that each add substantial content:

• Moxxi‘s Heist of the Handsome Jackpot – All new story, zone, loot
• Guns, Love & Tentacles – Epic wedding gone wrong tale
• Bounty of Blood – Wild west planet theme
• Psycho Krieg & The Fantastic Fustercluck – Journey into Krieg‘s mind
• Designer‘s Cut – New skill trees, Arms Race map
• Director‘s Cut – Raid boss, vault card challenges

Every DLC brings hours of additional story content, areas to explore, enemies to fight and loot to acquire. Considering how cheap the DLC packs get during sales, they massively flesh out the base experience with value-packed add-ons. Every vault hunter needs the full package!

Active Online Community & Co-Op

Being able to team up with random fellow vault hunters online is a huge draw of Borderlands 3. Playing solo is great fun, but combining your powers and builds in co-op enables insane destruction that has to be experienced.

Remarkably, the online community remains extremely active years after launch. As of February 2023, BL3 still averages around 100,000 concurrent players on Steam. Finding public games or specific groups to play with is quick and reliable.

The Spirit of Gaming perfectly encapsulates the co-op experience:

“There is nothing quite like teaming up with your friends to cause absolute mayhem. Borderlands 3 delivers chaos, humour and camaraderie in spades.”

The vibrant playerbase ensures co-op remains an essential way to enjoy everything BL3 has to offer.

Technical Improvements & Next-Gen Upgrades

On the technical side, BL3 made major strides over previous series entries with faster loading, better gunplay physics, multiplayer stability and quality-of-life improvements like mantling and auto-pickup.

The game also continues evolving well beyond launch. The new native PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions deliver 4K 60 FPS performance and enhanced visuals for buttery smooth gameplay. Support for NVIDIA DLSS and AMD FSR provide big FPS boosts on PC.

Are there still some technical quirks? Sure – no game is perfect. But GBX continues squashing bugs and upgrading BL3 to keep improving the technical experience. It runs and plays better than ever in 2024.

Conclusion – An Absolute Must-Play Looter Shooter

Taking a complete look across all factors – gameplay, mechanics, loot, content, support and more – Borderlands 3 remains an absolute must-play looter shooter experience even in 2024 for both loyal vault hunters and newcomers alike.

Everything fans love is cranked up to 11 – the gunplay feels fantastic, there‘s seemingly infinite build variety, new vault hunters provide combat diversity, the endgame and DLC supply endless content, and cooperative chaos is as fun as ever. All wrapped in Borderlands‘ signature humor and style.

Some faults like the lackluster main story and occasional technical hiccups are easily outweighed by the sheer depth and enjoyment of the core gameplay loop. According to PC Gamer, Borderlands 3 is "wild, overwhelming, and plays like a dream." I couldn‘t agree more – BL3 is a hallmark of the entire looter shooter genre and should absolutely be played and enjoyed today.

So whether you‘re a seasoned Borderlands expert or have never played before, don‘t hesitate to pick up BL3 and discover why it remains one of the premier PvE co-op experiences available now. You won‘t regret it! See you on the battlefield, vault hunters…