Return to the Borderlands | Borderlands 4 Review

WACO, Texas (KWTX) -

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I’ve had a love hate relationship with looter shooters over my career as a gamer. Borderlands was my first foray into the genre and lit a fire in me that reached it’s peak with games like Destiny 2 and Borderlands 2. Borderlands 3 was the breaking point for me, I felt like one of my favorite series had run it’s well dry. So, when Borderlands 4 got announced I was cautiously optimistic all the way until I was at the Borderlands 4 launch party in Dallas, hearing from the dev team and seeing the gameplay live. I knew then and there that we were so back. Gearbox has clearly heard the criticism and come back rebuilt to show they haven’t lost that explosive touch. Borderlands 4 brings a bombastic world and more interesting combat full of opportunity to experiment and build. A full overhaul of the games movement systems makes for one of the best-feeling first-person shooters of the year, the expanded buildcrafting options like healing items, throwing knives, and weapon enhancements create some much needed boosts of fun throughout the game. Gearbox also heard the fan feedback and took a more grounded and heartfelt approach to the story, offering more nuanced characters, but most importantly helping grow a new roster of beloved characters with some familiar faces sprinkled in. Despite this renewed energy there are somethings that fell short, namely in performance, with textures staying flattened and murky and the occasional frame dip. That being said, the many wonderful revamped elements come together to make what is likely my new all-time favorite in the series.

Much like its predecessors, Borderlands 4 start off by introducing us to our new suit of Vault Hunters as we prepare to head out into the bold new alien world of Kairos. Just like before you’ll be spending hours of the gameplay gunning down every masked enemy and bizarre monstrosity you meet into a chunky red paste. From that chunky red paste you’ll gain glorious hordes of loot, more specifically heaps of creative guns. This is where Borderlands 4 truly shines. The core loop of “shoot, loot, repeat” is as addictive as ever. That addiction now extending beyond just your normal rolls, with every weapon having different manufacturer parts like Vladof weapons with underbarrel zip-rockets or daedulus weapons that double as two types of guns. The sheer variety of weaponry is staggering as expected. New weapon manufacturers like Ripper offer some interesting replacements for Atlas and Hyperion’s absences though some of those maker’s parts do find a new life on guns here. Every battle is a rush not just because of the chaos imbued gunplay, with boss fights taking center stage, but for the fact that the loot from said fight may contain your new favorite toy. A marvelous loop of dopamine rushes that drove my need to seek out more and more of the optional bosses across the map. My favorite new addition to the glut of deadly weaponry that permeate every crate, box and eh toilet on Kairos has to be the throwing knives. I’m a sucker for throwable melee weapons in games, give a throwing knife and I’m going to throw it, but Borderlands 4 gives me things I didn’t even know I wanted yeeting blade. Exploding knives, exploding bouncing knives, homing knives and even exploding homing knives. There are so many fun variations here that players have literally made character builds centered on high damage crit knives. And hey if knives aren’t your things grenades are still a thing offering a wide array of ways to decimate foes, or you can whip out your custom Lockheed Martin Anti-aircraft defense turret and annihilate any and all foes in the vicinity. That’s right, the third option here in your grenade slot is heavy weapons, which range from rocket launchers to AA turrets and miniguns. Cooldown rates differ obviously, so finding the best grenade for you is a matter of feel more than game mechanics.

The bread and butter of Borderlands is it’s gunplay but it’s delishes side dish is the Vault Hunters themselves. The diverse set of abilities this time range from a Siren Witch with a big plasmic tiger, to a Viking-coded warrior able to wield elemental axes. Whether you prefer to tank damage, unleash elemental fury with some sick looking arch blades, or bubble up your foes like a sick version of Steven Universe, there’s a playstyle for everyone. Each character has a set of three core abilities you can stack into offering a metric ton of options for how you want to build your Vault Hunter. I played as Rafa and while his arch-blades looked like the coolest things, they controlled like shit, so I opted for his shoulder mounted auto-cannons, upgrading them to rocket launching death dealers by the time I clocked the final boss.

Graphically, Borderlands 4 maintains its iconic art style, which has been given a noticeable polish. The environments are vibrant and detailed, and the character models are expressive. OnPS5 the game runs smooth enough, even during the most chaotic firefights. However, I experienced frame drops, and tearing in several open world areas and the 4K textures really struggle to load in real time, creating muddy looking environmental details. It’s weird because Borderlands has never looked better than it does here, but it also has never highlighted its limitations and shortcomings more than it does here.

Borderlands 4 offers a robust endgame for those who want to keep the mayhem going. From challenging raid bosses to repeatable Proving Grounds and the always-entertaining Circle of Slaughter, there’s plenty to do once the credits roll. The new “Mayhem Mode” modifiers add a fresh twist to familiar encounters, ensuring that even the most seasoned Vault Hunters will find a challenge. Even before the endgame, you can find a ton to do in Kairos. I really loved how much time was put into the side content some of it even more entertaining than the main plot.

Conclusion:

Borderlands 4 is by far my new favorite of the franchise. It delivers on the core tenets of what makes Borderlands great: satisfying gunplay, endless loot, and a more grounded less cringy script offers a story that actually works well while still allowing a healthy dose of irreverent humor. This must be the year of franchises rediscovering what made them so beloved in the first time, and I for one am glad Borderlands 4 nailed the landing, mostly. If you’re a long-time fan, you’ll find plenty to love here. If you’re new to the series, Borderlands 4 is a great jumping-on point. Borderlands 4 has delivers on its mayhem as promised and earns a 8 from me.

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