You'll Play as Two Characters in Tales from the Borderlands

Telltale Games and Gearbox teased the industry with the announcement of its first collaborative project last year, Tales from the Borderlands. While the trailer filled us with overwhelming excitement, it also left us with plenty of unanswered questions. However, during a panel at SXSW, the two studios have finally spilled the beans.

Set on Pandora after the events of Borderlands 2 and its DLC, you are plunged into a changing world, mopping up all of the mess that has been left behind by the natural disaster known as the Vault Hunters. Instead of playing as invincible, gun-toting heroes, you'll find yourself following two of the planet's ordinary citizens as they deal with life in this harsh and unforgiving world. The disparate perspectives will give you two different versions of the adventure's events, with the truth sitting somewhere in the middle.

The first character is Rhys, a Hyperion employee who arrives in Pandora following the events that shook the company. With a robotic arm, he is an expert hacker capable of doing just about anything, including controlling a robot to strangle his enemies. The office boy has been heavily affected by Borderlands 2's antagonist Handsome Jack, but just how is being kept a secret for the time being. Despite the striking similarities between their appearances, the creators have ruled out the possibility of a father and son relationship.

On the other-hand, classy lady Fiona is Pandora born and bred. She knows how to lie, cheat, and steal with the best of them, and will go to any lengths to make sure that she can nab a quick buck. This professional con artist has swindled her way out of every situation possible, but now her reputation is starting to elude her. With areas where she isn't wanted running dry, this fast talker is running out of options. However, that doesn't mean that she still can't bamboozle her enemies with extravagant tales to make a quick getaway.

With greed being the primary theme behind this jaunt in Pandora, don't expect this adventure to be as dark as Telltale's other episodic masterpieces. Rather than facing traumatic choices of who will live and who will die, the developer's setting up some juicy, underhand temptations that will leave you in despair. It will also revisit the outfit's comedy roots, while allowing Gearbox to cover the type of serious topics that a first-person shooter struggles to convey.

Fans of the franchise are begging to know which characters will be making a cameo appearance in this canonical adventure. While the lid is being kept firmly shut on specifics, the developers have teased that the Vault Hunters will be making a return, and that a Borderlands game just wouldn't be the same without good old Claptrap.

Sadly, the release date is being kept wrapped up for the time being, but with the studios being similarly secretive about platforms, a PlayStation 4 version is possible. Are you getting pumped for this intriguing spin-off? Share your tales in the comments section below.