After three hours in Borderlands 4, we’re hoping for a really good co-op shooter. But of all things, the game weakens in one of the series’ greatest strengths
Borderlands: The first thing that comes to mind is guns, more guns and Handsome Jack. And yes, most of you know the shooter series for its almost infinite selection of guns and one of the best villains in gaming history.
But Borderlands 4can’t rely on that alone. After many fans had a few bone to pick with part three (legendary weapons), the sequel has to do a lot better. Now we’ve had a chance to play it ourselves, we’re torn: Because Borderlands 4 impresses us with great combat, but takes a step backwards in one of its greatest strengths, of all things.
What did we play?
We were initially able to look around freely in a limited area and complete a few missions. Later, we also fought our way through a Vault and took on a giant monster. In total, we played for around three hours and tried out two of the four characters
New start for the series?
Borderlands 4 will be very different from its predecessor in many ways: the developers never say so, but they want us to know. It was also emphasized again at our playthrough event: The sometimes exaggerated humor of part 3 will be history: Borderlands 4 will be more serious, darker and down-to-earth.
Big changes are also promised for the world and story. The shooter will have a more open world with four large, connected areas. The developers are deliberately avoiding the term open world,but there are no more loading screens.Instead, there is a new day-night rhythm and more stylish graphics.
In contrast, the story is told non-linearly for the first time. We tackle main missions in different orders and decide for ourselves where to go next. It remains unclear whether we only make this decision for individual quests or whether we piece together the entire story ourselves
What’s Borderlands 4 about?
In the latest installment of the shooter series, we are transported to the previously unknown planet Kairos. A powerful being, the so-called Timekeeper, rules here as a totalitarian dictator. Every inhabitant of the planet carries a chip that allows the Timekeeper to take control of their body at any time. As brave exterminators, we naturally want to put an end to his reign.
At least the promised changes to the sound already shine through when playing the game: There was no cheap fecal humor in our three hours of gameplay, but there were some funny moments: a villain threatens us with a secret weapon, for example, but then can’t decide whether to turn us into dust or a puddle.
Okay, that might not be a hoot, but it’s still far better than the toilet humor we were sometimes treated to in Borderlands 3
Double jump into the action
While we can’t really say much about the story and tone of Borderlands 4 after playing it, there’s all the more to say about the combat: Because this is where probably the mostsignificant and exciting new features await
In Borderlands 4, we are even more mobile than in its predecessor: We can double jump, dodge and glide through the air. With the help of a grappling hook, we can swing to places that are actually inaccessible – but only in fixed locations. Oh, and our characters have finally learned to swim! In previous games, deep water was an insurmountable obstacle
Battles against bandits, monsters and the synthetic soldiers of the chief villain Timekeeper are much more tactical thanks to the new options. For example, we can dodge melee attacks and quickly change position by double-jumping. However, as both are only available again after a short cooldown, we have to think carefully about how we use our mobility.
In the boss fight we faced, we had to put all these new tricks to good use: We dodge his deadly charged attacks, swing and jump from one ledge to the next as the boss turns the ground to acid and destroy his weak points with the grappling hook in the next phase.
In between, we switch to the grenade launcher or rocket launcher, which in Borderlands 4 shares a slot with grenades and the new throwing knives. We no longer need to collect ammunition for this, all weapons in this slot are ready for use again after a cooldown.
Whether we’re facing a whole horde of bandits or a single boss: The battles in Borderlands play noticeably differently to their predecessor and are even more fun. However, we have to get used to all the new features before we can really make effective use of the new possibilities.
The battles also seem a little more challenging in general, but our lack of experience with weapons and exterminators certainly plays a role here.
As usual for Borderlands, we are once again overwhelmed with an almost infinite selection of guns that play completely differently: There are accurate rifles with high damage and low rate of fire, fast-firing submachine guns with elemental damage, shotguns for close combat and much more.
Almost every weapon also has an alternative mode: an assault rifle, for example, can also fire (a limited number of) explosive bullets or switch from fire to corrosion damage. Fans are already familiar with these mechanics from the predecessor, but in Borderlands 4 the selection is expanded with new weapon variants and three new manufacturers:
- Order:firing volleys with high precision
- Ripper:can be charged to do more damage
- Daedalus:can switch between multiple ammo types
The big but
So is Borderlands 4 a big step, or double leap, forward and a significant improvement on its predecessor, at least in terms of gameplay? Yes, but there may be one big exception, and that’s the exterminators.
As in the predecessors, we can choose one of four characters at the start, each with their own strengths and abilities. Each of them can select one of three active skills, which are then improved or changed each time they level up.
In Borderlands 3 in particular, the developers came up with some darn cool abilities for the exterminators: as Moze, we could hop into a powerful mech, as Amara we could hurl enemies through the air with a mighty blow and as Zane we could create a clone and even swap places with it.
However, what we have seen of the exterminators so far is not particularly exciting: even when they were announced, there was criticism of their unoriginal appearance, but they have also disappointed us in terms of gameplay so far. Their abilities don’t really feel powerful and aren’t very exciting.
We were allowed to try out two of the four characters: The siren Vex and the soldier Rafa. Vex can call a spectral animal companion to her aid, summon spirits or trigger an explosion that heals her. Rafa, on the other hand, can activate a shoulder-mounted turret, fire a special weapon or equip energy blades and engage in close combat.
This is all practical and fun, but the abilities are not really decisive in combat. Especially in comparison to the new gameplay possibilities, they are not very spectacular
Of course, we only got a very limited insight into Borderlands 4 and its exterminators during our playthrough. We haven’t even been able to play two of the characters yet, and Rafa and Vex’s extensive skill trees may still contain improvements that make their abilities significantly stronger and more fun. Nevertheless, at this point we get the impression that Gearbox is running out of ideas for new exterminators
What’s waiting in the world?
Hopefully the developers will show more creativity in the design of Borderlands 4’s open world, which we couldn’t see too much of during our playthrough because we were confined to a relatively small area.
At least Gearbox promises some new features: While exploring, for example, we can encounter world bosses that unexpectedly involve us in a fight. So-called silos help us explore and show the location of important places on the map when we climb them. We can also solve new puzzles using our grappling hook, where we have to redirect beams of light via mirrors, for example.
Of course, this doesn’t make Borderlands 4 an exploration game: even when we play it, we simply travel from quest to quest, the world only serves as a playground for the battles. But thanks to Unreal Engine 5, this playground looks really stylish. Borderlands 4 makes the most of the cel-shaded look and improves it with more realistic lighting and spectacular views of distant mountain ranges
Lots of good stuff
What we’ve seen of Borderlands 4 so far makes a good impression. Anyone simply looking for a new single-player or co-op shooter in which they can spend hours shooting and collecting loot can probably look forward to the release of the new Gearbox game. Because the battles are almost unlimited fun.
For fans of the series, on the other hand, there are still a few question marks: Will the Timekeeper be as cool a villain as Handsome Jack? Will Borderlands 4 reintroduce multifaceted and memorable characters? Will the story find a balance between suspense and humor? We probably won’t be able to answer these questions until the release
Editor’s verdict
As a big Borderlands fan, the playthrough event leaves me with mixed feelings. The exterminators in particular have been a disappointment for me so far. It started with the fact that this time there are only fairly “normal” humans to choose from instead of murderous robots, insane psychos or mysterious assassins of unknown origin.
But even the abilities of the two exterminators I was able to play are simply too unspectacular and not decisive enough in combat. I hope that Gearbox has better ideas in store for the other two characters.
Nevertheless, I’m sure I’ll have a lot of fun with Borderlands 4. Because the new battles are also a lot of fun apart from the skills and as a passionate loot collector, Borderlands has never disappointed me. I also have high hopes for the story, which I already like better than Borderlands 3 and its Kalypso twins with its somewhat more serious approach and the mysterious supervillain.
