Every Borderlands Game Ranked From WORST To BEST

In the late 2000s, the video game world was awash with brown, gritty games. The military shooter boom of the middle of the decade had left consoles and PCs flooded with serious, manly games about war and its varying levels of horror, and whilst many of these titles were very, very good, gamers were crying out for something with a little more… pizazz. Enter Borderlands. Rather than fading into obscurity among the rest of the sludge, Borderlands bounced onto the scene with colourful deeley-boppers and a foul mouth, delighting gamers as it went. Since its 2009 release, Borderlands has spawned two sequels, a pre-sequel, and multiple spin-offs, as well as comics, novels, tabletop games, and even a live-action movie. But of all of the Borderlands video games, which are the jewels of Pandora and which should be left to rot in a vault? Here is Every Borderlands Video Game Ranked from Worst to Best.
Featured Borderlands games:
• Borderlands
• Borderlands 2
• Borderlands 3
• Borderlands Legends
• Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
• New Tales from the Borderlands
• Tales from the Borderlands
• Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
VO: Peter Austin (@ThatPeterAustin) & Ben Potter (@Confused_Dude)
Script: Cat Elliott
#Borderlands #Wonderlands #Gearbox
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[@TeamTripleJump]

Which is your favourite of Gearbox's Borderlands titles? Favourite class? We're big siren fans personally 😎

[@barnkat573]

Krieg

[@Bakuru]

Zero will always be my favorite 🔥🔥🔥

[@Paul_McSeol]

Tales will always be my number one. Class? Mechromancer. DLC? Guns, live and tentacles.

[@louisewilliams1258]

B2 and Axton

[@TetherT]

BL1 Athena most fun vault hunter i played. Mordecai was the most OP.

[@professormilly2021]

My favorite thing about Borderlands is the cell shaded art style.

[@Dar1usz]

Sadly game is not cell shaded

[@NoSuRReNDeR001]

I think the voicework in some of these games is really incredible especially Handsome Jack

[@villings]

@@Dar1usz (that's the joke)

[@ReverendRaff]

I can still remember the absolute unbridled JOY I experienced playing the original Borderlands for the first time. It was a breath of fresh air for me in terms of gaming as a whole.

[@metalheadforlife8928]

Played it with my uncle when we were 10, games definitely have a unique charm when you're that young

[@garrynicol69eXist]

I remember buying it on ps3 just for a couple of days heads up on the pc release date!

[@jimdavies9354]

The first Borderlands will always be the best to me.

[@jburrr3142]

I wanted to feel the same attachment with BL3 that I did with BL2 but I just couldn’t, I’m glad this list reaffirmed my feelings. BL2 just has a much better story and I’m not even a big story guy, but the humor and story telling in BL3 just felt a bit corny like they were reaching to recreate what they did in BL2. BL2 is a timeless classic that I’m still playing to this day, hopefully we get a BL4 that can match what we got in BL2 because if we do it can be up there with the best looter shooter games of all time.

[@connor1910]

I know I’m a month late but i feel like Bl2 and Bl3 are both extremely corny, but Bl2 is just sincere and genuine in its corniness while Bl3 isn’t. Imo Bl3 is the Love and Thunder to Bl2’s Ragnarok

[@cheezyfilmsproductions1842]

​@@connor1910 That's not a terrible comparison honestly, but I think that Borderlands 3 has a lot more good in it than Love & Thunder. Borderlands 3 is a big step down in the writing department, but it still has its moments of cleverness and gets far more genuine laughs than Love & Thunder. And it has the benefit of having a great gameplay experience for the most part. Love & Thunder doesn't even have any good action scenes. And the DLCs for Borderlands 3 are markedly better. Guns, Love & Tentacles, Handsome Jackpot, Bounty of Blood, Fustercluck, And even Revenge of the Cartels, even though that was a free event rather than paid DLC -- all fantastic and a few of them sit in S Tier; some of the best pieces of Borderlands content ever made.

[@stevenbrooks8983]

The Pre-Sequel is so under rated.

[@deetzyboywonder9312]

More like over hated but true all the same

[@jpesicka492]

@@deetzyboywonder9312no

[@villings]

yeah, it's ridiculous

[@Puffsley-]

No

[@Midragor]

Justice for the Pre-Sequel, it's much better than this rank!!!

[@celticreviews3899]

It was kinda mid tho

[@TheBat007]

I tried so hard to enjoy it but it’s just pretty bad

[@cheezyfilmsproductions1842]

​@@TheBat007 The writing is definitely hit or miss, but everything involving Handsome Jack, and a good portion of the writing in other areas are still great. Hell, the way it incorporates Vault Hunter dialogue into the story is far better than how it was handled in Borderlands 3

[@Paul_McSeol]

I’d love to see two follow up lists. One ranking the DLC, of course, and will expect to see Guns, Love and Tentacles near the top. Another ranking all your playable characters. I think that one could be really tough though. Great list. Thanks so much!

[@chumbosaurio7099]

Presequel lore >>> borderlands 3 story

[@TyphonJRT]

Now do the same for the gameplay. I mean, who actually plays Borderlands for the story anyways?

[@Becauseimbrian]

Would love to see every Ratchet & Clank game ranked!

[@qactustick]

The one issue I have with this list is not counting Pre-Sequel among 'the numbered games' as though it's some type of spin-off. The sad part is that the wider BL community seems to agree with snubbing it for this arbitrary reason, as it's often not even mentioned in discussions of which game is 'best', as though it doesn't even exist.

[@calebs6872]

I always assumed it was the pre-sequel because the bulk of the story and gameplay are before 2 but the first and last scenes took place after along with a good amount of dialogue being in the context of telling a tail that already happened.

[@kidokoala]

Every Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Game Ranked Worst to Best

[@raargebloktesnor]

We JUST started playing the first game again (didn't know there was a physical PS4 version). 🤩🤩

[@Ghostbody]

Tales of the Borderlands 1 for favorite and class would probably be Psycho with Mechnomancer right beside it

[@Paul_McSeol]

Gaige was OP as hell and I loved playing through as her.

[@davidgrady9220]

That was great fun! 2 is undeniably the best, but I loved them all. Zane’s my fave to use tho. Also, can we have an Every Final Fantasy ever next? 🙏

[@NutsorSomethingBerserk]

BL2 is just one of those games that is a perfect marriage of all of it’s components. Gameplay, story, pacing, soundtrack, etc. All of it just made what I consider to be an almost perfect game. Easily one of my favorite games of all time. I love this franchise because of it. TFTB though being #2 I 1000% agree with. That is easily one of Telltales best works yet. Matching TWD and Wolf Among Us in style, writing, and storytelling.

[@kensuter57]

Holy heck, I just bought these to play fully. Yall are living in my head rent free

[@ameliarhodes5000]

Are there mods available to address the boss fight and/or bullet sponge issues? Are there a Top 3 or Top 10 Mods for Borderland 3?

[@DerkuiDerkui]

I still play a lot of good ol' Borderlands. I have bought that game so many times: Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Switch, and PC.

[@BirdGang6]

Every Yakuza game please and thank you!

[@RileyDia]

You can't make a whole list of number ones though

[@Midragor]

​@@RileyDia Can't hug every cat dilemma

[@occono3543]

You left out Borderlands 2 VR, and not as part of the mentioned exclusions either. I mean it's not a great version, but it is distinct and you forgot it 🤭

[@zrzmtz93]

The thing which let BL3 down more for me which you didn't mention is the horrendous optimization on PC, long load times and general performance issues. I could have put up with the poor story/writing had these been addressed. Also the "enhanced" BL1 STILL has a severe memory leak issue which will cause it to lag and even crash after extended play sessions. Mods have improved and given BL2/TPS a whole new lease of life, highly recommend the bl2/UCP mods!

[@dxmxged_lotus_-9033]

The reason for the terrible optimization for Borderlands 3 is because they actually tried to make the game run on 4k res, 60fps, and 1080p 30fps on older gen consoles as the game released in 2019, (current console gen wasnt out yet) when on this game, they actually use cel shading, which is HORRENDOUS for computers to crunch the data for without very complex and expensive shortcuts.

[@peterkirby7546]

I never played 3, because I heard that while the gameplay was still more of the same great fun, it seemed that the dialogue and humor had to crossed the delicate line from amusingly silly and crude, into just downright pathetic and off-putting'.

[@MadJens0]

I don't mind Claptrap. Better than Jar Jar and not as annoying (I imagine, haven't seen the film) as Jack Black's voiced version.

[@classicgamer323]

9:09 actually, the word your are looking for is Midquel - a piece of media that exists in the middle of a franchise or in-between another piece of work 🎉

[@Justforvisit]

No, no, it's "Pre-Sequel", as Borderlands has taught us. That's the new norm now!

[@jpesicka492]

Borderlands does not take itself or the english language seriously. If it bothers you go play Fallout.

[@themysteriousshadow4503]

For me the top ones are 2 and pre sequel the pre sequel is awesome idk why people hate it so much it’s literally the same engine and mechanics as bl2 with new ones as well

[@BrotherMag]

Borderlands 3 shouldn't bebso high. Ava and the twins killed the game

[@MothersOfMars]

The hate for pre sequel is beyond exaggerated

[@zumptt]

i recently played all of them in a row with a friend and we both agree its top 3. We think 1 is the best by far with Pre Sequel and 2 being swapped in the top 3 i have it 2nd he has it 3rd.

[@saigawesnovember]

Borderlands 2, Siren,best one

[@Hxlst]

Honestly don’t get the pre sequel hate, i really think it’s the second best game in the series

[@6cmcnc6]

The fact that wonderlands came above tps hurts me.

[@dirtmckert1149]

.....just a friendly FYI (or simply a reminder for ye, ehhh------ ?? hehhh) for team TJ (@7:09): As opposed to your amazing "nickname" of sorts for "Frozen Yogurt", we do have a name for this here in the States (which I noticed is in Fran's "title"): "FroYo" --- although, I'm betting y'all were just being a bit cheeky here (as y'all oftentimes are, much to us users' delight), and are likely quite aware of this already =-] hehh.... but, tbh, I rather like "FroYog" and may just start using this name for "FroYo" instead [-=

[@kingpin1331]

Every Ratchet & Clank game ranked?

[@Nevergates]

Yup. That's the correct order alright.

[@Doodeeization]

Why does peter sound like a robot?

[@hellonation33]

My list based on fun: S Tier BL3 Bl2 A Tier TTWL with Redux mod B Tier Pre-sequel

[@chasedwyer5167]

i think bl3 gets too much hate tbh. i’m not saying it’s the best game ever or even in the series not even top 2 but it’s a good game that has a bad story that was hours of fun with friends to play best gunplay and movement which is most important to me personally and the world itself was the most beautiful

[@ImQuantum]

TPS is top 3 for me.

[@TenguHD]

Day 1 of asking for every One Piece game to be ranked.

[@derekwilhelm1555]

U rank bl3 higher than presequel yea this is rigged presequel is way better than 3 who ever made this list is fucking stupid wonderlands should be worse than presequel not better its one of the 2 games that killed the series

[@RogerWazup007]

I like that this was thought-out instead of being based only on Metacritic numbers.

[@themarvelousjoe1501]

1. Borderlands 2 2. Tales From The Borderlands 3. Borderlands

[@jpesicka492]

We’re ranking looter shooters here.

[@anvil4life]

The OG borderlands is hands down the best. I hated 2 at release and stopped playing it so i never made it through the entirety of it. The pre sequel was awful and 3 was awful. 2 has grown on me and i am now trying to actually finish the game then im gonna go through the pre sequel again which will be painful. And anything outside of the 4 games are god awful. Tales wasnt fun at all. But nothing beats the OG as a matter of fact i play that one still to this day

[@StrengthOfSamson45]

Triple Jump > what culture gaming

[@witchveron3465]

Nice ranked!! Never doit again

[@jm221]

I dont care TPS and 3 are my favorites

[@thomasgrieve1924]

Borderlands 3 being in 3rd place is the worst take this channel has had in awhile It's 2 places too high That game is proof positive that Anthony Burch deserved the lion's share of credit for the success of this franchise 2 is so much better written than every other game in this series (not including Tales From the Borderlands), it's embarrassing And 3 is by far the worst written That game is straight ass

[@hellonation33]

This is not a novel. Being poorly written is not the only aspect of what makes a good game. I hate how polarizing this "community" can be.

[@bigmyke2008]

Borderlands isn't scifi, it's a space western

[@psychokinesis878]

Borderlands has great gamplay (Zane is super dope!) But story was complete garbage, and I hope Ava isnt a playable character in 4 she killed 3

[@eLsain]

Best Gameplay : Bl3 Best Story: Bl2 I played Bl2 for 1k hours & bl3 200 hours

[@petenehl1685]

Borderlands 3 is way overrated compared to the rest...bad villains, bad plot, meh hunters...it would be below PreSequel and Borderlands, and possibly tied with TFTB

[@pantsmage970]

Isnt there only like three? 😂

[@milliman4]

Borderlands 2 is really amazing, but Tales From The Borderlands was just amazing on a whole new level. Loaderbot alone elevates that game to such a high level, it is my favourite story of the whole franchise. But 2 probably has the perfect middle ground of story, gameplay and loot, so I'm fine with the placements you made!

[@Frank_Dietrich]

1. Borderland 2 👍👍👍👍👍👍 2. Borderland The Pre Sequel 👍👍👍👍 3. Borderland 1 👍👍 4. Borderland 3 👎👎

[@eternalfailure4081]

Interquel

[@ILOVEPITS2]

Pre sequel is far better than borderlands 3 better story better characters better everything

[@whenisdinner2137]

Borderlands 3 has much better gameplay, pacing, and enemies. Also has better guns and builds.

[@SuperWiseman90]

@@whenisdinner2137plus a much larger variety of locations with different art styles and the dlcs are really good. The only low point was vanilla story line.

[@antoinemozart243]

Borderlands 3 is BS ! Boring with idiotic mechanics, awful design , bad gameplay and the maps, my god, the maps ! Unimaginative and repetitive. A waste !

[@johananj.j8003]

Then you'd probably hate every Borderlands game, because the other games are far worse in the regards you mentioned in every way.​@@antoinemozart243

[@johananj.j8003]

​@@whenisdinner2137Yes very true.

[@jamesmcgeachy5433]

🎉

[@phobiedufromage2433]

Borderlands 3 has no charm and is mainly cringe

[@jedipookie]

Putting Borderlands 3 so high means you don’t know anything about Borderlands 🤦‍♂️

[@derekwilhelm1555]

Yea exactly this whole list is shit the writers of the list dont know anything about the series

[@johananj.j8003]

Nope, it just means he has a different preference. I don't understand why people want to disseminate for different opinions. Like you want humans to be a hive mind or something?

[@jdrahonovsky]

I will always be salty towards Borderlands because it called any chance at a Brothers In Arms game.

[@aliensweathands]

👽

[@cajunotaku3256]

Borderlands Legends is leaps and bounds better than New Tales from the Borderlands. Y’all are just terrified to put a mobile game higher than dead last.

[@petesmart1983]

Mobile games are generally pay to play and crap

[@cajunotaku3256]

@@petesmart1983 legends wasn’t half bad. If you bought the game for $10, then you don’t have to worry about any micro transactions.

[@Stoked4Good]

Video too wordy, long af. Shorter is better. My rank... 1) BL3 (close call, ish) 2) BL2 3) BL1 4) TTW 5) The Pre-Sequel

[@russellmeauxrussellmania8806]

47 likes in 30 minutes? Bros are slipping off

[@MimonJesus67]

Borderlands 3 is trash.

[@skitariisoldier7367]

You really think the opinions of critics matter? LOL what a joke!

[@RileyDia]

2: Borderlands 1 1: Borderlands 2

[@Courier_Seven]

Top tier take. Brick was amazingly fun to play as but my personal favorite main was roland, as i usually played with my brothers and the support and buffs from that tiny scorpio turret he had was INSANE, It actually made his death more impactful for me personally. Top G. Handsome jack and bl2 was the peak of the series tho.

[@jacobtridef48]

This is the correct top 2 ranking

[@unbearablexabicat3052]

Facts

[@Byrdman931]

@@Courier_SevenRoland worst vault hunter

[@Courier_Seven]

@@Byrdman931 no, you're the worst vault hunter.

[@LuminalSpoon]

I still can't get over how good TFTB was, I'm not even a Borderlands fan and I loved it.

[@Paul_McSeol]

Some of the best writing I’ve ever seen in a game. Loader Bot, we love you.

[@lennychurch]

Same here. It’s also one of my favourites from Telltale.

[@InclementFilms]

This is so true! The writers perfectly captured the world and characters, proving that already-established franchises can bring in new people.

[@mikerosoft1009]

Do I need to play the other games before playing it?

[@Paul_McSeol]

@@mikerosoft1009 borderlands 2 only. it helps for knowing who some of the side characters are, including one who is a major plot point. But you could probably KZbin it. Gameplay is absolutely different.

[@john-paulkesseler4180]

Tales From The Borderlands ranked too low. I will remember that.

[@Justforvisit]

*Reloads Chapter*

[@ManuMora199]

If you are going to rank the DLCs in the future you might as well rank the vault hunters too

[@cgzepp]

Yes, please

[@thedeepfriar745]

Krieg is by far the best character

[@AMeatBicycleForTwo]

​@@thedeepfriar745agreed

[@alexmikedis9609]

borderlands is def better than borderlands 3 this list is sketch

[@MrYukiyano]

In what way? BL3 is Superior to even 2 in a lot of aspects, not overall, but in some areas it definieltely is. Borderlands 1 is perhaphs one of the worst succesful first games on a Franchise ever, and BL3 is objectively better than it in every aspect.

[@alexmikedis9609]

@@MrYukiyano lol bl3 was the worst in the series minus gunplay, everything else was grade a garbagio. The characters in 1 were a million times better, was it basic yea but it did it's job n had a story worth following

[@chargeentertainment2981]

​​@@MrYukiyanoyeah your take ain't it bro. L. If your looking for a badass post apocalyptic mad max style shooter, BL1 does is second to none.

[@mosstwig3591]

Borderlands 1 should be above 3. I've never had the desire to replay 3, unlike the first one.

[@ryza6897]

This. I played 3 once and have had no desire to pick it back up. I even got the season pass or whatever where I'd get the DLCs when they came out, have never touched them. 3... the gameplay was fun but I just couldn't get into it like the other ones. Meanwhile I replayed 1 just last year and enjoyed it.

[@okaythen7360]

The humour of borderlands 3 was praised?! Did you guys do any research?

[@psychokinesis878]

Yeah the humor was bad in BL3, great gameplay though

[@okaythen7360]

@@psychokinesis878 gameplay was wonderful, probably some of the best in the series

[@manofmercy1500]

Basically everyone reckons that while yes the story for 3 was outright rubbish (which it is), the gameplay however was surprisingly a step above the already great gameplay of 2. Refining what made the previous main game renowned in the first place. So if anything, either the stellar gameplay was what got 3 as high as it did on this list, or the lacklustre story was what’s holding 3 back from usurping 2 at the top of the list. Either way’s still accurate depending on how one looks at it.

[@okaythen7360]

@@manofmercy1500 I’m not talking about where it placed on the list I’m talking about them saying the humour was praised when it was one of the least popular aspects of the game

[@ZeldaCDI99]

How the hell is presequel LOWER than 3

[@TyphonJRT]

I dare you to tell me the gameplay in presequel is better than 3.

[@barnkat573]

I swear to God you put borderlands 3 at number 1 and I'm unsubscribing

[@Str8outta604]

I only played Borderlands 2 on VITA 😅 shooting flying sht is impossible lol

[@petesmart1983]

Gearbox made a crap game with new tales

[@nicholasnaro8963]

Every SNK games ranked from worst to best

[@mikefink7548]

wait they made a Tales from the borderlands sequel without Telltale wtf

[@antoinemozart243]

Borderlands 3 is garbage. Best is 2 then 1.

[@goodyb0y556]

Before I watch I’m a make a prediction, order is Worst to Best: New Tales, Pre-sequel, Borderlands, Borderlands 3, Tales, 2.

[@Ultima1134]

I enjoyed the gameplay of BL3 but there were some story beats that really soured the experience

[@trippytravis8812]

Borderlands the pre sequel is just below borderlands 2 in terms of story the end game is the only bad part

[@jacket6139]

I gotta say i put so much time into bl2 but bl3 is my favorite. Its criminal you put it at 3.

[@milosgagic5689]

I wonder how many of us turned off the video after that terrible opening joke

[@tannedbalony]

Pre sequel was better than wonderlands

[@leonardbacalzo]

Borderlands: The Squeakquel

[@Tez.6]

Froyo

[@jonw8694]

The fact that your #2 ranked "Borderlands" game isn't even a Borderlands-style game takes away any legitimacy your list might hold.

[@BamboozledxFern]

1 TPS 2 Tales Everything else is ass

[@emanuele8718]

Borderlands 3 is superior to Borderlands 2 in every way except for Jack. Plus, Borderlands the Pre-Sequel has better single playthrough than Borderlands 2