Borderlands 1 is an extremely clunky old game with a lot of potential right out of the gate, and although I really do enjoy it for the most part (The humour used to be a lot more self contained, there were different enemy types aside from just the usual Bandit Re-skinned, the variety in locations on the maps were fun to see, the maps were also just better designed with more stuff in them, New Haven is there with my wife Helena Pierce etc), there is absolutely a lot of problems with it (The pacing is agonizingly slow, things don’t seem to happen because the world is moving around you they just happen because it’s time for the Vault Hunter to do something now, there’s an uncomfortable amount of silence when no one’s tapking, the villain is a complete joke, the CONTROLS are SO BAD !! Etc), problems that I think could be easily fixed with the help of a remaster for the game. Given how neglected it is by Gearbox with how insistent they seem to try and decanonize it all together despite all the cool things it does, I highly doubt its ever going to happen, but ah, oh well. I can still appreciate my shitty little thing with all my heart if the corporation who made it won't— hey that sounds familiar,
BL1 is genuinely may be my favorite game that ive ever played. wish it was good! /hj
but mann i could talk about it forever. pandora itself just feels so strikingly different in it than in the other games. its so much more grounded (for better or worse, gameplay wise.) and the time you do spend with npcs make them feel personally connected with the VHs. marcus propositioning the VHs, helping ned and TK, angel being somewhat more playful, even pierce’s scolding (which is very deserved).
the environments as well are so memorable. specifically thinking about the cave in skag gully and the small community in tetanus warren. i think BL1 handles inside areas very well in comparison to the other games where a lot of the time there is just so much space. BL1s got a lot of tight corners youve got to fight through. sledges warehouse in comparison with the bloodshot stronghold, for example.
and then just the big, empty grays of the salt flats that start the desaturation going forward until the end of the game. the warm colors of the desert being replaced by the harsh reds of atlas and then going fully white at the end.
just,,,its so good. visually its amazing.