Review

Tales From the Borderlands Episode 4: Escape Plan Bravo

Well folks, we’ve made it to the home stretch. Tales From the Borderlands is coming to a close starting with this episode. Don’t be discouraged; even though things are winding down in terms of remaining episodes, our adventure just went into overdrive!

“Escape Plan Bravo” opens with Rhys and Fiona pondering on their captor’s identity. They’ve been walking for some time now, resulting in a newfound boldness; if he was going to kill them he would have done so already. This doesn’t change things though as a failed escape attempt plants them right back in the narrator’s seat to share their past exploits.. From here we get to see how things unfolded after their last run in with Vallory. Surrounded by bandits armed to the teeth, Vallory gives Fiona and the rest an opportunity to make up for past transgressions. Their task – fly up to Helios (Hyperion’s moon base), find and steal Gortys last upgrade, and get out before the bullets start flying. Easy right? Now if they could only find a rocket…

After playing the last episode, I didn’t think Telltale could deliver a crazier ride. Exciting story developments aside, I expected things to chill out a bit before the finale. Nope. What’s interesting is that continuing this high level of excitement wasn’t done by throwing more action sequences at the player. There are some real character building segments presented here. And though the body count has steadily risen since the beginning, Escape Plan Bravo delivered the first truly sad moment. It was odd to see Rhys and Fiona both lamenting that part of their story. No name calling or passing the blame, just real sorrow. At the same time, it showed that Tales From the Borderlands had heart. For a franchise that doesn’t take itself seriously 99% of the time, it’s always great to see characters expressing genuine emotions other than anger.

Beyond the more tender moments, this episode was downright hilarious. I mean I actually did more than crack a smile this go-round. If it wasn’t the clever writing or oddball characters that I was laughing at, it was the crazy situations the protagonists would get into; this episode features one of the most outlandish “shootouts” I’ve ever experienced in gaming. The twists and turns, nods to the past Borderland titles, exploding bandits – none of that was more entertaining than the humorous elements sprinkled about.

Tales From the Borderlands isn’t as deep as the Walking Dead, not as well written as The Wolf Among Us, and it doesn’t have the nostalgic pull of Back to the Future. And yet, it has become one of my favorite Telltale games. Of all of the accolades that have been expressed about Telltale’s adventure titles, when it comes to this series, I can give one of the most basic but pivotal praises; Tales From the Borderlands is just fun to play!