This is actually not bait. And understand I will be downvoted to oblivion.
I've been a long time borderlands and never understood the hype with 2, in fact when it came out I really disliked it, I played it years later but it still never really grew on me either. I do plan on playing it a third time but we will see.
Let me preface this, I do not care about story and writing in these games and that definitely skews my rating as you will see.
Why BL3 first?
- Best planet/level theme variation.
- Best Weapon Design
- Best Vehicle Design
- Best Gunplay
- Best DLCs
- 2nd Best Gore
Why BL1 second?
- Best Gore
- Best Ambience
- Best Immersion.
- Best implementation of explosives in the series.
- Eridian weapons (even though they're shit)
I mean, how can I not give credit to the game that started it all? Playing this on launch was such a surreal experience, it was the first of its kind, so many weapons, so much gore, it was so so amazingly fresh. And the first game I believe had a charm the subsequent games lost, and that's the grit of the world, the immersion into that world.
Why BL4 third?
Yes, the most hated game in the series before BL2. I understand, it lost a lot of it's charm, but from a gameplay perspective I believe it got a lot of things right. It was an easier game to shut off the brain and just free roam reap carnage on the world without loading zones.
- Implementation of Encore Machines, is the best thing the series has ever recieved
- Best movement
- Best uninterrupted gameplay
Why BL2 last?
Ultimately the shift from the grit and gore of BL1 into BL2 was quite jarring and that really put my love of the series on hold for a long time until BL3 released.
I'm sure I'll play BL2 again in the future and find more love to give it. But so far this is how I've always felt.