H.P. Lovecraft fans we have had quite a time as of late. Recently, films are full of Lovecraft lore. The Color Out of Space and a few others leading that maddened and possibly tentacle clad charge. As if that wasn’t swell enough, games have followed in suit, namely Borderland 3’s phantasmagorical DLC entry Guns, Love and Tentacles: The Marriage of Wainwright and Hammerlock.

The big game hunter and the arms manufacturer are tying the knot and you are invited. Of course, with a couple of characters like Wainwright and Hammerlock, you have to expect a few eccentric irregularities when it comes to wedding location. In this case the ice encased and Lovecraft inspired planet of Xylourgos.

Once, you arrive to The Lodge where the two have decided to get married, events begin to unfold a sinister underbelly. One, that is full of new beasts, occultists and a sleeping behemoth.

Those familiar with Borderlands 3 already, know that this game is a fantastic experience. One that feels lived in and constantly has a wisecracking edge to all dialogue. Guns, Love and Tentacles is more of what you love about Borderlands 3, but it introduces a fantastic new world to explore. Xylourgos comes with these amazing blues, and hyper neon pinks and greens that assist in creating something that hasn’t yet been seen in Borderlands. All that adds to this new atmosphere that is uniquely its own piece of the larger lore.

Borderlands treats the work of HP Lovecraft as a stepping off point but handles this material the same as everything else in the world. Namely, its Lovecraft but its obviously making fun of itself. You can tell that Gearbox has a love for the authors work, but does a nice job of never letting that kill the vibe of what Borderlands is.

For example, a side mission takes you on quest to assist a villager get to his fish queen. This eventually ends in the quite mad villager disguising himself inside of a giant fish to become a fish person. All that before being lowered into the depths of the ocean to meet his queen.

The whole thing has an edge on it that I didn’t think was possible with the serious nature of Lovecraft’s work. It’s a first for this sort of approach and I’m in love with it.

Get ready for a whole lot more guns. As with everything in these games its pretty much all about the guns. This DLC has more than enough to be awestruck with. Namely, Hammerlock’s shotgun. An item that I haven’t put down once since it entered my inventory.

The size of this DLC is enormous. I mean, there are some serious vast locations that make up the landscape of Xylourgos. Lot’s of stuff to explore and if you look closely there are tons of Lovecraft related easter eggs to locate. I’m not a fan of DLC being points of commerce without paying attention to the bigger picture. However, in this case Gearbox really took care to make this feel like a part of this world and managed to make it a fulfilling experience.

Guns, Love and Tentacles flat out rules. It’s a hybrid of everything you already loved about Borderlands with a lot of Lovecraft mythos thrown into the mix. It’s a massive amount of DLC that has tons of gnarly weapons and a boss that is one of the toughest, that I have faced in Borderlands. If you are still on the fence about this one, get off that fence it’s way too small and you should know better. Oh, and also this is really good and you should should give it a look, Lovecraft fans.

Guns, Love and Tentacles is available now on PS4, Xbox and PC.