Guns, Love, and Tentacles Review

Guns, Love, and Tentacles: The Marriage of Wainwright & Hammerlock is the second major story DLC of developer Gearbox Software’s hit looter-shooter, Borderlands 3. Published by 2K Games, this DLC released on March 26 and costs £12.99 or $14.99.

It’s definitely typical Borderlands. So if the billions of guns, wacky characters, and strange cultural nods aren’t your thing this DLC won’t change your mind. For those of you who are interested, this DLC sees Wainwright and Hammerlock going to the far off planet of Xylourgos to have their wedding. However as everyone arrives they’re met with a strange town, giant tentacles of a dead monster, and a very unsettling atmosphere.

I’ll let the trailer do the rest of the talking:

This DLC clearly takes inspiration from the stories of H.P. Lovecraft. Not in the sense that it will melt your mind, but the visuals, new characters, and lore all echo the extra-dimensional works of the Cthulhu creator. On top of that Guns, Love, and Tentacles attempts to juggle the theme of relationships, to middling results.

With that out of the way, let’s jump into it.

A Lovecrafted Story?

The narrative of Guns, Love, and Tentacles is one that drew me in. Hammerlock was one of my favourite characters from Borderlands 2 & 3 and his relationship with Wainwright always had great chemistry. The idea that opposites attract, with hyper-realistic versions of a hunter and a countryman, is sold excellently. Using them as a driving force and call to action for a story is a great idea.

Sadly it struggles against the idea of the last DLC. Dameon Clarke’s “return” as Handsome Jack is a very difficult thing to live up to though. Even so, these two characters being the emotional core of the DLC works very well.

It comes as a shame then that in terms of narrative, Hammerlock and Wainwright might be the only aspect with true quality. Now of course Clap-trap is back. His part in this DLC see’s him being sent on a not-so-wild goose chase that, sort of, pays off. I felt this really worked to the DLC’s benefit, as having him be in the background and around periodically means his character, and purposefully annoying voice, aren’t given time to annoy you. Only time to actually be funny.

The part of the narrative that hamstrings this DLC then? It has to be the “theme” (if I can call it that) of relationships. As mentioned Hammerlock and Wainwright’s works really well. Sadly it’s hamstrung into the villains story, and even into a couple of the side characters. It’s as though these relationships were given significantly less thought, or just aren’t made as interesting to invest in.

It doesn’t help that I called a ‘twist’ — which was reversed within a whole 5 minutes — straight away. Without spoiling it, I called what was going to happen to a certain character simply because it was written so obviously. Meanwhile Hammerlock and Wainwright’s relationship actually takes some believable, relatable twists and turns.

All in all though, because the story is short, and the humour is still written in typical Borderlands style (which mostly works), it was an overall good experience. The lore of Xylourgos and driving force of the story make for an enjoyable, for the most part, DLC.

Visually Disturbed

Using the backdrop of H.P.Lovecraft inspired grotesque body parts, fluids, and tentacles along with snowy tundras works really quite well. Of course it’s all in the Borderlands signature style but the vibrant imagery and drastic change in colour scheme works to this DLC’s favour.

The main town area of the game surprised me, with its mix of victorian-esque architecture and scale. This scale mainly comes from the giant tentacles everywhere, but they look great! Driving across the frozen lakes of Xylourgos and seeing the bright light and snow topped mountains feels new and fresh too.

If there’s one thing this DLC, and the whole of Borderlands 3, gets right its the constantly changing scenery, because whilst the gunplay doesn’t change all that much you need something to keep the gameplay fresh. The new DLC does just that.

Killer Characters

Speaking of keeping things fresh, Guns, Love, and Tentacles doesn’t just re-introduce fan favourite characters. There is a slew of new faces and strange personalities to help liven up your experience.

The biggest standout has to be Mancubus Bloodtooth. This lodge owner often speaks in dumb riddles and with a certain sinister veneer. It also helps that he’s voiced by none-the than Arin Hanson! Whilst he’s recognisable its clear that he’s taken the strange character very seriously, and it pays off.

As I mentioned before Clap-Trap is best enjoyed in short bursts, so he’s welcome here, and Wainwright and Hammerlock have great chemistry and deserve to be the centrepiece of this DLC.

However problems start to arise with other characters. Gaige, a playable vault hunter from Borderlands 2, is the wedding planner for Hammerlock and Wainwright. Why? I honestly couldn’t tell you. Including older playable characters in Borderlands can work quite well, it can breathe new life into characters who previously had very little. However a lot of Boderlands characters can be very annoying. And no I don’t mean like Clap-Trap, he’s supposed to be annoying and the writers run with that, making him downright hilarious and a character who often seems to be punished for no reason (it’s because he’s annoying).

Gaige is just straight up unbearable, she’s voice acted well, but the lines and constant chatter about Margi-margs (margaritas) grated on me. I get that none of the characters in Borderlands are “normal” per-se, they all have quirks. But honestly when a character just shouts and screams nonsense and is then written in a way you’re supposed to care about what happens to them, why would I? I’m not even close to invested so what’s the point?

This is why Hammerlock and Wainwright work, an eccentric yet realistic couple who’s real world troubles in love weren’t just relatable, but interesting.

The two main villains of the story were just fairly forgettable sadly. They act as a mirror to our to-be-weds but its only ever explored on a surface level. Honestly though that’s okay, they aren’t the focus of the story, so they don’t need to be extremely deep.

Cultist Combat

Speaking of villains, the bad guys this time around are cultists, and they’re solid enemies to fight. It is worth noting that nothing has really changed about the core combat loop of Borderlands 3 in Guns, Love, and Tentacles, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good! Gearbox Software have done exactly what they needed to do, given the player more types of enemies to fight, and tonnes more guns to use to do it.

Orange loot drops are still generous, and the sheer amount of style that comes from using many different types of guns is great! This is exactly what this type of DLC should at least be doing. Keeping the game as fresh as possible.

It’s just a shame then that some of the boss fights are… lacklustre. It should be noted that I played through this DLC on my own, when you can play online with up to 3 others. That does make boss fights more enjoyable, and easier. The simple act of being able to revive teammates instead of starting a boss encounter from scratch helps a lot. Sadly though I didn’t have that, and having most of the bosses, including the final boss, literally just be bullet sponges doesn’t make for fun boss encounters.

Borderlands has always seemed to struggle with bosses, and this DLC is no exception. You do get some great weapons and rewards for besting them though, it’s just a shame the fights themselves aren’t that interesting. They just end up being overly long or frustrating.

Gorge Yourself on Content

In contrast, whilst the main missions themselves aren’t overly long, taking up about 4 hours of your time, you’ll find that there’s a lot of side content to complete. These come in the forms of collectables to find, secrets and Easter eggs, and of course quests. Some of these extra missions aren’t that great, but in typical Borderlands fashion Guns, Love, and Tentacles has some stand outs.

Want to help an AI of an old pirate captains memories fulfil his final wish? Or perhaps you want to help find some stolen fireworks? It’s up to you! As it is with most of the side content. The fact that you can easily do side quests, hunt wild beasts, find collectibles, or explore the world all at your own leisure is great. it means that the DLC is really what you make of it! Whatever way you slice it you’ll certainly get your moneys worth.

Is it Worth It?

If you’re a big fan, yes. Theres so much to do and explore in the new planet of Xylourgos that you shouldn’t ever get bored. It’s all pretty new and exciting! However some aspects of the story, character dialogue, and bosses show really slow the experience down.

This isn’t to say that Guns, Love, and Tentacles is bad, I had a lot of fun with this DLC. It wasn’t as interesting as Moxxi’s Heist for the Handsome Jackpot, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t things to like. It’s typical Borderlands for all the right reasons! If you still have a hankering to get back into some looter-shooter action alone or with friends, this DLC is for you.