Battleborn's "Prequel Motion Comic" trilogy sets up the story behind the campaign

Battleborn

The FPS/MOBA hybrid Battleborn is coming, and 2K Games would like you to know precisely why. Or, as the publisher said in today's round-up of the three prequel motion comics, “How the hell did we get into this mess in the first place?”

The tricky bit of wedging a story into a game like Battleborn is explaining why the 25 heroes charged with saving the universe from complete annihilation would put so much effort into fighting each other in the process. And that's not something these three videos—Running the Numbers, The Rescue, and No More Heroics—really dig into. Instead, they're all about how the disparate elements of the resistance come together for the last stand at Solus: A Shakespearean tale of madness, betrayal, duty, mistrust, and steadfast honor in the face of hopelessness.

Okay, maybe that's overselling it a bit, but you get the idea: It's a classic case of “I don't like you and you don't like me, but unless we pull together on this the universe, and all life as we know it, is going to come to a cold, black end.” I can't say I'm all that terribly impressed with the production quality on display here, though, especially when compared to what Blizzard is doing with its own hero shooter, Overwatch.

Hopefully the game will be better! We'll find out soon enough: Battleborn will be out on May 3.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.