I have played every Borderlands game ever made, including the spinoffs, and I love them all—or, at least, I thought I did. Earlier this week, I was browsing through the Borderlands Wiki page, doing research for another article, when I did a double-take. I was looking at a list of every Borderlands Vault Hunter, and six names stood out to me as being completely foreign. The playable characters were from Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, a game I had no memory of ever playing.

I play all the Borderlands games with my husband, so naturally, I immediately asked him if he ed playing The Pre-Sequel. He confirmed that he does, but neither of us can which character we played as. What is it about this game that makes it so forgettable, while the rest of the games made such a lasting impression? It might be all about the timing.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, The Game That's Been Wiped From My Memory

Even Though It Featured Beloved Characters

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel takes a deeper dive into a moment from the history of the franchise and shows how Jack became the villain everyone loves to hate in Borderlands 1 and 2. The game takes place after the events of Borderlands, and is told from the point of view of one of the Pre-Sequel's playable characters, Athena. The tale is revealed through flashbacks as a captured Athena is interrogated by the first game's Vault Hunters.

The Pre-Sequel follows a ragtag group of adventurers gathered by Handsome Jack to regain control over the Helios space station from the mysterious Lost Legion—all while also seeking out the hidden Vault on Pandora's moon, Elpis. The premise should, in theory, make this the most memorable Borderlands game, since all the Vault Hunters are characters that fans are already familiar with, either as allies or villains from the two prior games.

The playable characters are Nisha the Lawbringer (Handsome Jack's girlfriend and mayor of Lynchwood in Borderlands 2), Wilhelm the Enforcer (a boss players fight in Borderlands 2), and the game's storyteller Athena the Gladiator (who first appeared in The Secret Armory of General Knoxx DLC for the first game).

Most notably, the series' comic relief robot Claptrap gets to tag along not as a companion but as an actual Vault Hunter this time around. Two more characters were added in as DLCs, the Handsome Jack clone Timothy the Doppelganger, and Sir Hammerlock's sister Aurelia the Baroness.

I can easily recount the stories and my favorite parts from all the other Borderlands games, from the best quote from the first game ("Catch a Riiiide!") to the most hilarious mission from Borderlands 2 (Face McShooty's "Shoot This Guy In His Face" mission). But when it comes to the Pre-Sequel, I draw a complete blank.

I think I played as Athena, because the skill of throwing a shield sounds familiar, and my husband probably played as Wilhelm since he tends to go for the heavy hitters. I also vaguely the unique low-gravity aspect of the game, which allowed for higher and slower jumps, and a fun ground-stomp. Besides that, though, the game has basically been wiped from my memory.

What Makes Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel So Forgettable

In-Game And Real-World Timing Might Be To Blame

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel was a great game that many people loved. So why can't my husband or I it? The answer may have a lot to do with timing. For starters, this game came out after Borderlands 2, which tied up all the loose ends of the first game and ended the Handsome Jack story arc. For me, this meant that I was no longer invested in the story and was ready to move on to the next big story from Pandora.

The other potential timing issue probably played a bigger role in my forgetting this game ever existed. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel was released on PS3 on October 4, 2014. Less than a month later, on November 25, Telltale Games and Gearbox launched Tales from the Borderlands.

Like the Pre-Sequel, Tales from the Borderlands took place in the aftermath of Borderlands 2 and starred a main character connected to Hyperion (rather than the rebel forces of the Vault Hunters). But Tales had something that Pre-Sequel didn't: a unique choose-your-own-adventure gameplay style that was very different from what I had come to expect from the Borderlands franchise. This, combined with the memorable characters and hilarious writing, made this a much more memorable experience.

I strongly suspect that my mind only had room for one more Handsome Jack story, and it chose Tales from the Borderlands over Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. With the Borderlands franchise prepping to release Borderlands 4 on September 12, it might be time to refresh my memory and finally replay this game. Maybe this time, I'll actually the experience.