Battleborn merges cooperative and competitive, hero and shooter, loot and shoot into an excellent melting pot and symbol of the times. Charismatic characters, clever intricacies, and compelling gameplay make this one of the best multiplayer experiences of the generation yet.

Battleborn tries to wear too many hats at once. The shooter is filled with promise, but both the pvp and pve components need more content. And quickly. [June/July 2016]

The roster fits every conceivable style of play. A glorious and chaotic shooter where the most skilled players can challenge each other, while the less experienced will also have fun while taking part in it all.

The combat is frantic and tense, but often feels samey and superficial. The in-match leveling works wonderfully in the campaign, but can become problematic in multiplayer. The varied cast of heroes adds longevity, but the game still feels relatively content light. With so many moving parts that never quite gel, I found plenty of things to love but just as much to feel confused by and ambivalent about.

Battleborn is a good game, that provides plenty of fun but it's just incredibly frustrating seeing all of these tiny issues that come in and ruin the fun every so often.

Battleborn can be enjoyable, but only with friends and only for so long, especially when there’s a better alternative – Overwatch. [07/2016, p.52]

Its humor goes nowhere — it has none of the cultural sting of something like “Grand Theft Auto V” or “The Magic Circle”– and while the game does offer players a slew of fighting styles to choose from, the thought of tackling similar objectives over and over to unlock new avatars leaves me numb. Battleborn is an okay shooter but it’s certainly not a memorable one.