Highlights
- Borderlands Collection: Pandora's Box offers fans of the franchise a complete package with all three mainline games, DLCs, and spin-offs, providing hundreds of hours of content.
- The collection comes with a hefty price tag of $150, which may be a deterrent for long-time Borderlands fans who may already own some of the games.
- For new fans looking to dive into the Borderlands franchise, the collection offers convenience and efficiency. While it may not be worth getting if players already own part of the collection, it is a solid deal if fans are jumping in for the first time.
Though it may not quite be in its heyday anymore, the Borderlands franchise is still home to some of the most beloved co-op looter-shooters ever created, along with a few popular spin-offs. Having been around for 14 years now, it's pretty unlikely that long-time gamers haven't given the Borderlands series at least one go before, but for those who are still out there and looking to get into the entire series, then that's where the recently released Borderlands Collection: Pandora's Box comes into play.
Announced and released out of the blue just a few weeks ago, the Borderlands Collection: Pandora's Box collects all three mainline Borderlands games, along with a handful of spin-offs, giving fans the complete franchise experience. But while the Borderlands Collection: Pandora's Box seems like the perfect package, its value is a little more subjective than some might first realize.
Borderlands Collection: Pandora's Box's Value Largely Depends on the Player
On the surface level, Borderlands Collection: Pandora's Box is a complete package in every sense of the word. In buying this collection, players will receive all three mainline Borderlands games, along with all of their DLCs, including some phenomenal story expansions. Players will also receive Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, which is a smaller-scale title, but still worth at least one playthrough. And as if that wasn't enough, players also receive Telltale's Tales From the Borderlands, and its recent Gearbox sequel New Tales from the Borderlands. All in all, players can expect to find 100s of hours of content in Borderlands Collection: Pandora's Box.
But the real sticking point with this collection is the hefty price tag that comes with it. Borderlands Collection: Pandora's Box is retailing for $150. Though eager fans could nab the collection for much cheaper during its first week, that price has now skyrocketed back up, and it's sure to be the biggest thorn in this collection's side. While this technically works out to just $25 per game, that's still a fairly high asking price for titles that have been around for over a decade, and often go on sale for just a few bucks each.
Herein lies the biggest issue with Borderlands Collection: Pandora's Box. For long-time Borderlands fans, this isn't really going to be a package that they want to invest in. While previous Borderlands collections have added new content and remastered the game's graphics and gameplay, Pandora's Box doesn't do that with any of its titles. The only upside to this collection for long-time fans is that they won't need to pay for any games in the collection that they already own on that platform.
However, if gamers are somehow just now looking to get into the Borderlands franchise, and want to go all-in right away, then Borderlands Collection: Pandora's Box seems like probably the easiest way to do that. Though it isn't the cheapest way new fans could buy the entire Borderlands saga, it is likely the most efficient way, with all the games appearing on the same platform in the same location and just being one click away. And though $150 certainly isn't chump change, it isn't absurdly expensive either, with the average first-party AAA costing at least $70 now. If new fans are looking to get every game in the Borderlands franchise - and all of its DLC - in one easy-to-reach place, then Borderlands Collection: Pandora's Box could be worth the price of admission. However, if fans even own a small portion of this collection already, then it probably won't be.
Borderlands Collection: Pandora's Box is available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.