Gearbox opened up Summer Game Fest with the official announcement of their newest game, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. Considering the track record of Gearbox and publisher 2K Games making the Borderlands franchise together since 2009, it would’ve been a fair assumption to think Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands would be another entry in the series. However, the reveal showed that the game will be its own new full-length spin-off adventure when it releases in 2022.
The character of Tiny Tina made her first appearance in the Borderlands 2 DLC Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon’s Keep. During the DLC, players were made to navigate through a campaign heavily inspired by Dungeons and Dragons, with Tiny Tina controlling the world and setting whenever she pleased. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands seems to take great inspiration from this DLC, with the titular character returning to serve as a guide through the fantasy world as players set out to defeat the Dragon Lord.
Ashly Burch of Horizon: Zero Dawn fame will reprise her role as Tiny Tina in the new adventure, leading an all-star cast of Andy Samberg as Captain Valentine, Wanda Sykes as a robot named Frette, and Will Arnett as the villainous Dragon Lord. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands will still feature the unique weaponry and looter-shooting gameplay found in the Borderlands franchise, but with a new emphasis on spell casting that fits the fantasy setting. Players can also look forward to a deeper character customization than ever before, allowing characters to fit into multiple classes at once.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands Is A Separate Experience From Borderlands
During Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands reveal, Summer Games Fest host Geoff Keighley interviewed Tiny Tina voice actress Ashly Burch about the upcoming title from Gearbox. During the presentation, Burch made it clear that the new game is a completely separate experience from the Borderlands franchise. This came as a bit of a surprise, as Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands gets its name from one of the series’ most iconic characters.
According to Gearbox founder Randy Pitchford, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands has been in and out of development for the past decade. Pitchford states that the team’s focus during development was working “towards a Role-Playing Shooter set in a fantasy universe.” Pitchford went on to share his excitement in the new game, saying that “For me, bringing actual Borderlands guns to fight dragons, skeletons, goblins and more in an original fantasy world imagined by the world’s deadliest thirteen-year-old, Tiny Tina, as a new, full-featured AAA videogame is a dream come true.”
Allowing Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands to exist outside of the Borderlands universe allows Gearbox to create a wholly unique experience without being tied to previous story, characters and certain gameplay mechanics. Having more character customization and implementing spellcasting in Wonderlands shows Gearbox is leaning in heavily to the Dungeons and Dragons influence, instead of recreating the typical Borderlands experience with a little magic thrown in to seem different. Players will have to wait until next year to see how much Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands deviates from the Borderlands formula.
