Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel screenshot 1Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel screenshot 2
ActionRPGCo-opFPSComedyLootOpen World

170 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 352

Peak in the last 7 days: 414

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Steam store

Game description

Launch into the Borderlands universe and shoot ‘n’ loot your way through a brand new adventure that rockets you onto Pandora’s moon in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!

Basic info

Developer2K Australia, Gearbox Software, Aspyr (Linux)
Publisher2K, Aspyr (Linux)
PlatformsWindows · macOS · Linux
Steam DeckPlayable
Release dateOct 13, 2014
Price

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OSWindows XP SP3
Processor2.4 GHz Dual Core Processor
Memory2048 MB
GraphicsNVIDIA GeForce 8500 / ATI Radeon HD 2600
Storage13 GB
steamyze

Review Analysis Score

Based on 429 reviews from the past 1 year

72.2/ 100
Bottom 30%

Steam rating: Mostly Positive (79%)

Metacritic: 75 /100

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 22, 2026)

This looter shooter prequel tells a villain's origin story and scores 72.2, praised for its writing and faulted for its size. Fans of the series get the most out of it.

👍 Strengths

109 reviews find it fun, and some enjoy the humor, the huge range of weapons and the loot hunting. 85 praise the story, and several say it shows how a familiar villain falls into madness. 32 like the characters, and some single out the playable hunters with unique dialogue and skills. Story & World ranks 803rd of 1096.

👎 Where it falls short

Content Volume ranks 1186th of 1351 and appears in 41% of analyzed reviews. 41 find it repetitive, and some feel it plays like a large expansion with backtracking and areas that look alike. 39 say it is short on content, and some mention thin endgame options with few bosses. 23 criticize the grind, and a few describe poor drop rates and awkward level scaling. Gameplay ranks 1056th of 1396, and Visuals & Sound ranks 1029th of 1249.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“10/10 rating and 'pretty good' verdict despite criticism of developer” · 109 reviews
“story is strongest in series with compelling character arcs” · 85 reviews
“Cryo weapons and low gravity add distinct playstyles, Vault Hunters offer excellent variety” · 24 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 50% of reviews · Bottom 30% of the games we've analyzed

Strategy +2.25 · Depth of builds, tactics, and meaningful choices
Positive “Cryo weapons and low gravity add distinct playstyles, Vault Hunters offer excellent variety” · 24 reviews

Progression 15% · Difficulty 12% · Onboarding 4% · Freedom 11% · Controls & feel 18%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 64% of reviews · Bottom 30% of the games we've analyzed

Story +1.84 · Plot, quests, writing, and the ending
Positive “story is strongest in series with compelling character arcs” · 85 reviews
Negative “writing feels like a half-convincing fan tribute, everything Borderlands 2 does better” · 22 reviews

Characters 29% · World 24%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 41% of reviews · Bottom 20% of the games we've analyzed

Variety -1.86 · Fresh content and situations versus repetition
Negative “feels like large DLC not new game; repetitive backtracking and filler content” · 41 reviews
Positive “huge character variety and new gun types provide varied content” · 3 reviews

Volume 25% · Replayability 7%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 22% of reviews · Bottom 20% of the games we've analyzed

Visuals +2.08 · Graphics, art style, and animation
Positive “the moon looks nice, lasers are great” · 24 reviews
Negative “locations are bland and forgettable with only color filter changes” · 6 reviews

Audio 11%

Playing with others, the community and servers
Mentioned in 14% of reviews · Bottom 30% of the games we've analyzed

Playing together +0.29 · Fun of playing with friends, teammates, or rivals
Positive “most enjoyable in co-op, respects Borderlands 2 fans with story” · 9 reviews
Negative “new bugs destroyed co-op experience and friends cannot play together” · 9 reviews

Community 1% · Servers & Connection 2%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 14% of reviews · Bottom 50% of the games we've analyzed

Balance -0.14 · Whether classes, weapons, and builds are evenly matched
Negative “enemy damage too high, weapon upgrades feel pointless and damage decreases” · 8 reviews
Positive “excellent balance, cold mechanic works great and not mandatory” · 3 reviews

Anti-cheat 0% · Pricing 6% · Matchmaking 0%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 16% of reviews · Bottom 40% of the games we've analyzed

Stability -0.17 · Crashes, freezes, save loss, and game-breaking bugs
Negative “crashes, mission bugs that block progression, missing dialogue audio” · 13 reviews

Performance 5% · Developer support 7%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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