Its really no secret that TPS isnt as robust as BL2. Laser and cryo weapons were a nice and much needed addition. Oxygen and low gravity wasnt as annoying as I thought it would be. In fact, it was quite pleasant and added a new dimension (literal verticality at times) to enemy encounters. There are new shaders and effects that make colors pop and all sorts of lighting and glowing bits more noticeable. Also, I could be wrong, but I do like how NPCs aknowledge your character by name. I dont ever recall them doing that in the previous games. I enjoyed the interaction your character had between NPCs much more than I ever did before. Best of all, the grinder machine is closest thing to weapon crafting we have seen in a Borderlands game. Hopefully this is explored even further in the future. For me, crafting is my number one most wanted feature. It would add a lof of depth and add near countless more play time to an already long game.
Whether or not the numbers tell a different story, the game does feel shorter, emptier, has fewer things to do and lacks those levels and moments that make you say, OH SHIT out loud or stick out in your mind. I was really hoping Concordia would be a more interesting and bustling hub. Oh well. Pitys Fall, Tychos Ribs and all of entire collection of Hyperion areas were by far the most memorable and best looking of bunch. I actually like the final boss and I think they finally got it right. I do wish there were better raid and secret bosses though. There is always DLC. However, TPS failed to do what BL2 and even BL1 did well, which was to giving you an adversary that had a constant presence throughout the game that you had to face in the very end. Zarpedon, I guess, is that figure, but the final boss is so random and out of left field, despite being a fun fight, you, as the player, have next to zero attachment to it. You dont have any feelings. There is no history, no tension and no sense of hatred towards this figure. It felt good to finally face The Warrior and Jack himself in BL2. There was no sense of that kind of anticipation or build up in this game. The ending was good though, dont get me wrong. But that sense of progression, and things coming full circle, in regards to the final encounter, would have been on needed cherry on top for me.
However, that is not to say the game has no sense of progression at all. TPS has a steady build up until the climax, which oddly, is at the VERY end of the game. I really like how they handled Jacks character. I really like him in BL2 and like even more so in this game. Hes a total asshole, no doubt, but in the beginning, you actually got the impression, despite his own greed and desires, Jack wants to do something good. As things go from bad to worse and as his plan falls apart and becomes increasingly more difficult, Jacks patience and his sense of duty towards Elpis fades. The tension and stakes keep rising and dont let up. Things become darker and much more serious as you progress. By the time you reach the end, Jack snaps, loses his mind and finally completes his transformation to lunatic he was in BL2. After everything is said and done. You will have a good sense of who everyone is and what is going on in the games universe. And yes, its pretty obvious at this point that theyre setting everything up for the inevitable Borderlands 3.