There is no denying that Borderlands 3 is one of the biggest games of E3. After waiting so long for a proper numbered sequel to Borderlands 2, I will admit, my expectations were a little high. Would the gunplay feel good, how about the environments, would that Borderlands personality shine though or be replaced with something new? These were all thoughts I had as I entered into my E3 hands on demo with Borderlands 3. Our demo started with a quick presentation about the character Moze. Moze is a gunner focused on firepower and can call in a mech named the Iron Bear to help with intense battles. The presentation also showed how other players can even hop a ride on Iron Bear to really deliver the hurt. After building the anticipation, it was finally time to get behind the controller and take Borderlands 3 for a test run!

I decided to play through my demo time as Moze, as the thought of using Iron Bear sounded to awesome to pass up. I was pleased to find that the aiming and shooting mechanics in Borderlands 3 felt top notch, best the series has ever seen! The mission I was tasked with for the demo was to try and take out one of the Calypso Twins during a live broadcast. I began my assault towards the objective taking out numerous believers and psychos along the way. My default load-out included an assault rifle and shotgun and each weapon felt superb for its intended use. As a psycho would charge me a swift shotgun blast would drop them to the floor. Numerous enemies would hang back and shoot at me from afar which gave the assault rifle its time to shine. Moze also happened to have some bouncing grenades that proved useful for enemies in deep cover.

At several moments during my playtime I found myself completely surrounded by numerous enemies. At these points I would call in Iron Bear to help level the field! Iron Bear comes defaulted with dual grenade launchers which detonate on impact with an enemy. By the end of my demo time I had equipped Iron Bear with a powerful rocket launcher which felt much easier to destroy targets with. Iron Bear is only usable for a short amount of time and the meter depletes faster as you fight. Iron Bear has 3 different upgrade paths available with each providing a different gameplay style. One of the paths highlighted is Bottomless Mags which equips Iron Bear with a minigun and flamethrower to let players just enjoy unleashing hell with no regards to ammo!

By the end of my demo I didn’t want to give up my controller. Every quip from a defeated enemy the improved gun-play and the great level design of the demo have alleviated all my concerns. For all of you eagerly wait for September know that the wait will be worth it!