The first Borderlands game crashed onto the scene in 2009. Since then the series has grown in many ways, all culminating in the latest game, “Borderlands 4”.
It’s made clear immediately that there is something very different about “Borderlands 4” when comparing it to “Borderlands 3” or even “Borderlands 2”. The tone of the game is far more serious than you would expect after playing previous entries to the series.
But this tonal shift is a breath of fresh air. In a series known for having borderline “cringe” humor that never misses a chance to make a bathroom joke, it’s nice to have characters seem like they care. That’s not to say there aren’t goofy moments – they just feel a bit more earned.
“Borderlands 4” takes the player to the planet of Kairos, a world that has been sealed away from the rest of the universe for thousands of years by an oppressive ruler known as the Timekeeper. The denizens of the planet have been trapped there for their entire lives, either by being born there or from landing on accident one day, never to be allowed to leave.
One issue with prior games has been the fact that the developers, Gearbox Software, train you to not care about many of the side characters; they are often just fodder for comedy. If you’re doing a quest in “Borderlands 3” to help someone, there is a good chance that the person you are helping will die at the end for comedic effect. While it may get a chuckle out of you the first few times, it begins to get old.
But in “Borderlands 4,” a good number of side quests are well-written mini stories where you learn about the lives of the imprisoned people. There are some that end with a comedic death, but there are even more that allow you to care about these characters.
A particular line of quests focuses on a serial killer, where in the process you learn about his victims’ lives. There are others that make you genuinely worry about the wellbeing of the quests’ characters, like one in which you help an older couple escape the capital city of Dominion.
Every plotline from prior games has still happened, but this game takes place on a world that has been completely unaffected by any of it. The Borderlands series has become something of an ensemble cast series, with playable characters from previous games becoming side characters in new ones.
But with “Borderlands 4,” many familiar characters weren’t implemented, instead allowing players to focus on brand new characters.
The tone and writing are not the only ways “Borderlands 4” innovates on the series. In terms of gameplay mechanics, it improves even further compared to previous games in the franchise. Yet another change for the series is the addition of a double-jump and a glide ability, both of which are helpful in traversing the massive open-world map.
Prior to “Borderlands 4,” the Borderlands franchise used loading screens that appeared when traveling from one area to another. But now, the entirety of the world is seamlessly connected, except for a few larger, mission-specific levels.
The game also shines in its boss fights, where Borderlands has always dipped its toes into the “bullet hell” genre. While it will never be a true “bullet hell,” some of the boss fights specifically featured in “Borderlands 4” will have you dodging projectiles left, right, up and down.
While the gameplay experience is generally fantastic, there are a few snags. The state of the game’s performance at launch was not great, especially on PC. This is an issue, but not for the reasons you may think.
The Borderlands series has never been about having the best graphics, amazing lighting systems or volumetric fog. You should not need the latest RTX 40 series graphics card in order to run these games.
With that being said, the game looks amazing not because of the graphics, but because of the unique art style and direction. There’s not one word that could be used to describe it – it simply makes the world feel better.
What stands out the most is the game’s character design. Each character feels shapey (yes that is a technical term) and unique. Borderlands as a series has always had a unique art style, one that has changed dramatically as the franchise grew. “Borderlands 4” stands out in that the design stays true to its original art style while being fresh and new, featuring very little reused art from past games.
“Borderlands 4” is a tonally refreshing installment that keeps up the fast gunplay and witty dialogue that the series is known for. While the performance can be extremely frustrating, the game itself is a real humdinger and a fantastic addition to the Borderlands franchise.
