Chapters of a psycho’s mind – Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck DLC review

What exactly lies inside the depths of a psycho’s brain? The last DLC of Borderlands 3, Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck DLC, will answer the burning questions of ever Vault Hunter out there… or not?

Brilliant scientist Patricia Tannis may have cracked one of the galaxy’s greatest mysteries: what makes the Borderlands’ psychos so uniformly deranged? She believes the answer lies with Vaulthalla, a mythical place that induces insanity in all who learn its true nature. Of course, your average psycho isn’t going to peacefully sit still and share Vaulthalla’s secrets, so the closest you can get to a willing participant is Krieg, a fellow Crimson Raider and the most badass psycho there is.

Problem is, Krieg’s not the best communicator, what with all his aggressive, barely coherent screaming. Using technology that lesser intellects couldn’t possibly comprehend, Tannis is beaming you and your fellow Vault Hunters directly into Krieg’s consciousness so you can discover Vaulthalla for yourself. You’ll need to team up with both of Krieg’s opposing personas—a raging murder machine and a calm inner voice—if you want any chance of surviving his twisted, meat-filled mindscapes and reaping Vaulthalla’s rewards.

Begin your journey in Sanctuary, in Tannis’ lab to be exact. Then, you’ll be transported to the center of a mind… oo, trippy. The tug of war between soul-searching Sane Krieg and meat-loving Psycho Krieg begins!

Enter the Psychoscape

With a Tannis-rigged drop pod, you enter Krieg’s mind. Do all Psychos actually have a hive mind dubbed Vaulthalla? It’s quite the welcoming party at least, when you arrive at The Screaming Meadow to see a host of Kriegs running the place. You need to make your way through psychos before the sane side of Krieg steps in to get you to the hub area for the DLC, Sanity Sanctum. Krieg will ask you to get him out of Vaulthalla – so it is real! – and find parts of a statue to boot. You’ll be going through Krieg’s memories to help him break free.

By this point, you’d probably have amassed a whole bunch of crazy Legendary gear, but who doesn’t like more shiny loot? You’ll get one in a chest in the first part of the DLC in Castle Crimson, and do all the crazy looty shooty shenanigans before you can complete the relevant mission. The stages play out essentially the same way: gun your way through, defeat the boss, collect the statue piece, and watch a slice of Krieg’s history play out before you and learn more about the man before the psycho.

Puzzles are thrown in together with the wanton destruction and story, to keep your noggin working that bit more besides looking at the green numbers on your guns. Also, enjoy the story beats that work to have you relate more to Krieg. With all the crazy stuff the series has pulled so far, giving the game’s playable Psycho deeper motivations and character development ain’t all out there. Krieg probably has some bad news waiting for him considering what happens to Maya…

Amidst the shooty

The level cap is raised to 65 with the DLC, so back to grinding! As usual, there’s plenty to loot and pray for drops for once you take down the bosses in the four sections of Krieg’s mind. There are the usual selection of side quests, which may or may not be on the crazier side. There’s no time for logic when this entire DLC takes place in someone’s psyche but you know… you might even turn into a psycho yourself if you stay even longer.

It’s a fun, and definitely out of one’s mind DLC send off for Borderlands 3, until more DLC gets released!