Tales from the Borderlands doesn't have the bite of some of Telltale's recent fare. It zips along at a much faster pace, cracking wise as and it does.
And since it's set in the crazed universe of Gearbox's FPS RPG, that makes a lot of sense. There's plenty of gore and sarcasm here, and more than one line that'll raise a giggle.
But there's a distinct lack of weight to proceedings - your choices aren't so hard to make, and the outcomes aren't so dramatic.
This is distinctly lightweight, with a few technical problems here and there. But a stellar voice cast and some stand out moments make it an enjoyable romp all the same.
Pandora's boxThe game starts on Helios, the headquarters of the Hyperion company. You're Rhys, a salaryman who's on the cusp of a life-changing promotion.
But then things start to go wrong, and after the timely entrance of a space-bound corpse you head to Pandora to steal a deal from under your new boss's nose.
It's a bright start, and once you're on Pandora things start to heat up. A massive fight with some bandits involving a huge robot and clever use of a toilet door shows the game's true colours.
This is very much a story driven QTE experience. Prompts flash up on screen and you need to follow them. Swipe to dodge, mash the screen to open a vent, that sort of thing.
In between you pick from conversation trees. Characters remember certain things you say, although the implications of this aren't clear.
In fact a lot of the choices you make feel slightly arbitrary - like things were going to play out one way and you've just been given the illusion that you're affecting anything.
IlusoryAfter some shady dealings and the appearance of a man who bears a passing resemblance to Hunter S Thompson, you switch to play as Fiona. She's part of a trio of conmen out to fleece Rhys with a fake vault key.
There are some more traditionally point-and-click sections here, and a scene in a bar where you need to remember some quick-fire information to pass yourself off as an archaeologist.
Eventually the two characters' threads start to intertwine, leading to a slightly bonkers finale in a chariot racing arena.
FunlandsAnd all the while you're having fun. Tales from the Borderlands might not stick in the memory, but it's a wry, intelligent adventure full of likeable characters.
When things come to an end you're eager to find out what happens next, which is always a good sign in an episodic series.
Is it Telltale at its best? No - it was never going to be. But it's still a delightfully brash experience, full of swagger and bravado.
There are a few technical hitches here and there, including some odd clipping when some characters don masks, but there's nothing game-breaking.
Pandora makes for a surprisingly engaging backdrop to your shenanigans, and even as someone who never really got into Borderlands I found a lot to like in the Mad Max meets Looney Tunes universe.
While Tales from the Borderlands doesn't have the bite of The Walking Dead, it's got a snap, a pep, that should make this series an enjoyable, if forgettable, diversion.