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New Tales from the Borderlands shows new trailer & figurine fights at PAX West 2022

Gearbox's Main Theater Show at PAX West 2022 wrapped up with an extensive look at the upcoming New Tales from the Borderlands.

Ozzie Mejia

September 2, 2022 3:35 PM

2K Games

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PAX West 2022 kicked off on Friday and the annual convention is also becoming the regular home for Gearbox Entertainment's look into its future. The Gearbox Main Theater Show concluded with an extensive look at the upcoming New Tales from the Borderlands from 2K Games, Gearbox Entertainment, and Gearbox Studio Quebec. This included both a new character introducing the game's characters, which can be seen below, and a live gameplay sequence that shows off some interesting new mechanics.

While players were given a brief peek at the game's central cast during Gamescom 2022, this latest trailer gives them a more formal introduction. Fran is the sassy wheelchair-bound owner of her parents' frozen yogurt stand, which was recently destroyed in a suspicious accident. Octavio is an aspirational young man who has his sights set on fame and the benefits that come with it. Lastly, there's Anu, who wants to use the technological advancements of her employers' evil corporation to benefit humanity. The trio comes together when they learn of a vault somewhere on Promethea, which can help all of them accomplish their respective goals.

Of course, there's a lot that can and does go wrong over the course of the adventure. Those who watched the Gearbox presentation from PAX West saw that first-hand. Those who didn't can catch the show on-demand below.

One of the most interesting ideas at work is the use of Vaultlander figurines. While the Gearbox Studio Quebec team noted that their primary purpose was to be a fun collectible item, the team eventually evolved that idea into actual figurine fights. Following a series of QTEs and taking advantage of each figure's various abilities, it's possible to take down opponents, advance the story forward, and even claim their own figures for your collection.

(Update: Here's a fresh upload from the Gearbox YouTube channel, showing off the same gameplay sequence, but with a few different choices and a different Vaultlander figure.)

New Tales from the Borderlands is on its way this fall season. Look for it to release on October 21 on PC (via Steam and the Epic Games Store), PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?