Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The first thing this edition changes is the way you arrive at the game. Opening a large loot chest instead of a normal retail case is silly in exactly the right collector-minded way: it turns starting a familiar copy of Borderlands 2 into an occasion. Once the box is open, though, this is fundamentally the game package you came for, with a few DLC bonuses alongside it.

The Contraband Sky Rocket Grenade is the one included extra that reaches into play directly. That makes it more immediately interesting than the cosmetics, particularly if you enjoy beginning a game with a special piece of kit in reserve. It is a bonus, not a reason to expect a separate campaign or an overhaul of the core experience.

The character skins and heads are more personal. They let you put a different stamp on your character, but they are there for style rather than to reshape how you play. If you care about collecting every bit of themed Borderlands material, the combination of usable DLC and physical memorabilia lands well; if you only want the game itself, much of the box’s value stays on the shelf.

Graphics

The visuals most specific to this edition sit outside the game: the steel book case, fold-out horizontal poster, cloth map, postcards, stickers, and the substantial loot chest itself. The art book, Inside the Vault: The Art & Design of Borderlands 2, is the standout for anyone who likes lingering over the game’s artwork rather than merely storing another disc case.

Story

This package frames the world through objects rather than new narrative material. The cloth map and The Field Guide of Hammerlock invite you to spend a little more time with its fiction between sessions, while the art book takes a different route by focusing on how that world was designed.

That is a smart split for a collector’s edition. One book is positioned as an in-world guide, while the other is explicitly about art and design, so you get both a themed keepsake and a behind-the-scenes companion. Neither feels like filler in the way a stack of identical promo leaflets would.

Don’t buy the Loot Chest expecting its extras to turn the game into a new story edition. Buy it because you want the surrounding material: an object to display, a map to unfold, and books that extend the time you spend thinking about the setting after you put the game down.

Overall Experience

The Ultimate Loot Chest Limited Edition understands collector enthusiasm better than most premium bundles. An actual chest with a Marcus Kincaid bobblehead inside has more character than another oversized cardboard sleeve, and the steel book, certificate, poster, and printed pieces make the whole thing feel deliberately assembled.

Its weakness is also its honesty: the value is extremely physical. The DLC is a nice extra, but the defining purchase is the chest and everything packed around it. If you have limited space, the large rectangular box can feel like a commitment. If you love game memorabilia, that bulk is precisely the point.

For a dedicated Borderlands fan, this is an easy edition to admire. The collection avoids relying on one flashy trinket by pairing the chest and bobblehead with material you can actually browse and display. Everyone else should stick with a less elaborate copy; the Loot Chest earns its price and footprint only when the objects matter as much as the game.

Retro Replay Score

7.5/10