Genre: Point-and-Click Adventure
Release date: June 23, 2015

With excellent new character additions and improved action sequences, Catch a Ride, the third episode in the Tales from the Borderlands series continues to build on the strong foundations of the first two episodes. If you haven’t already started Tales from the Borderlands, you owe it to yourself to enjoy this game from the beginning, as its humor and characters are some of the best in games today.

Catch a Ride opens where Atlas Shrugged left off, with Fiona and Rhys in a tough situation. After an escape that only our terrible Vault Hunters would be able to pull off, the crew is back on the road, searching for the mythical Vault. They’re joined by two new companions on their journey. I won’t give away the first new addition, but the second is a tiny robot named Gordys that may just be the most adorable robotic companion of any game. Gordys shines as a character, even among the other brilliant cast of characters that makes up Tales from the Borderland’s motley band of misfits. Her innocence and enthusiasm is the perfect counterpoint for the generally sarcastic crew.

The search for the Vault and Co. takes Rhys and company to a long forgotten Atlas dome, a location that ranks amongst Telltale’s most beautiful. With luminescent trees and bright, glowing creatures floating lazily through the air, the dome is a highlight in itself. As with the first two episodes, the story is too good to spoil, so I won’t say much more than that.

Nonetheless, the characters are the true highlight of Tales from the Borderlands. Catch a Ride continues to shake things up by adding new character dynamics to the formula. The always funny Vaughn is excellent in this episode, purely due to a very early gag that carries on for over half the episode. But the stars of this episode are Loader Bot and Gordys, whose interactions made me laugh out loud multiple times while playing.

It isn’t just the humor that’s memorable as all the characters show their growth in some way or another in Catch a Ride. Fiona in particular proves herself to be much more competent than before, making her seem even more like a true Vault Hunter. Her heroics are especially amazing to watch when compared against Rhys’ general incompetence, which is played for laughs more often than not. Rhys shines too, but for other reasons that become apparent near the episode’s end .

If you’ve played the first two episodes, Catch a Ride will feel like familiar territory. It features the typical Telltale Games mechanics, with player choice taking precedence. However, Tales of the Borderlands has always felt more action-packed than other Telltale series. That feeling continues this episode with a number of very fun, high-octane action moments, interspersed with the character moments. It feels as though Telltale is learning to push its limits with what it can accomplish with its engine, and the results are really enjoyable to play.

A long chase scene near the end of the episode highlights this perfectly. Players are given options on how they want to proceed in the chase, and each option plays out in a ridiculous, humorous way. Catch a Ride is worth playing through twice just to see where some of the other options will lead.

Catch a Ride continues to set the bar high when it comes to Telltale’s adventure games. The middle episode of the series builds on the characters even more, and puts them in even crazier situations. Some notable new characters add a great deal of humor to the already great cast, and the action gets better and better as Telltale gets more comfortable with its engine. For fans of the first two episodes, Catch a Ride is a must-play. For those of you who haven’t already started Tales from the Borderlands, Catch a Ride shines as yet another reason to do so.

+ Excellent new characters + Improved action sequences + Remains funny even after multiple playthroughs   – Occasional graphical hitches