The best Borderlands games, ranked

Looking to play the best Borderlands games right now? Well, you are in luck, because the GamesRadar+ team has played every single outing in the sci-fi looter shooter franchise and has ranked the top 10 entries that are worth your time and attention today.

For this list, we have taken into account every single Borderlands game; that means the classics, spin-offs, and all the new games that have recently been released have been tried, tested, and considered here. Now I will say that this wasn't easy. After all, Borderlands has given us some of the best shooter games and some of the best co-op games of all time as well. However, after many debates, the experts on our team are very confident in our current ranking.

So read on to discover what titles truly are the greatest Borderlands experiences out there, and get ready to Vault dive into some absolute gems, folks.

Ranking the worst to best Borderlands games, starting with...

10. Borderlands Legends

You've probably never even heard of Borderlands Legends, but those who managed to avoid it should count themselves lucky. This mobile tie-in to the original Borderlands game isn't… terrible, but it's far from the kind of experience you'd normally expect to see from the series. Controlled from a top-down perspective, you'll look after all four of the original Vault Hunters at once in Legends, taking on missions from a Bounty Board to fight bandits and outlaws in Borderlands' best impression of X-COM.

Sadly, the RTS format isn't a great fit for Borderlands, as the series' sense of speed and chaos is lost via the genre's more strategic paradigms. The game's impressive graphics do a pretty good job of replicating Borderlands' iconic visuals for the small screen, while there's almost just as much loot to be found as in the mainline title (albeit in a more simplified format). But nevertheless, Legends is still the weakest entry in the series so far, even if that's essentially by default.

9. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

The only mainline title not developed by Gearbox directly, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel feels like a somewhat inconsequential "filler" entry in the series, released primarily as a way to tide fans over until Borderlands 3. But more Handsome Jack is always a good thing, as far as I'm concerned, and getting to explore the man behind the mask made for an interesting "fall from grace" story that wasn't afraid to get dark in charting the character's transformation into the villain we know and love today.

That being said, while there's fun to be had in exploring the new setting of Pandora's moon, Elpis, the Pre-Sequel's low-gravity environments lend a floatiness to combat that takes the edge out of its shooting mechanics, and the less said about some of 2K Australia's in-game jokes, the better. More than anything, The Pre-Sequel feels like an expansion to Borderlands 2, rather than a full game. As we mentioned in our Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel review, the game is perfectly enjoyable, yet lacking a certain sense of relevance and panache, especially when you consider the events that come to pass in Borderlands 3.

8. Borderlands 

The original Borderlands will forever have a special place in fans' hearts, as the game that started everything all the way back in 2009. More than that, when you consider the history of how Borderlands came to be, and Gearbox's last-minute decision to switch to the series' now iconic art style, you'll be even more impressed with the game's achievements for its time.

With its scrappy nature and unique "FPS meets RPG" elevator pitch, Borderlands instantly captured our attention, and there's still something alluring about its off-kilter space western vibe. Sure, the story is threadbare at best (with a nearly unforgivable cop-out of an ending), and Gearbox's now famous formula for infinite guns is at its most rudimentary here. But all the most successful strands of the series' DNA made their debut in the original Borderlands, and for that, we're eternally grateful. You can read more about this classic in our Borderlands review.

7. New Tales from the Borderlands

We never expected to see New Tales from the Borderlands. Following the collapse of Telltale Games, a sequel to the wonderful 2014 narrative adventure seemed unlikely, although developer Gearbox and publisher 2K Games were thankfully able to cut through the red tape and deliver a wonderfully weird adventure on the metropolis planet of Promethea.

Gearbox has iterated smartly on the core Telltale systems and has subsequently delivered an adventure that feels smart and is smartly paced. While our four-star New Tales from the Borderlands review pointed out that it doesn't quite reach the heights of its predecessor, it's still undoubtedly one of the best adventure games of 2022. It's something you should jump on if you want a few laughs with some awesomely written characters.

6. Borderlands 3

Borderlands 3 improves upon almost every line of the signature franchise recipe but seems to forget about some of the most important ingredients in the process. The game is a bit of a poorly optimized mess, for starters, especially when playing on PC or in local split-screen. And, though Borderlands 2 was just about able to get away with its unique sense of internet humor in 2012, that same brand of juvenile comedy doesn't quite land as effectively seven years later, especially with two villains – The Calypso Twins – nowhere near as memorable as Handsome Jack.

Still, when it comes to gameplay, this is the best Borderlands has ever been, and our Borderlands 3 review celebrates that fact. Shooting feels fast and furious, and every weapon manages to appear handcrafted despite the procedural generation working away behind all those loot drops. Gearbox took the time to listen to its fans for this sequel, delivering on long-requested features like separate loot instancing, talking protagonists, and level scaling for drop-in/drop-out co-op. It's just a shame that a few blemishes hold Borderlands 3 back from being truly exceptional.

5. Borderlands 4

Borderlands 4 delivered the biggest adventure in the looter shooter series to date, and added a suite of improvements that just give it a bit of a one-up over its predecessor. With an immense amount of weapons packed into the adventure, the shooting side of the experience is unquestionably enjoyable - with a lot of variety of weapon types that are downright fun to mess around with.

While it does stumble in places - namely in its story beats and the antagonist it presents us with - the vast new setting of Kairos has plenty of action and exploration to offer, with the ability to summon a vehicle with a button press and blast your way through the landscape. And better yet, it's a great experience to tuck into with pals thanks to improved co-op support. To learn more about the latest entry in the series, head on over to our Borderlands 4 review.

4. Tales from the Borderlands

While Tales from the Borderlands is far from your typical Borderlands experience, it does more than any other entry in the franchise to flesh out the world of Pandora and make you care (like, really care) about its inhabitants. Telltale's point-and-click adventure spinoff is an earnest and hilarious wild goose chase of a story, chronicling the escapades of four unconventional Vault Hunters in the wake of Borderlands 2's dramatic climax.

Telltale's smart writing and lo-fi visuals prove to be a perfect fit for the Borderlands universe, yet the studio leaves its mark on the series while still remaining faithful to Gearbox's original vision. It's not just the funniest Borderlands game in the series so far. It's one of the funniest games you'll ever play. Despite a few technical hiccups here and there, Tales absolutely deserves to be among the top picks on our list of the best Borderlands games to date.

3. Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-shot Adventure

Originally the fourth slice of campaign DLC for Borderlands 2 - released on June 25, 2013 - Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep was given a standalone version alongside the arrival of Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. To give it its full name, Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-shot Adventure does not require Borderlands 2 to play, and while essentially the same game, it does include a smattering of extra new features.

Set after Borderlands 2, Tina and the first group of Vault Hunters decide to play a game of Bunkers and Badasses, Pandora's take on Dungeons and Dragons. Tina herself dons the role of dungeon master (Bunker Master, in this instance) and changes the makeup of the world as the story unfolds. As fun as it is zany, the standalone version of Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep is almost as good as Borderlands gets.

2. Tiny Tina's Wonderlands

As we mentioned in our Tiny Tina's Wonderlands review, this game is an evolution of the series' Assault on Dragon Keep in just about every way. While shooting just about everything that moves in a frantic manner, Will Arnett and Andy Samberg offer their voices in what are some of the silliest and most humorous dialogue you'll find in a video game.

At one point, the cast of Wonderlands - which also includes Ashly 'Aloy' Burch as Tina and comedian Wanda Sykes as a robot called Frette - 'kill the ocean', explaining why the sharks are walking. It really is a great cast that effortlessly pulls off a completely absurd premise, which is that this is a game of Dungeons and Dragons being played inside Borderlands. What's not to like?

1. Borderlands 2

Love it or hate it, you can't deny that Borderlands 2 marked an important turning point for the franchise, one where Gearbox whittled away at the contours of its sleeper hit to land on something wholly self-assured in its own identity. The resulting product spawned an entire fanbase of franchise faithfuls. Even with its polarizing tone, Borderlands 2 still exemplifies the best of Borderlands and is largely responsible for why the series is so beloved today. Gorgeously rendered locales, compelling class combat, and a genuinely interesting story with an all-time classic antagonist in the form of Handsome Jack, this is a Vault Hunt that's still being played by thousands of people today, and for good reason.

Sure, parts of Borderlands 2 have dated in all the worst kinds of ways, but this is still an exceptional adventure for its time (with a well-earned place among the best Xbox 360 games) and one that continues to be the touchstone for the series at large and deserves recognition as one of the best Borderlands games of all time. For more information on our top pick, read our Borderlands 2 review.

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