Well, all right, not everybody—but anyone who shows up to the Tales from the Borderlands: A Telltale Games Series “Crowd Play” event at PAX Prime at the end of this month will get a chance to play episode 4 together.
Saturday, August 29 at 8:30 p.m., in the Wyvern Theatre at PAX Prime, 500 people will join to play Episode 4: Escape Plan Bravo. The press release promises “we’ll need all 500 audience members to help us steer the decisions in this penultimate episode of the season, so come equipped with your shouty voice and ready to participate in an evening that should be loads of fun (and probably just a little bit ridiculous).” Cosplay will be welcomed, and there will also be giveaways.
Tales from the Borderlands is Telltale Games’ spinoff…sequel? To the Mad Max-esque Borderlands series from Gearbox. While the original games are shooters, Tales is more story-based. The game features two protagonists: Rhys the driven corporate stooge and Fiona the wanted con-woman. The player switches between the two as they tell their story—with lots of unreliable narration—to a mysterious third party who has kidnapped them. The player must choose whatever dialogue options they feel fit the story best, and different choices lead to different outcomes, both on a narrative level and an interpersonal one.
Tales From the Borderlands is probably in my top five favorite games of all time; it’s hilarious, but it’s also got a lot of heart. It is, however, rated M for Mature, and for very good reason. This game has violence, strong language, and a lot of raunchy humor. If you’re comfortable with your family watching something like the latest Mad Max movie, this probably won’t be a problem, but fair warning: it’s not a particularly kid-friendly game.
Only three episodes of Tales From the Borderlands are out so far, with two more on their way.
