Review: Tales from the Borderlands: Episode 3 – Catch a Ride

With the amount of work Telltale appears to be taking on recently, it may be time to start worrying if they have bitten off more than they can chew. The time between episodes appears to be getting longer for all of their on-going series – and with Minecraft: Story Mode kicking off soon, as well as The Walking Dead mini-series, things may get worse.

It is probably telling that I am complaining about not getting new episodes as soon as I would like. So far, Tales from the Borderlands has been fantastic and I would like to see that continue. Episode 3, Catch a Ride, is probably the best yet – a feat in itself as it is the halfway point in the game – I just wish I did not have to wait weeks for the next.

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So far in the story, our unlikely heroes Rhys and Fiona, have been recounting their tale so far to a mysterious character who has captured them. Through unfortunate events, stupid decisions (mostly your own) and nefarious Pandorans, the pair have stumbled onto the trail of a secret artefact. By the end of episode 2, Atlas Mugged, you must make a decision on who you can trust and unlike some of Telltale’s other games, the choice here has a substantial impact on the start of Catch a Ride.

Once this chapter starts, Rhys and his companion Vaughn, as well as Fiona and her sister, Sasha bump into the game’s latest nemesis and things only escalate from there. As alluded to earlier, replaying the last episode and this one is worth it too, due to the real impact your decisions have here. However, while the story is interesting and certainly engaging, the strongest aspect of Tales from the Borderlands remains the characters.

Troy Baker and Laura Bailey remain consistently brilliant. Their performances are pitch perfect and their comic timing is flawless. The supporting cast are also superb, with this episode introducing fellow The Last of Us alum Ashley Johnson to the mix. The jokes and quips come thick and fast, and long may it continue.

I usually discuss Telltale’s perpetually broken engine at this point but the ol’ girl held up well for this episode – at least for me. I did not encounter any major issues outside of a few stutters. Of all of the episodes for it to be a problem too, this would have been the biggest culprit. The gameplay is more varied than before. Going from frantic chase scene to puzzle solving to making tough decisions and back to quick action set pieces is usually where the game would fall over but it battles on like a champ.

For this episode, all of that gameplay also culminates in one of the best sequences in the series so far. It may not do anything terribly new, but the characters you are invested in are placed in a tough situation so it certainly makes the third game out of five avoid the ‘slow middle section’ problem.

Catch a Ride is the strongest episode of Tales from the Borderlands so far – the action, humour and excitement Telltale has managed to keep consistent certainly helps. It may be months before we see episode 4 but I, for one, can not wait.

No, really. I can’t! Come on Telltale!

Tags: Borderlands, Borderlands 2, Catch a Ride, Episode 3, Gearbox Software, Tales from the Borderlands, Telltale Games