Tiny Tina is one of the best things about Borderlands. The teenage explosives expert introduced in Borderlands 2 was so popular that she got her own Dungeons and Dragons-themed DLC. And now she has her very own standalone game — Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands takes the usual madness the series is known for and amps it up to even crazier levels.
Just like other Borderlands games, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is laugh-out-loud funny, fast-paced and chaotic. It can be hard to get a handle on everything that’s going on when you’re first starting out, so we chatted to Matt Cox, the game’s creative director, to put together this Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands beginner’s guide. Here’s everything you need to know about Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands and how to get started.
What Is Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands About?
You and your friends are playing a Bunkers and Badasses campaign — the Borderlands version of Dungeons and Dragons — and Tiny Tina is the dungeon master. The gameplay in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is actually a visualisation of your campaign as you fight to stop the tyrannical Dragon Lord. Trade in the usual Borderlands weapons for epic, high-fantasy guns and spells, and face skeleton armies, trolls and zombies.
Cox describes the game as an “epic adventure full of whimsy, wonder and high-powered weaponry.”
Who Is in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands?
Ashly Burch returns to voice Tiny Tina and she’s joined by an all-star cast. The Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands voice actors include Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Andy Samberg, comedian Wanda Sykes and Will Arnett as the Dragon Lord.
“We chose actors whose voices lent themselves best to the characters, and we think fans and the community agreed once they heard Dragon Lord (Will Arnett), Valentine (Andy Samberg), and Frette (Wanda Sykes) in action,” Cox says. “Alongside Ashly Burch voicing the utterly unpredictable Tiny Tina, the all-star celebrity cast was thrilled to be on board and we loved welcoming them into our chaotic fantasy world.”
Does Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands Have Character Creation?
Yes, it does! Unlike previous Borderlands games, you’re not playing as a set character in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands and you start the game by creating an all-new character. And the customisation options are wild! You can customise everything from your race, hair, skin colour and eyelashes and even adjust your individual’s eyes and ears. The game also gives you lots of tools to help you express your gender — you can change your pronouns and instead of choosing a masculine or feminine build, the Body Type options are simply labelled “This One” and “That One”. There are also eight voices to choose from, and you can change the pitch of each voice to make it sound deeper or higher.
What Are the Different Classes in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands?
You’ll also choose your starting class in the character creator. Cox explained each of the classes and their playstyle: “There are six different classes of players with unique abilities, including Brr-Zerker (who are melee and cyro specialists), Spellshot (who excel at using spells), Stabbomancer (who specialize in Critical Hits and Status Effects), Graveborn (masters of Death, Spells, and Dark Magic), Clawbringer (a powerful cleric-type class) and Spore Warden (who are ranged pet specialists).
He also told us that a seventh class will be added to the game in a post-launch content drop.
Are There Crazy Guns in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands?
Incredible guns are a Borderlands staple, and Cox says that they’re still the “star of the show” in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. In fact, Wonderlands has some of the most inventive guns in the entire series thanks to the fact they’re guns in a fantasy world.
“We were excited to introduce a number of really inventive new weapon attachments that give recognisable firearms a unique fantasy twist. There are certainly a lot of guns, including dozens of Legendary weapons, but the addition of spellcasting opened up all kinds of new options for us,” says Cox.
Spells include fireballs, summoned hydras, giant meteors and magical hawks that home in on enemies to deal damage. There are also protective spells that buff you and your allies and debuff enemies who get too close. They’re a great addition to Borderlands’ frantic combat style and a lot of fun to experiment with.
What Accessibility Features Does Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands Have?
Accessibility-focused game review site Can I Play That praised the game’s large and easy-to-understand subtitles, the tagging and sorting options in the inventory and the freedom it gives you to rebind controls to your liking. However, it noted that the screen is often cluttered with text and numbers, especially during combat, parts of the HUD are illegible and there’s no built-in narration for players who prefer having text read out to them.
“We want to ensure that anyone who wants to play Wonderlands can. Accessibility isn’t a “one and done” commitment. It’s an ongoing process informed by our consultation with accessibility experts,” says Cox.
Is Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands Getting DLC?
There are four post-launch content drops planned for the game, all of which are available through the Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands Season Pass. These content drops will introduce new formidable bosses and unfamiliar settings, the seventh playable class and a suite of cosmetics.
“Completing a content drop will also add its respective levels and boss to the pool of possibilities in the Chaos Chamber, the endlessly replayable endgame of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands,” says Cox.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is out now on PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
