“Borderlands” fans know what it’s like to be unable to put a game down. The first “Borderlands” landed on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC in 2009, and ever since then fans have been hooked by the game’s irresistible gunplay and endless firehose of loot. The games offer a fascinating setting and diehard fans can recite the entire “Borderlands” story for you, sure, but it’s the guns that bring players in and keep them around for hundreds or even thousands of hours.
“Borderlands” is a great looter-shooter series responsible for some of the best video games ever made, but the series’ real appeal is deeper than its FPS mechanics. The games all have unique character classes with satisfying playstyles. They all have excellent gunplay, detailed worlds to explore, and stories with memorable moments and lines. The best games like “Borderlands” come in a variety of genres, but they’re all defined by addictive combat mechanics, flexible character builds, and settings that sear themselves into your memory.
Diablo 2
Long before “Borderlands 3” quietly changed gaming forever, “Diablo 2” helped popularize the modern ARPG. At first glance “Diablo 2” might seem like a strange game to recommend to a “Borderlands” fan, but under the hood the two games have quite a bit in common. Both of them have a gameplay loop that relies on the excitement of getting better loot, and both of them have insanely addictive combat. “Borderlands” players back in 2009 spotted the similarities and described Gearbox’s new game as an FPS version of Blizzard’s ARPG classic.
“Diablo 2” characters are class-based, and each class has three distinct skill trees that they can put points into as they level up. They range from the aggressive and tanky Barbarian to the more crafty and gadgety assassin, but the one thing that all the classes have in common is their reliance on gear. Killing demons throughout the five acts of “Diablo 2” isn’t just a means of defending Sanctuary from the forces of Hell, it’s also a path to finding better loot. The excitement of getting a rare or even unique item is something that any gamer can understand.
The process of using gear, runes, gems, and skill points to perfect a build is so satisfying that people have been playing “Diablo 2” non-stop for three decades. Blizzard still supports the game to this day, releasing a new class, the Warlock, for the remastered edition in 2026. Going from an FPS to an isometric ARPG is no small jump, but “Borderlands” fans will very quickly find themselves at home in the many dungeons and fields of “Diablo 2.”
The Ascent
“The Ascent” is an action RPG set in a cyberpunk world owned by the Ascent megacorporation. When the company collapses, players have to defend their city from total destruction with the help of a team of friends and a healthy supply of high-powered weaponry. From a top-down perspective, players get to explore a multilayered dystopian city filled with roving gangs, giant robots, and dangerous animals. Players find new weapons and get plenty of opportunities to upgrade their gear and customize the way they play as they find out what exactly happened to The Ascent.
While incoming “Borderlands” fans will have to adjust to the game’s top-down perspective, they’ll find the core gameplay loop of “The Ascent” just as enticing as their favorite series. The fast-paced gunplay in “The Ascent” is addictive, as is the steady supply of new items that the game feeds you. What really makes “The Ascent” harken back to the best days of the “Borderlands” series is its approach to co-op. 4 players can seamlessly play together online or locally, meaning that “The Ascent” is always ready for a game night with friends.
The Outer Worlds
“The Outer Worlds” is a sci-fi action RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, the developers behind “Fallout: New Vegas,” some of the best “Fallout” DLC, and many other celebrated titles. Set in a solar system far from our own, “The Outer Worlds” explores a somewhat dystopian space colony with a light-hearted and humorous approach that “Borderlands” fans are sure to appreciate. The game is open-ended and offers much more room for role-playing that your average “Borderlands” game. Players can chart their own course through the stars, aiding or obstructing NPCs and factions as they see fit.
In terms of gameplay, while “The Outer Worlds” doesn’t have classes in the same vein as “Borderlands,” the two games still have a lot in common. The process of exploring new worlds to find quest givers, hidden loot, and enemies to fight feels remarkably similar across both games. “The Outer Worlds” doesn’t have quite as many weapons on offer as the average “Borderlands” title, but the game does allow plenty of playstyle flexibility.
Players can live out the fantasy of being a deadly gunslinger, a ferocious plasma knife-wielder, or plenty of things in between. Experimenting is part of the fun, and combat in “The Outer Worlds” is entertaining enough to make up for the fact that the game doesn’t let you explore its galaxy with your friends.
Cyberpunk 2077
While the game isn’t set on an alien world in a far-flung galaxy, “Cyberpunk 2077” does offer incredible first-person combat that “Borderlands” fans are sure to love. The game doesn’t start characters with a specific class, but as players progress through their chosen skill trees, their builds become more defined and effective.
Do you want to use shotguns to blow your enemies into bits, smash heads with a giant hammer, or hack-and-slash your way through crowds with an electrified katana? “Cyberpunk” lets you choose, and it throws in rifles, pistols, throwing knives, quickhacks, and a suit of high-tech grenades to boot. The game isn’t explicitly a looter-shooter, but it does shower players with guns and gear and lets them get to the fun of using all that equipment however they see fit.
Players coming into Night City from Pandora or one of the other settings in the “Borderlands” series also won’t have to give up the fun of using vehicles. “Cyberpunk” is filled with cars, motorcycles, and armored vehicles, and the game has some fantastic vehicular combat mechanics. “Borderlands” players will have to adjust to the often somber tone of the writing in “Cyberpunk,” but when they hit the chaotic Night City streets, they’ll feel right at home.
Outriders
“Outriders” is another game that will richly reward “Borderlands” players willing to make a shift in perspective. The game is a third-person action RPG with a similar approach to character building, gunplay, and co-op. Like “Borderlands,” “Outriders” presents players with four character classes and allows them to further refine their style with skill trees, hordes of guns, and nearly endless variations of upgrades. Players can drop into adventures with their friends and tackle the dangers of Enoch as a team before continuing their journey solo, making “Outriders” every bit as flexible an experience as your favorite “Borderlands” entry.
As far as storytelling goes, “Outriders” offers a nice change of pace for “Borderlands” fans. The game is set on Enoch, a distant world that humanity moved to when Earth’s climate became too hostile. Players awaken late from cryosleep to find that colonization failed, and they must discover what happened while surviving on Enoch’s deadly surface. The story is strong enough to keep you hooked throughout the game, but the combat in “Outriders” is what will push you into the endgame challenges and beyond.
