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Welcome to another Borderlands 3 DLC review. This time we have Guns, Love, and Tentacles released by Gearbox Software on March 26th, 2020. Join Sir Hammerlock on the planet Xylourgos to help celebrate his union with Wainwright Jakobs. Join us in the frozen hellscape, and let us slass.

Now, how one derives fun from a product tends to be highly subjective. Therefore ALL forms of review are opinionated, and should be taken with a grain of salt (this included). So let’s review Guns, Love and Tentacles through the lens of more objective metrics such as; Graphical fidelity, characters/story, content/length, controls & gameplay, then finally, sound design & cinematics. This product was reviewed with a launch model PlayStation 4

Graphical Fidelity

In similar fashion to Moxxi’s Heist of The Handsome Jackpot and the base game, Guns, Love, and Tentacles retains the same aesthetic style. That’s not to say it doesn’t contain new and unique environments and enemy models. Speaking of new environments, the planet of Xylorgos is quite aesthetically pleasing. From the massive Cthulhu like tentacle monster acting as a tourist destination, to the dark culty townships, it’s all rather eye catching. While it may not be quite as alluring as The Handsome Jackpot visually, players can still feel the craftsmanship weaved into each location visited. This DLC changes up the color pallet with very lovecraftian themes, this tends to include many greens and purples.

Performance is as to be expected of Borderlands 3 at this point. During intensive segments and especially during co-op, frame drops are constant. However Guns, Love, and Tentacles did not crash at any point and ran with consistency.

Characters & Story

Moving on to plot and characters, I found Guns, Love and Tentacles underutilized it’s repertoire of unique characters. From classics like Sir Hammerlock, and Claptrap to relativily fresh faces such as Wainwright Jakobs, this DLC contains plenty of old and new. Gaige the Mechromancer and her Deathtrap from the Borderlands 2 DLC makes a welcome appearance along with Mancubus Bloodtooth, and a small roster of fresh characters. This includes the fairly middling villain Eleanor, and the exuberant Eista.

While I did enjoy the characterization of Eista, I felt this DLC missed opportunity for more Tina and ‘Hammylocks’ moments. It was strange in hindsight, that more reoccurring characters didn’t make appearances – although Brick, and the others are referenced. This would have been a phenomenal chance to further elaborate on character relationships. Alas, we only get a minimal tale of brief emotional struggle and internal doubt. These themes aren’t inherently bad, just needed to be further fleshed out.

Taking into account the release models of prior Borderlands DLC I remain dismayed with the non-inclusion of a new playable class. As stated in the previous DLC review, while content expansions didn’t contain new characters, they were always at least planned for downloadable content.

Topping this section off with a story synopsis; it’s not bad, but it’s nothing to write home about either. Vault hunters are invited to the wedding party of Hammerlock and Wainwright, while some insidious locals have other plans. I’ve summarized quite generally as not to spoil anything, though there’s really nothing too impactful to spoil, unfortunately. Similar to The Handsome Jackpot I feel this plot is fairly low risk, with that comes low reward.

Content & Length

This DLC should last players approximately 8-10 hours. Though as always with Borderlands content, is highly replayable. My favorite addition in this DLC is the creative and interesting new enemy types residing on Xylourgos. From dangerous and primal local wildlife to a heretical cult, the baddies are different and diverse.

Considering the newly introduced and vastly open areas requiring vehicles to navigate, this DLC strangely doesn’t include a new vehicle for players enjoy. I found this odd because the new frozen landscape would have been perfect for a Gears 5-esque snow-sled.

Guns, Love, and Tentacles persists of 20 missions – thats 6 main/story missions, and 14 side quests. Which ends up totalling 2 more than the Handsome Jackpot. While I felt I completed this DLC faster than the Handsome Jackpot, I spent more time doing side quests and exploring it’s vast spaces. Lastly, and most obvious for a Borderlands title – access to new loot drops, including weapons, relics, shields, grenade, and class mods.

Controls & Gameplay

Remaining consistent with how Borderlands 3 handles, Guns, Love, and Tentacles makes no notable changes to controls.

In regards to the gameplay itself Guns, Love, and Tentacles is a delightful romp. The new variety of guns and gear changes up build metas, and the creative bosses enliven the grind. I noticed alot of guns tend to cross brands in this DLC. For example, players may find Hyperion guns with a Tediore explosive reload, or a Dahl rifle with a Hyperion shield. The blending of weapon abilities is a fantastic addition. Additionally the level cap has been raised – then 53, to the current 57.

That said, the core gameplay loop remains the same. This add-on content simply expands the endgame playability. Drop rates for some of the DLC’s weapons are ridiculously high, however. One example that comes to mind is acquiring 14 Oldridian SMGs. Not a bad legendary gun, but balancing drops a bit more would be nice.

Sound Design & Cinematics

As far as audio is concerned, the voice acting (as per usual) is top notch and the soundtrack is great – unsurprising as well. Additionally It’s great to hear Cherami Leigh reprise her role as Gaige.

Kicking off the DLC is an unsettlingly tone setting cinematic that sets the stage for our next adventure. At first I was slightly apprehensive, but those worries were shortly put to rest by a horror-esque vibe, and glimpses of the shadiness afoot. As usual iconic Borderlands character cinematics make a welcome return.

To finish off this section we have the soundtrack, which in standard Borderlands fashion – is absolutely killer. I love Borderlands’ continued use of EDM, and how well it blends with the sci-fi landscape.

Conclusion

Wrapping things up, Guns, Love, and Tentacles is another consistent addition to Borderlands’ expansive repertoire or content. While the story may not be outstanding It remains passable, and an acceptable excuse to dive back into Borderlands 3. The real draw here is for players like me who can’t get enough content. It is essential that Gearbox keeps producing this minimum quality of content to retain it’s playerbase and ensure return players. This certainly isn’t the best DLC for a borderlands game, but it’s not the worst. Rather middling, though consistent I must admit. 7.8/10.

What did you think of Guns, Love, And Tentacles: The Marriage of Wainwrightand Hammerlock? Let us know in the comments. We’d be glad to hear from you. If you enjoyed this content, why not check out our Borderlands 3: Moxxi’s Heist of The Handsome Jackpot PS4 Review?

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Mike Allen

Just a Canadian dude who’s passionate about gaming, and the industry as a whole.