Announced on the occasion of last year's VGX, Tales from the Borderlands had immediately discussed the fans (and the less passionate): could a universe like that of Borderlands where the narrative has never played a leading role adapt to the style of the typical products of Telltale Games? Would the new series from the authors of The Waling Dead be able (gameplay aside) to capture the essence of the Gearbox “role-playing shooter”? For definitive answers we will have to wait for the release of the other episodes, but in the meantime this "season premiere" manages to give players some indications. Let's find out what kind.
Version tested: Playstation 4
Welcome back to Pandora
Zer0 Sum is a great season premiere: high pace and Borderlands-esque ironyTelltale chooses for this excursion on Pandora a narrative style that develops on two levels, which in the course of the approximately two hours necessary to complete Zer0 Sum move continuously, now proceeding parallel, now approaching until they touch each other (and in some circumstances even overlapping ). These two floors are represented by the two protagonists of the work: Rhys, a Hyperion employee who hopes to climb positions in the company hierarchy after the departure of the "boss" (in every sense) Jack the Handsome and Fiona, a professional scammer trying to pull off the heist of her life. Wanting to avoid as much as possible to anticipate something at the plot level (risking to "cripple" the appeal of a production of this type), we'll just say that Zer0 Sum from this point of view is definitely a solid season premiere: thanks to a cast of characters capable of giving life to dialogues and situations in perfect Borderlands style, which reproduce the humor and irony already widely appreciated in the course of the two main chapters by Gearbox, and to the aforementioned choice to develop the story "in two voices" playing on the contrast of the points of view of Rhys and Fiona (as well as on some unsettling gimmicks and some really unexpected twists) Telltale undoubtedly starts off on the right foot and gives the skeptics the best answer they could expect, as well as being able to make all aficionados of the series feel at home.
The weight of choices
The game system is now proven, but it adapts to the presence of two different protagonistsFrom a playful point of view, Tales of The Borderlands (at least as regards Zer0 Sum) does not differ much from the other works edited by Telltale, fitting during the narration the now classic Quick Time Events (indeed, this time inserted perhaps a little too rarely, leaving the player even for several minutes in a row at the mercy of the narrative) and the equally classic moral choices, which as usual promise to influence the story. Given that it is certainly early to talk about this aspect, which will be judged on the long term once all the chapters have been released (and played), Zer0 Sum has often given us the feeling that the player's choices did not have weight on the economy of the narrative, with different alternatives that often lead to the same situations, albeit with some exceptions. On the other hand, the idea of showing a summary screen at the end of the chapter that compares the player's choices with those of other users, providing the percentages and giving those who play "the pulse" of the choices made on a worldwide basis is nice. If, however, as mentioned, the judgment on the actual weight of the choices must be postponed, something more can be said about the unprecedented presence of different skills for the two protagonists: Rhys is in fact equipped with an "Echo Eye" that allows him to scan different objects of the scenario in order to obtain additional information (extracted from the Hyperion database), while Fiona, on the other hand, can collect money during the experience to use to bribe some characters and make life easier for the player. It is a system that on paper could correspond to a greater diversity of solutions based on the character that you are impersonating and that already during Zer0 Sum reveals a certain potential, but which in any case is only made to "smell" in this chapter to the player and does not become a defining aspect of this premiere.
The Echo Eye also wants its share
Visually, everything works as it shouldFrom a technical point of view, also thanks to the cell shading style typical of Borderlands which has already shown in the past to be "scalable" both upwards and downwards, convincing however, Tales of the Borderlands offers a good glance and in general leaving us very little to complain about. On the other hand, the inaction of the Spanish adaptation continues, a defect we have now made the callus for and, as we always say, in 2014 it should not be a big obstacle for anyone, but which in any case could discourage the most allergic to the Albion language. .
Verdict 8/10 The strange couple makes a great debut Comment Zer0 Sum, summing up, has certainly left us satisfied and with some anxiety for the release of the second episode: fast pace, dialogue and situations in perfect Borderlands style and an effective narration allow to this new experience signed Telltale to make his debut definitely on the right foot, although for now it is not possible to fully pronounce on the actual weight of moral choices and the whole question of the exclusive abilities of the characters has only been "sniffed". Anyway, the expectations are really high at this point. Pros and cons ✓ Sustained pace
✓ Many twists
✓ Rhys and Fiona's abilities promise new solutions ... x ... But for now we have only "smelled" them
x The weight of the choices must be verified
