Gearbox invent the looter shooter on dusty Pandora with cheeky frat-house humour. The first Borderlands feels rough at times but lays down a devilish formula, and farming the perfect rocket launcher with four pals is era-defining bliss.
First-person shooter by Gearbox Software and 2K Games, October 2009. Four bounty hunters explore the desolate planet of Pandora in search of a mysterious Vault with legendary powers. Massive RPG loot with millions of procedurally generated weapons, online co-op up to four players and off-beat humor. Pioneer of the loot-shooter genre blending FPS and RPG.
Borderlands review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
3/5
Music
★★★★★
"Memorable"
3/5
Story
★★★★★
"Solid"
Cel-shading with thick inked outlines, a garish palette and a deranged post-apocalyptic universe: the game looks like a playable comic book. The over-the-top design of the enemies and the trashy aesthetic compose an immediately recognisable identity. This visual direction, stylish and unbridled, left a lasting mark on the FPS.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Founding the looter-shooter formula on a deluge of procedurally generated weapons and unbridled co-op produces a loop of shooting and loot that's instantly addictive. The complementary classes spice up every run across Pandora. A touch repetitive solo, this pioneer retains a punchy gunplay and an offbeat spirit that remain a genuine pleasure, above all with friends.
Fun
"From the very first minutes"
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Mowing down hordes to make ever-slightly-better weapons rain down kicks off a fearsomely catchy loot hunt, especially in co-op. Leveling up, comparing your finds and heading back to farm reward every outing. The repetitive objectives weigh on solo play, but the offbeat humor and the quest for the perfect gun make every session hard to wrap up.
Borderlands, a Gearbox loot-shooter that successfully married the FPS and role-playing loot in a cel-shaded world, the founder of a genre in its own right. Very widespread, its collector interest is modest, its desirability resting on this pioneering role rather than scarcity, the Japanese version being harder to find. An accessible piece for a shooter set on the console, carried by its historic value.
Better with friends
Loot pillaging and unhinged gunplay marry here in four-player co-op where everyone cultivates their class and a wild arsenal. Mutual aid dominates, but the race for legendary guns breeds a teasing one-upmanship full of twists. Playable two-player in local split-screen, it suits express sessions as well as long campaigns, always with savage humor.
Is Borderlands still worth playing in 2026?
Released in 2009 on Xbox 360, Gearbox's Borderlands invented a recipe that became a genre of its own: nervy shooting crossed with loot hunting and millions of generated guns. On the planet Pandora, the offbeat humour, the cel shaded look and four player co op form a cocktail still as addictive as ever. Levelling, looting and starting over stronger keeps a rare hold. The story stays light and the zones can repeat. But the alchemy works. For fans of looter shooters and co op play, this pioneer keeps genuine pleasure, especially among friends, even today.
