Borderlands 2
Borderlands 2 screenshot 1Borderlands 2 screenshot 2
ActionRPGLootShooterMultiplayerCo-opLooter Shooter

1,454 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 2,815

Peak in the last 7 days: 3,312

Borderlands 2 Steam store

Game description

The Ultimate Vault Hunter’s Upgrade lets you get the most out of the Borderlands 2 experience.

Basic info

DeveloperGearbox Software, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linux)
Publisher2K, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linux)
PlatformsWindows · macOS · Linux
Steam DeckPlayable
Release dateSep 17, 2012
Price
  • Steam store −90% $19.99 $1.99 · Steam ↗
  • Lowest-price store $1.99 · Steam
  • Historical low $1.99 · 3-month low $1.99Other stores ↗

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OSWindows XP SP3
Processor2.4 GHz Dual Core Processor
Memory2 GB
GraphicsNVIDIA GeForce 8500 /ATI Radeon HD 2600
Storage13 GB
steamyze

Review Analysis Score

Based on 362 reviews from the past 1 year

85.3/ 100
Top 40%

Steam rating: Very Positive (90%)

Metacritic: 89 /100

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 22, 2026)

Loot, guns and loud humor define Borderlands 2, a co-op shooter that scores 85.3 across 362 analyzed reviews.

👍 Strengths

116 reviews find it fun, and some call the kill and loot loop addictive, with humor that lands more often than not. 37 enjoy co-op with friends, and some remember it as one of their favorite games to play together. Multiplayer ranks 174th of 642. 36 praise the story and writing, and some single out a charismatic villain and wild, funny side quests. Story & World ranks 139th of 1096, and Content Volume ranks 123rd of 1351.

👎 Where it falls short

25 reviews find it repetitive, and some point to the same maps, similar enemies and simple mission structure. 18 dislike the grind, including slow experience gains, rare orange weapons and missable achievements. 15 report that online co-op breaks down, and some describe looping loading screens, crashes and lost connections, while a few blame a required third party account. Tech & Support ranks 918th of 1399, and Pricing & Fairness ranks 787th of 1399.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“straight up story, gameplay, quality DLC, and hilarious conversations” · 116 reviews
“used to work incredibly well with friends, good gameplay and fun writing” · 37 reviews
“one of the best villains in video game history with a great cast of characters” · 32 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 47% of reviews · Top 30% of the games we've analyzed

Strategy +3.38 · Depth of builds, tactics, and meaningful choices
Positive “constantly juggling elements in cool battles with increased enemies” · 9 reviews
Negative “removed Weapon Proficiency system” · 1 review

Progression 24% · Difficulty 9% · Onboarding 4% · Freedom 4% · Controls & feel 16%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 48% of reviews · Top 20% of the games we've analyzed

Characters +4.12 · How memorable the characters and their relationships are
Positive “one of the best villains in video game history with a great cast of characters” · 32 reviews

Story 35% · World 13%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 41% of reviews · Top 10% of the games we've analyzed

Volume +3.99 · How much there is to play, including endgame, for the price
Positive “many hours of gameplay with multiple quests and interesting story” · 24 reviews
Negative “takes time to beat and might get boring without coop” · 5 reviews

Variety 18% · Replayability 13%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 27% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

Visuals +3.25 · Graphics, art style, and animation
Positive “looks same as Borderlands 4, runs better” · 20 reviews
Negative “game shows its age in some places” · 1 review

Audio 12%

Playing with others, the community and servers
Mentioned in 38% of reviews · Top 30% of the games we've analyzed

Playing together +2.98 · Fun of playing with friends, teammates, or rivals
Positive “used to work incredibly well with friends, good gameplay and fun writing” · 37 reviews
Negative “co-op is broken and developers refuse to fix it” · 7 reviews

Community 2% · Servers & Connection 6%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 11% of reviews · Bottom 50% of the games we've analyzed

Balance -0.14 · Whether classes, weapons, and builds are evenly matched
Negative “broken balance with OP levels and SLAG system” · 9 reviews
Positive “well-balanced and thoughtfully designed” · 1 review

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

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 17% of reviews · Bottom 40% of the games we've analyzed

Stability -0.22 · Crashes, freezes, save loss, and game-breaking bugs
Negative “constant hardlocks when changing network settings, loading, joining friends” · 14 reviews

Performance 7% · Developer support 6%

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

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