Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 298 sampled Steam reviews (241 positive / 57 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Story & writing24% mention it
- Progression & loot8% mention it
- Combat7% mention it
- World & exploration6% mention it
- Visuals & art5% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Story & writing33% mention it
- Grind & repetition16% mention it
- Combat14% mention it
- Multiplayer & servers14% mention it
- Bugs & crashes12% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
75%
48 reviews
5-15h
72%
58 reviews
15-40h
83%
84 reviews
40-100h
85%
60 reviews
100h+
88%
48 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 74 | 16 |
| Creator reviews (1 tracked) | – | 97 | 0 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 79% | 73 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 65 | 50 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 74% | 70 | 38 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 109 reviews sampled · 86 total reviews in window · weighted 58.9 up / 20.6 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (81)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 70
“The essential gameplay can be reduced to a series of shoot-'em-up fetch quests through hazardous landscapes, but even veterans will have to adapt their FPS techniques to make it through.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“The more time you spend with The Pre-Sequel!, the easier it is for you to notice important changes: a completely new combat system, cool new characters, a complex story, even funnier quests and more of everyone's favorite - Claptrap! Fans of Borderlands 2 will find tons of goodies wrapped in a fresh new package and spend dozens of hours simply having fun.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Like Borderlands 2, The Pre-Sequel often feels like a fairly safe sequel, but the gimmicks Gearbox chose to use this time around actually worked surprisingly well, far better than I had originally anticipated.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“If the new additions in The Pre-Sequel! don't ultimately matter, then this is essentially an add-on to Borderlands 2, spread out over desolation. "The Blue Danube" never actually plays, but if it did, it would no longer signify marvel, only déjà vu, the nagging feeling that you've done this before, and it was better the first time.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“The Pre-Sequel is missing just a bit of soul, but it has plenty of heart, hearts exploded by laser rifles.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Another great installment in the Borderlands franchise, the Pre Sequel takes things to the next level with a fantastic story, great characters and new innovative gameplay, which will make you jump for joy...Quite literally.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“The Pre-Sequel offers freshly designed air combat thanks to the low gravity of Elpis. It feels like a whole new game, until the action ends and you glance at the shell of Borderlands 2 being remade all over again. A hit and miss title that fans will definitely love.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Ultimately, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel stands as a last hurrah for Gearbox's RPG shooter in the form that we currently know it. With improvements that feel more incremental than innovative, 2K Australia have stepped up and provided a solid and long-lasting if technically safe entry in the Borderlands series and yet, it's one which stands out almost singularly on the merit of it's breathlessly entertaining cast and rowdy narrative.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Fans of Borderlands should really check this out, even if it is against your "better judgment." There's still some fun stuff to be had in this series.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Though low gravity makes combat more interesting, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel's missions and story feel like straight-up filler. This Pre-Sequel is strictly for devoted Vault Hunters.”
read full review ↗ - 89
“If Borderlands 2 was an example of the series coasting under its own momentum, the Pre-Sequel is something of a master class in how to refine the series into a step forward. The underlying game isn't that different and it's filled with the same humor that you've come to expect, but the change of setting and the polishing of the gameplay have done wonders. The game seems more reliant on a central plot than the series is normally known for, and through it, you learn how Jack became such a horrible person. If you're like me and thought the Pre-Sequel is just another game in the series, then Claptrap's class isn't the only "Mistake." For being the third game in a franchise and with a name that implies it to be more of the same, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is a surprisingly fresh experience.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is a funny cartoon shooter that compels you to keep playing and score more guns. Just like the last two. Laser weapons and moon bouncing add a little extra flavor, but if you don't like Borderlands by now, this won't change things.”
read full review ↗
Slant Magazine
GRYOnline.pl
RPGamer
The A.V. Club
LevelUp
GameWatcher
ZTGD
PCMag
Worth Playing
The Escapist…and 69 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel March 10 Patch NotesMar 10, 2020
- Permanent Hot-FixesOct 29, 2015significant · resets scoring window
- Permanent Hot-FixesOct 29, 2015significant · resets scoring window
- Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel UpdateOct 29, 2015significant · resets scoring window
- Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel UpdateOct 29, 2015significant · resets scoring window
- Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel UpdateMay 19, 2015significant · resets scoring window
- Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel UpdateMay 19, 2015significant · resets scoring window
- Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Update Coming SoonMar 19, 2015significant · resets scoring window
- Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Update Coming SoonMar 19, 2015significant · resets scoring window
- Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Update ReleasedJan 27, 2015significant · resets scoring window
- Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Update ReleasedJan 27, 2015
- Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Update ReleasedDec 16, 2014
- Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Update ReleasedDec 16, 2014
- Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Update ReleasedNov 11, 2014
- Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Update ReleasedNov 11, 2014