Borderlands

Borderlands (2009) is a loot-driven first-person shooter with RPG elements, set on the chaotic planet of Pandora where players take on the role of one of four Vault Hunters—Brick the Berserker, Mordecai the Hunter, Lilith the Siren, or Roland the Soldier—each with unique abilities and skill trees. The game pioneered the “shooter-looter” genre with its cel-shaded art style, procedurally generated weapons, and co-op gameplay, offering a mix of fast-paced combat, dark humor, and open-world exploration. While praised for its innovative blend of FPS and RPG mechanics, it was critiqued for repetitive missions and a thin story. Its success spawned a franchise, including the acclaimed Borderlands 2 and Borderlands 3.