
- 84/100
- Players1,869 ratings
- 81/100
- Critics17 reviews
More scores
- Metacritic38 critic reviews
- 89/100
- Metacritic usersuser score
- 81/100
- GameFAQsJust Right
- 4.08/5
- Player reviews
- 89% positive210,753 reviews
- Steam Deck
- Playable
- Runs on
- Windows, Mac, Linux
- Price
- US$19.99
Where to get it

2012 · Gearbox Software · Action role-playing · First-person shooter
Borderlands 2 VR
A new era of shoot and loot is about to begin. Play as one of four new vault hunters facing off against a massive new world of creatures, psychos and the evil mastermind, Handsome Jack. Make new friends, arm them with a bazillion weapons and fight alongside them in 4 player co-op on a relentless quest for revenge and redemption across the undiscovered and unpredictable living planet.
- Released
- 18 September 2012
- Platforms
- AndroidLinuxNintendo SwitchPlayStation 3PlayStation 4PlayStation VRPlayStation VitaWindowsXbox 360Xbox OnemacOS
- Genres
- Action role-playingFirst-person shooterLGBT themesLooter shooterPost-apocalypticRole-playingShooterVideo game with LGBT character
- Developers
- Gearbox SoftwareIron Galaxy StudiosAspyr
- Publishers
- 2K
- Series
- Borderlands
- Modes
- Co-opMultiplayerSingle-player
- Perspective
- First person
- Themes
- ActionScience fictionComedySandboxOpen world
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 3
- Country
- United States
- Age ratings
- GRAC 19+ACB MA 15+USK 18CERO ZESRB MPEGI 18
- Languages
- Chinese (Traditional), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish (Spain)
- Copies sold
- 30 million as of 2024-12-31
- Entry
- #2 in Borderlands
- Time to beat
- 31hmain story67hwith extras146hcompletionist
- Composers
- Cris Velasco, Sonic Mayhem, Jesper Kyd, Kevin Riepl
About
Borderlands 2 is a 2012 action role-playing first-person shooter video game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K. Taking place five years following the events of Borderlands (2009), the game is again set on the planet of Pandora. The story follows a new group of Vault Hunters who must ally with the Crimson Raiders, a resistance group made up of civilian survivors and guerrilla fighters, to defeat the tyrannical Handsome Jack before he can unlock the power of a new Vault. The game features the ability to explore the in-game world and complete main missions and optional side quests, either in offline splitscreen, single-player or online cooperative gameplay. Like its predecessor, the game features a procedurally generated loot system which is capable of generating numerous combinations of weapons and other gear.
With the unexpected success of the first game, Gearbox was able to secure a budget of $30–35 million to develop the sequel. Like its predecessor, the game adopted the "concept art style", which features graphics inspired by both photorealistic imagery and comic-book-inspired visuals. The team attempted to address players' feedback from the first game, and recruited Anthony Burch who wrote the game's script which is seven times longer than that of the original game. Among the game's diverse cast of characters, Handsome Jack, the central antagonist, was created to be a charismatic "douche" that mirrors Burch's own personality.
›Story
Five years after the events of Borderlands, a valuable mineral called "Eridium" starts flourishing through Pandora's crust. Handsome Jack, the leader of the Hyperion Corporation, secures this new resource and uses it to rule over Pandora with an iron fist. Meanwhile, rumors of an even larger Vault hidden on Pandora spread across the galaxy, drawing a new group of Vault Hunters to the planet in search of it.
Players say
Media
The articlegameplay, story, development, reception
Gameplay
Similar to its predecessor, Borderlands 2 is a first-person shooter with elements drawn from role-playing video games. Four playable character classes are available in the base game, each with their own unique Action Skill: Axton, "the Commando", can summon a turret to provide offensive support. Maya, "the Siren", can "phaselock" enemies by trapping them in a sphere of energy for a few seconds. Zer0, "the Assassin", can temporarily become invisible and spawn a hologram decoy to distract enemies.
Salvador, "the Gunzerker", can use his titular ability to temporarily dual-wield weapons. Action Skills have a cooldown time during which the player must wait before they can use the skill again. Similarly to the original, completing the main story campaign unlocks "True Vault Hunter Mode", a New Game Plus which increases the difficulty of the game by making enemies stronger, improves the probability of finding rare and higher-quality items, and allows the player's character to reach level 50.
Story
Five years have passed since the events of Borderlands, when four Vault Hunters—Roland, Mordecai, Lilith, and Brick—were guided by a mysterious entity known as "The Guardian Angel" to the Vault, an ancient alien structure that was rumored to hold exotic technology and riches. On entering the Vault, they were instead confronted by an alien abomination known as "The Destroyer". After defeating The Destroyer, a valuable mineral called "Eridium" started flourishing through Pandora's crust. Handsome Jack (voiced by Dameon Clarke), CEO of the Hyperion Corporation, secures this new resource and makes use of it to attempt to "bring peace" to the planet.
Now, Handsome Jack rules over the inhabitants of Pandora with an iron fist from his massive space station, Helios. Meanwhile, rumors spread of an even larger Vault, drawing a new group of Vault Hunters who search for it.
Development
Following the release of the first Borderlands, developer Gearbox Software was simultaneously working on three distinct projects: finishing Duke Nukem Forever, creating Aliens: Colonial Marines, and working on a sequel to the original Borderlands. The initial goal was to create a sequel similar in scale to the first game, but Borderlands' unexpected success enabled the team to expand their budget during the development of Borderlands 2, allowing them to expand their scope and create more content. The development budget ultimately grew to $30–$35 million. Paul Hellquist served as the game's creative director, Jeramy Cooke as its art director, and Anthony Burch as its writer.
Sascha Dikiciyan, Cris Velasco, and Jesper Kyd worked together to craft the game's original soundtracks, while Gearbox's Raison Varner provided additional music. The game's development was completed on August 20, 2012, with Gearbox confirming that it was being prepared for duplication and release.
Reception
The game received generally positive reviews upon release, according to review aggregator platform Metacritic. Many reviewers agreed that the game is a notable improvement over the original.
Allistair Pinsof, writing for Destructoid, praised the gunplay and the variety of guns, which can change the gameplay experience as different weapons force players to approach combat differently. However, he was disappointed by the conservative mission design, especially for a game that features over-the-top characters. Christian Donlan from Eurogamer liked how distinct the gun manufacturers are, and felt that they have successfully modified the pace of play. He also lauded the extensive customisation options, and the enemy variety.
Awards
Releases by platformdates and regions as published
Editions and related releases
- Included in
- Borderlands: The Handsome CollectionBorderlands 2: Game of the Year EditionBorderlands Legendary CollectionBorderlands Double Deluxe CollectionBorderlands Collection: Pandora's BoxBorderlands Triple Pack
- Downloadable content
- Borderlands 2: Mad Moxxi and the Wedding Day MassacreBorderlands 2: Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon KeepBorderlands 2: Sir Hammerlock's Big Game HuntBorderlands 2: Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's BootyBorderlands 2: Commander Lilith and the Fight for SanctuaryBorderlands 2: Sir Hammerlock vs. the Son of CrawmeraxBorderlands 2: Creature SlaughterdomeBorderlands 2: Mr. Torgue's Campaign of CarnageBorderlands 2: T.K. Baha's Bloody HarvestBorderlands 2: The Horrible Hunger of the Ravenous Wattle GobblerBorderlands 2: How Marcus Saved Mercenary Day
- Ported as
- Borderlands 2 VR
- Built on it
- Borderlands 2: Creature SlaughterdomeBorderlands 2: Mechromancer PackBorderlands 2: Mr. Torgue's Campaign of CarnageBorderlands 2: Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's BootyBorderlands 2: The Horrible Hunger of the Ravenous Wattle GobblerBorderlands 2: Psycho PackBorderlands 2: How Marcus Saved Mercenary DayBorderlands 2: Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon KeepBorderlands 2: T.K. Baha's Bloody HarvestBorderlands 2: Sir Hammerlock's Big Game HuntBorderlands 2: Mad Moxxi and the Wedding Day MassacreBorderlands 2: Sir Hammerlock vs. the Son of CrawmeraxBorderlands 2 VRBorderlands 2: Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary
- Editions
- Borderlands 2: Deluxe Vault Hunter's EditionBorderlands 2: Game of the Year Edition
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Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.
