Borderlands 3’s DLC follows a clear trend in content themes, and the upcoming expansion of Director’s Cut does not differ.
Borderlands 3 displayed more than a year of content after the launch, from a marriage on a planet inspired by Cthulhu, to a journey in the mind of the most famous psycho of the franchise. Each DLC contains unique weapons, characters, crew challenges and locations, with some changing things even further through new vehicle types. The result of this diverse approach is a series of expansions that each see a unique tone and tell a story that feels completely different from the DLC package that came before it.
In spite of Borderlands 3 with a series of extensions going out of their way to be different, there is one thread that connects each. While this connection is not as obvious as a character being crossed by every DLC or using similar mission structure and game mechanics, it is striking if fans pay enough attention – and fans of movies and television have already taken up the trend early. In Borderlands 3, each extension is based on a recognizable movie or TV genre, and Gearbox seems to have continued this configuration with some of the Director’s Cut content.
Click the button below to start this article in a quick view.
The DLC trend so far
While we compare Borderlands 3extensions to Borderlands 2 highlight interesting connections between the games, Borderlands 3‘s DLC inspirations are even clearer. Each expansion released so far for the game has a connection to some genre of storytelling, and some show this connection more clearly than others. So far, all the movie and TV genres covered by the latest Borderlands game expansions:
- Moxxi’s Heist of The Handsome Jackpot – Heist Movies: This is a bit self-evident as ‘heist’ occurs in the tile of the extension, but Borderlands 3‘s first DLC boasts all the tropics of the genre. Not only does Moxxi have to complete the impossible task of stealing Handsome Jack’s casino in space, but she’s recruiting a team of fellow apostates to do so. From Handsome Jack’s double Timothy to fire – loving Ember, the team’s misguided plan comes together in a way one would expect from a Heist story.
- Guns, love and tentacles – romance and cosmic horror: Borderlands 3The second expansion after the launch covers the marriage of Sir Hammerlock and Wainwright Jakobs. Along with several unique Jacobs weapons to acquire, the expansion includes some heavy links to The Thing – with the planet named Xylourgos as one of them. The entire The Lodge serves as a reference to classic cosmic horror stories, and one of its two genre inspirations is obvious. Several troupes of romance stories also appear, such as Wainwright and Hammerlock asking if their relationship will work out.
- Bounty of Blood – Western: Just as with its predecessors, Borderlands 3The third expansion does not attempt to hide its genre inspirations. Although forbidden persons ride dinosaur-like “demons” instead of horses, everything else is perfectly in line with what would be seen in a Western country. The centerpiece is an old town run by a sheriff, while the evil Rose wears a cowboy hat and a stylish revolver. While the planet Gehenna’s Japanese architecture helps to make the locations of the ordinary Western stand out, the story and themes do not frighten the Western genre at all.
- Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck – Sci-Fi: While Krieg’s expansion is the most difficult to limit to inspiration, the premise of his story can be linked to Science Fiction stories. Apart from the experiment Krieg did to make him who he is, the whole of the DLC takes place in the mind of the character, while Krieg changes the environment and characters in the made-up world. The genius scientist Tannis who helps the Vault Hunters enter Krieg’s brain at the beginning of the DLC also shouts Science Fiction because there are few other genres that can fit such concepts.
- The Designer’s Cut – Games: Consider it Borderlands 3‘s Designer’s Cut consists of different content and does not function as a regular extension. This could have been the place where developer Gearbox put an end to the pattern of movies and TV themes. Instead, it continued via the unique, roguelike Arms Race game mode. On return Borderlands 2 Vault Hunters Axton and Salvador name the action. The whole event is treated like a game show, with commentary entertaining and the “prizes” being massive weapon drop.
Clearly, Gearbox has an affinity for covering popular genres, with Borderlands 2 touch Fantasy via the beloved Assault on Dragon Keep DLC. See the trend continue in Borderlands 3 is intriguing and may imply that future Borderlands games will keep this setup intact. Regardless of whether more DLC in movies and TV themes comes in future games, Borderlands 3It has been confirmed that the Director’s Cut has continued this tradition and brought another popular film and television genre to the world Borderlands universe.
The inspiration for Ava’s DLC Questline
Borderlands 3Director’s Cut has received much praise for its Multiverse skins, battle-fitting system and attacking boss, but the new Ava story is equally interesting. The story missions could be Gearbox’s chance to make one of Borderlands 3The most despicable characters are pleasant, as many spoke to Ava’s attitude in the game’s main story. Regardless of whether the missions in this area succeed, but it continues with the pattern of genre inspiration.
In these missions, players will help the young Siren with a series of murder mysteries. If the inspiration for the detective story was not clear enough, the mission structure should reject players over the genre to which Gearbox pays homage. With the extra quest to find players on crime scenes for clues to the environment, Ava’s missions seem to be leaning just as strongly into mysterious fiction as previous expansions have done with the nod to Westerns and Heists.
Like guns, love and tentacles, Ava’s mission chain boasts a second inspiration, coming largely from ghost hunting programs. While players explore different planets to solve the cold, Ava will document all the findings via a podcast titled ‘Mysteriouslier’. With the riddles described by Gearbox as ‘potentially supernatural’, Borderlands 3Vault Hunters can deal with ghosts in the next DLC. With important decisive decisions for the Borderlands the film is revealed, and the great progress is made with the processing, it seems appropriate Borderlands 3 has so strongly influenced its DLC content through film.
Borderlands 3 is now available for PC, PS4, PS5, Stages, Xbox One and Xbox Series X.
About the author