Review: Borderlands 3: Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck

Yep, that’s a title

So far in 2020, there are two contenders for “most outrageous title.”

Borderlands 3: Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck, and Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).

This roller coaster of a year isn’t over yet, folks!

Borderlands 3: Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck (PC [reviewed], PS4, Xbox One)
Developer: Gearbox Software
Publisher: 2K Games
Released: September 10, 2020
MSRP: $49.99 (Part of the Season Pass, comprised of four DLCs)

Well folks, we’re at the end of the line. At least, as far as the first season pass is concerned. We took a trip to a mostly fun casino, attended a lovely wedding, and trounced through a semi-lifeless western town.

Now it’s time to enter the mind of Krieg: a somewhat friendly Psycho that’s often forgotten in the annals of Borderlands history. Spurred by an experiment in the name of Psycho research, the stakes are a bit lower as you’re literally visiting Krieg’s brain, giving the whole DLC a distinctly “Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon’s Keep” feel. For the most part, this is a good thing.

In your quest to uncover the secret of “Vaulthalla” — a concept that could lead the world of Borderlands one step closer to understanding what makes Psychos tick — you’ll trek through several very linear areas connected by a hub with portals. The aesthetics range from Lewis Carol to Doom, with the classic peppering of repurposed older areas into the DLC for good measure. It benefits from this one-track approach, as the expansions so far have largely swung and missed with empty sandboxes that look great on paper, but aren’t fun to hang around in.

It’s more interesting than many of the DLC dalliances thus far, even dating back to previous games. Without giving away too much you’ll encounter a strikingly different “Sane Krieg” very early on, who wants to split from the “lovable” unhinged one some fans have grown attached to. Throughout your quest you’ll encounter dueling memories from each persona, as well as distorted views of events that actually happened (according to Krieg).

All of these phenomena are explained in-game in a neat way that helps shed a little light on some of the relationships between a few of the main cast members. Those moments are aided by a few fun boss fights that I won’t spoil here (that were glitch-free outside of one instance where an enemy decided to teleport to a raised platform and not interact for the rest of the fight). You finish a few of those big brawls and then a few hours and one low-key ending later: that’s it. This is a very acute and personal tale, not a finale or table setting for a sequel.

Although it can feel slow-going at times, Borderlands 3: Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck benefits from its lore-heavy framework and a clear focus on one major character. If Gearbox has anything to say about it, this isn’t the end of Borderlands 3‘s DLC, despite the fact that this is the final expansion of the first season pass. There’s plenty of room for improvement if it is meant to be.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}