Do You Need to Play Borderlands Before Watching the Movie?

The Borderlands movie is taking audiences into Pandora, but there are times where movie adaptations work better when the viewer has knowledge of the original work. But depending on how faithful the adaptation is, knowing the work might not be needed. So, do you need to play Borderlands before watching the movie?

Borderlands: Do You Need to Play the Games Before Watching the Movie?

The short answer is no, you don’t need to play any of the Borderlands games before watching the movie. The movie is set in the universe of the series, but it isn’t following the games or their canon. This is why the cast list and trailer images don’t quite fit with a single game. They aren’t designed to be a faithful adaptation of the game content.

Do You Need to Play Borderlands Games in Order?

That being said, if the movie looks interesting to you and you haven’t played any of the games yet, they’re definitely worth checking out. They’re a ton of fun. And that’s especially true if you have a friend or a few to jump into the games with you. Additionally, you don’t need to play them in order. I played the second game first myself, and I didn’t feel like I was missing that much when it came to background knowledge.

Both Steam and Epic Games have a Borderlands franchise sale going on right now. So, whether you decide to see the movie or not, it’s the perfect time to pick up the games and give them a try if you haven’t already. Then, it’s clear why players love these classic looter shooters, in particular the first two.

That answers the question of if you need to play Borderlands before watching the movie. Adaptations of video games into movies and TV series seem more popular than ever, even if not all of them end up being hits. If you’re interested in more game adaptations, check out our piece on how Fallout Season 1 compares to the games!