Borderlands is a series that I have tried to get into since it launched. I got the first game, and it never clicked. I bought the second one only because absolutely everyone I knew said how good it was, but by the time I played it, they had all long finished, and it also never clicked. Borderlands 3, I actually pre-ordered the game and have never even started it, as I like to play games in order.
None of it resonated with me. I bought the Pandora’s Box collection for Xbox, Switch, and PlayStation, but it still didn’t sit right with me. I can’t pinpoint what it was, but I couldn’t reach the part where you settle into a game, you know, when it becomes one of the ones you fire up when you can’t decide what to play just to mess around in? Yeah, that point never happened once.
I even went to see the Borderlands movie, and I can’t lie — I didn’t hate it. Yes, it has been torn to pieces on the internet, but it was a fine movie to enjoy with beer and nachos. Maybe that's because I wasn't already pre-immersed in the Borderlands story, but it was fine for what it was.
So here we are with Borderlands 4. Why review this game? I hear you cry. Well, despite not getting sucked in, I do want to like this series. It looks cool, and everyone I know who loves it tells me how good it is, so I figured I’d give it another shake. We did not receive the code until the day before launch, hence the later review. However, on the positive side, it gave me time to sit and soak things in without rushing to meet a deadline.
For the past couple of weeks, I have been dipping in and out of Borderlands 4 gameplay for this article. Hesitant at first, given my history with the older games of the franchise, and a hate for starting anywhere else but the first game in the series, I took a deep breath and whispered to myself, “Maybe this is the one.”
The good news is that Borderlands 4 is definitely a jumping-on point for any player who has never tried one of the other Borderlands games, as it is, for all intents and purposes, a reboot. Perhaps a soft reboot is a better way to describe it, as the cast is 90% new characters, and the action takes place off of Pandora on a new world named Kairos, which is under the control of the tyrannical Timekeeper and his armies.
In the beginning, I wasn’t paying attention to the Borderlands 4 story. This probably links back to my time trying to get into the original Borderlands, where, after the initial opening area in Fyrestone, the story becomes sparse.
And that’s not a bad thing. I was having a most enjoyable time with the core Borderlands 4 gameplay, as it is some of the best I have ever experienced in a shooter. So, the story was really just there to move me along the map through the biomes at first. Then, I hit a story beat where something happened to Rush (the leader of the Outbounders), and I said out loud, “Oh, no!” It was at this point that I realised the story had snuck its way into my brain and was indeed landing very well. I was hooked.
See, the Borderlands 4 gameplay has some cool new features, nothing we haven’t seen in other games, but their addition in Borderlands 4 makes traversal and combat enjoyable on another level.
First, you get a grappling hook to pull yourself up to higher platforms and grab objects that are a distance away, which makes getting around way easier, especially during the platforming sections. You also get a glide mechanic that slows your descent and acts like a jetpack. As the loading screens frequently remind you, there is no fall damage, but gliding slowly down just feels cooler. It also came in handy during many boss fights to safely see me across chasms or to other platforms. Combined with the grapple, the combat becomes much more rhythmic once you hit that flow state, and I sank in even deeper around the time of the first major boss fight with Sol as I slowly figured out his patterns and planned my assault.
In general, the game, despite being open world (there are no load screens on the main map unless you enter a dungeon area), feels like it somewhat holds your hand at the start. You are given quite clear directions on where to go next, and mostly, the side quests to level up are spread out between each major POI. Not a huge issue to ease into the game, but it’s definitely not a game that leaves much up to the player in the story aspect. There is a point about a quarter of the way through the campaign where you will be given 3 main missions to tackle in any order, and I am sure we will see these being exploited in speedruns down the line, but the first one is in the opening biome and makes most sense to tackle first as the ongoing story points you that way as well.
However, that is no issue at all as things move along briskly, providing you have the right loot and have levelled up. Yes, Borderlands 4 is still a meeting of Diablo and an FPS, but it isn’t overly obnoxious. Finding cool loot isn’t too difficult, and the option to replay boss fights to grind out better gear as you level up is much appreciated. You will hit some sections where you will have to play some side quests to level up in order to succeed. I discovered this while trying to rush through some of the guard outposts; let’s just say it didn't go according to plan.
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Luckily, the old respawn system is back, which allows you to pop back up close to the action at the nearest checkpoint available. If you do happen to respawn further off or there isn’t a fast travel spot nearby, you can always whip out your hover bike and zoom across the map in no time. I would have liked the bike to have felt more sturdy, but being able to summon it almost anywhere without having to fetch it from a Catch-a-Ride terminal is very convenient.
Each biome is diverse and a welcome change from the usual landscapes of Pandora seen in other games. The ever-looming threat of the Timekeeper will keep you on your toes as he and his generals will call and berate you as you progress, making each boss battle victory even sweeter when you finally put an end to their reign of terror. The variety of enemies, while being a slight twist on those in the other Borderlands games, is robust. What makes them stand out here is the different movements each has to try to stop your crusade.
Usually, I wouldn’t have too much to comment on regarding standard enemy animations in a shooter, but I often stopped mid-combat with my jaw open as I watched a robot teleport, then front flip to throw a spear in my direction. It really is cool to see. The usual Psycho type enemies will brutishly rush you while recklessly firing in your general direction, while the local fauna will charge and defend their territory at all costs. Watching these varied skirmishes happen sometimes between NPCs was a spectacle, and I honestly can’t point to a game where the AI genuinely seemed to be employing tactics to actually take you down like this.
So needless to say, I had an absolute blast (pun not intended, but sure go with it) with Borderlands 4. From my initial apprehension of being disappointed yet again, I discovered something wonderful — a living, breathing world that needed my help. Sure, you can co-op the game, and even play split screen, but I got way more satisfaction taking down bosses solo than I ever would playing with a friend who would claim they got the last shot in.
Outside of boss battles and wiping out mini armies of psychos, you have a whole plethora of collectibles from audio logs to vault fragments and everything else in between. The good thing is the side missions along the way are not just one-note numbers; they often branch out into their very own mini narratives that only work to draw you in further to the universe and goings on around Kairos.
See, by the time you get to the point in the narrative where you kind of have free rein over which main mission to tackle, the main story will have gotten its claws into you. At that stage, I would advise heading back to the start to explore some of the side stories and immerse yourself even further in the lore and world. It feels rewarding and like a fully fleshed-out living world with its own cultures and people existing there with or without you.
Looks-wise, Borderlands 4 is by far the best-looking title in the whole franchise. Despite retaining the styles from the original (a blend of cell shading and Mad Max), the new locations and NPCs of the game really stand out individually. Small pop-ins did happen here and there, especially while travelling faster on the bike, but nothing that really ruined the Borderlands 4 gameplay.
Yes, there have been complaints online regarding performance. However, outside of some pop-up and minor choppy sections when things on screen got a bit more hectic, I never found anything game-breaking or experience-ruining during my entire playthrough. I will note that I played on the PS5 Pro, and hopefully, some of the PC issues will be addressed with a patch.
To summarize, Borderlands 4 is the perfect jumping-on point for the franchise. New players won’t feel lost with the story, and enough from the past is woven throughout to please longtime fans. The moment-to-moment Borderlands 4 gameplay is fun, and on console at least, I had very few technical issues. With the roadmap of content taking us through to next year, Borderlands 4 will be a game that I can fire up whenever I can’t decide what to play, just to mess around in.
I finally fell in love with Borderlands 4. Sorry that it took me so long.
