Borderlands Didn’t Always Look Like That

Borderlands’ cel-shaded style is iconic, but it didn’t always look that way. The original game was much darker and grittier, matching the tone of its contemporaries like Black, Fallout 3, Gears of War, and Rage. The problem was, it didn’t stand out.

Cue the last-minute art change when the game was already 75% complete. This short tells the story, with a look at what the original game looked like at its initial 2007 reveal. A new art style was definitely the right move for Gearbox Software.

At this point, Borderlands has spawned several sequels and a movie. The games include the original, Borderlands 2, 3, The Pre-Sequel, Tiny Tina’s Wonderland, Tales from the Borderlands, and New Tales from the Borderlands. You can get your hands on those across a variety of Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo consoles, plus PC.

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Sources:

Behind Borderlands' 11th-hour style change [GameSpot] https://www.gamespot.com/articles/behind-borderlands-11th-hour-style-change/1100-6253257/

Borderlands' change of art style shaped sci-fi games for years to come [PC Gamer] https://www.pcgamer.com/changing-borderlands-boring-original-art-style-shaped-sci-fi-games-for-years/

Borderlands Concept Art [Creative Uncut] https://www.creativeuncut.com/art_borderlands_a.html ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95o2d_Oeh8Y