Six years of waiting have passed, and Borderlands 4 has arrived. After the weaker success of the third installment, no one knew if the series would return to form. Gearbox Software and 2K promised more freedom, even more weapons, a better, more serious story with better villains and more interesting bosses, but it’s still Borderlands: loud, chaotic, not subtle at all, with a million weapons, unnecessary explosions, and its typical humor, which this time isn’t as cringe.
Shooting on steroids
When it comes to gameplay, it’s still that good old dopamine loop we love. Run, shoot, collect new loot, and let’s do it again. And then something kills you because you admired the new legendary weapon for too long. Everything good we remember from the series is elevated here to a higher level, with an interesting implementation. Borderlands 4 smartly “borrows” mechanics from some other games and fits them into an interesting and fluid combo.
The developers have worked on the verticality of the game. Now you can double jump, dash, use a grappling hoop, and even hover in the air. All of this makes combat more dynamic and creative and introduces a completely different rhythm to the fights. For example, the combination of sliding flight and a powerful ground slam allows for a spectacular start to encounters, while the hook opens up imaginative possibilities for flanking enemies.
Shooting is brutal and extremely satisfying. The weapons are wildly diverse, from rifles with alternative firing modes to pistols that launch mini-rockets. Almost every weapon has some unexpected trick, so exploring the arsenal never gets boring. Indeed, right at the beginning of the game, you will come across some completely wacky, useful, and fun weapons that you will carry with you for a long time. Every fight offers the potential for a new favorite piece of weaponry, which brings a constant sense of excitement: after hours of gameplay, the adrenaline from finding unique rifles and knife launchers doesn’t fade.
New characters, new combinations
The game puts us in the role of one of 4 new Vault Hunters. There’s Vex, a new edgy Siren, who uses the power of space manipulation and creates clones that confuse enemies and minions as DPS support. Rafa is an exosoldier, a techno-tactician, who combines turrets, elemental knives, and energy barriers. Amon is a typical frontliner tank with a huge shield, devastating melee attacks that don’t care for subtlety, and Harlow is a gadget master: she throws ice mines, uses radiation explosions, and has drones that buff the team or debuff mobs.
Each hero brings a unique style and skills, and each skill tree offers enough freedom for experimentation. You can create quite specific loadouts, from a glass cannon to an untouchable tank. You know, the classics. Builds are flexible enough to make you feel smart, but not so deep that you have to scour half of YouTube for the right one. The impression is that anyone can stand out, whether in solo play or in a team, which gives the game additional depth and reason for multiple playthroughs. The game regularly throws enough gear and money at you to make it worthwhile to reset skill points and try new combinations.
Kairos: the planet of chaos and opportunity
The story of Borderlands 4 is set on a new planet, Kairos, which is no longer hidden after the events of the third part, serving as a backdrop for the first true open world in the series. Although previous games had large maps, here the four biomes through which the main story leads you are seamlessly connected into a unique whole. Kairos truly feels like one continuous world.
This time, the story places us in the midst of a battle against a tyrant who manipulates time, with the original name Timekeeper. Unfortunately, he’s not Handsome Jack, but he serves a purpose. He tries to be serious, a threat from the shadows, but it’s hard to compete with the charisma of a serial sociopath with a podcast voice. The game’s narrative is definitely less cringe: the characters are better characterized, and the stakes are higher. A concrete theme runs through it: tyranny, resistance, the heavy burden of great power... It’s not subtle, but it knows when to take a step back. Just don’t expect it to change your life, and you’ll have fun. The game is packed with numerous side missions, from hilarious tasks (e.g., participating in a crazy triathlon with a bomb on your back) to classic collectible item gathering.
Borderlands 4 actually expects you to do at least some of these side activities. If you ignore them, you’ll soon be too weak for the main missions as enemies scale with your level. This can slow down progress and force you to grind. All in all, exploring Kairos is worth it for leveling and loot, but also for the bits of humor hidden off the beaten paths.
Unfortunately, as the campaign progresses, the repetition of enemies and tasks starts to be felt. Some side missions are charming, but most boil down to routine and do not provide enough of that old, quirky Borderlands charm. Some are typical fetch-quest fillers that are just there to fill your time. By about halfway through the campaign, you will encounter most of the opponents, while later challenges often present only stronger variants of already seen enemies.
Despite this, the fluid transition between zones and the fact that every corner is filled with side missions, hideouts, and collectibles give Kairos an enviable liveliness. The design is not revolutionary, but it is undoubtedly fun to race around it. This is aided by the Digirunner, a futuristic motorcycle that you can summon anywhere with the press of a button, making transportation fast and convenient. Even regular riding becomes a joy when you attach a rocket launcher to the bike and start taking down bandits while drifting through the vibrant landscapes of Kairos.
Even prettier and louder explosions
From a technical standpoint, Borderlands 4 uses Unreal Engine 5 and looks excellent visually. The cell-shaded graphics have never been more detailed or vibrant. The details make a difference: characters are more expressive, and the environment has more depth. Although PC players report issues and lack of optimization, the game runs nicely and stably on Xbox Series X. The Xbox handles dynamic lighting, a large number of explosions on screen, an open world, and a multitude of particles well. There are a few frame drops here and there, but generally, it runs smoothly. Load times are minimal, and textures are sharp.
Multiplayer is where the game truly shines. Cooperative play works simply and excellently – drop-in/drop-out co-op supports up to four players and fast travel to friends is made easier, as well as re-fighting bosses as many times as you want. The game can also be completed solo, but it should be noted that some later parts, especially the final boss, are clearly balanced for team play, so the experience is both more fun and easier in company.
The old recipe with a fresh dose of novelty
Mechanically speaking, this is the most complete Borderlands yet – from excellent shooting, to new moves, to a ton of content that will satisfy every treasure hunter. The game definitely rewards those who love to explore, experiment with builds, and simply create explosive chaos on the map, and it manages to achieve the most important thing: bringing fun back to the forefront.
There are bugs, performance is not always ideal, and some missions can feel repetitive. However, when all the elements come together, when the new, flashy loot drops, when the team works harmoniously and you defeat the boss, that's when Borderlands shows why it is still loved.
Borderlands 4 is not the smartest, most innovative, or deepest shooter you will play this year, but it represents a significant improvement over its predecessor and successfully brings the focus back to what made us love the series: crazy action, a ton of weapons, and humorous chaos.
Sometimes, that's all you need. Welcome back to the chaos!
A copy of the game for review purposes was provided by the distributor CD Media
