Insanity thy Name is Krieg
Warning: this article contains Spoilers for Borderlands 3 and Borderlands 3: Psycho Kreig and the Fantastic Fustercluck.
Gearbox just released a new DLC for Borderlands 3, Psycho Kreig and the Fantastic Fustercluck (PKFF). PKFF takes place in the ever-crazy recesses of the mind of Kreig, the second DLC character from Borderlands 2. Tannis postulates that the key to understanding the mind of Borderland’s trademark Psychos lies in a mindscape part of their brain known as “Vaulthalla.” Your job as a Vault Hunter is to brave Kreig’s mind and storm Vaulthalla.
The DLC itself adds little in terms of gameplay, aside from a raise in the level cap and a new type of crew challenge. It is clear that the developers intention is to give some closure to everyone’s favorite Psycho. So did they succeed?
Let’s start with the good:
From the start we are introduced to the duality of Kreig: the “Sane” Kreig, and the “Psycho” Kreig. Throughout the story we see Sane Kreig slowly accept his alternate persona. Kreig’s goal has always been to try and tame his more base nature, with varying degrees of success. This is visible in the way the two perceive the other Crimson Raiders; Psycho seeing them as condescending threats, and Sane seeing them as trusted friends and allies.
Seeing the two work out disagreements and coming to a mutually beneficial understanding was an experience very much akin to two brothers working through their own issues. You’re rooting for them to come to that understanding.
This plays into the next point: PKFF is a nice beat coming off of 2 world ending DLCs, with high stakes. The story itself is altogether enjoyable: it’s very stripped down to hyper-focus on Kreig, and understanding how he is as a character. The environment is fitting for the mind of a madman and the gameplay is consistent with the overall game.
Finally, the jokes and Easter Eggs really do land most of the time. From SpongeBob to a talking gun, there is definitely the humour you’d expect from Borderlands.
Now the bad:
Not a lot of time is spent with Maya. Kreig acknowledges that she died in the main game, but at no point do we see him have a really visceral reaction to the news. It feels like he skipped over the grieving stages and went straight to acceptance. This is jarring, considering the importance both Kreigs put on the “pretty lady”. The story uses her more as a vehicle to bring the two Kreigs closer together, rather than having her death or the news of her death being his low point.
PKFF gives a nonanswer to Kreig’s life before becoming a Psycho. His past is utterly lost by the end, with Kreig accepting that he needs to move forward. Acceptance of the past is an overall healthy end to move to, however the trend of saying that “the past should be forgotten” is a message that doesn’t sit right with me in any genre or medium.
Finally this DLC is longer than Bounty of Blood but still short by Borderlands standards coming in at a completion time of between 4–6 hours.
Verdict:
7.5/10
Psycho Kreig and the Fantastic Fustercluck is overall very well done, albeit flawed. There are character points that do not quite hit, but this is made up for by the overall story still being enjoyable.
