In an age where shooters want to be the next Call of Duty, Borderlands established itself as an outlier from the start. The first game in Gearbox Software’s series of looter shooters laid the blueprint for what would become a hugely successful series. More than 15 years later and 93 million copies in circulation, Borderlands still embodies the cell-shaded mayhem and teenage irreverence that were hallmarks of the series.
However, this was a different time. Shooters left their mark on the Xbox 360 and PS3 generations, but aside from a few legacy franchises and live service giants, the genre is in decline. Robbery shooters, in particular, are less receptive. Destiny 2 has struggled to update its offering after years of updates, and last year’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was almost dead upon launch. Borderlands 4 releases on September 12th, and it’s got its work cut out for it.
But the latest entry in Gearbox’s co-op looter shooter series succeeds where other games of its ilk fail – quite literally – by sticking to their guns. While Borderlands 4 has made some changes compared to its predecessor, it remains true to its roots and therefore remains instantly recognizable and incredibly fun. Nearly everything has been expanded in scope – a huge open-world playground, a menagerie of guns and frag grenades, and a cuckoo character. But Borderlands 4 is great because it’s still Borderlands.
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This means that some of the flaws unique to the series are present here as well. It reduces the annoying silliness of Borderlands 3 without abandoning it entirely. The series’ trademark richness, now at 11, can be exhausting. But the changes driving Borderlands 4 have things moving at a pace not seen in previous games in the series. It may not signal the return of the mugger shooter, but it does prove the merit of doing something well, even if it involves death.
“Borderlands 4” is a direct sequel to “Borderlands 3”, but it does not completely continue the content of the previous game. The game brings frantic vault-hunting action to the planet Kairos six years after the events of Borderlands 3. New planets, new vaults, and of course a new cast of vault hunters. As with previous Borderlands games, you can choose from four Vault Hunter classes, each with unique abilities, now expanded into a slideshow of skills and enhancements. While the gunplay and movement abilities of the four classes are identical, each character can be built in detail and specifically for different play styles. Borderlands has always offered variety and replayability, but Borderlands 4 goes much deeper into gameplay customization than any other previous entry in the series.
Borderlands 4 is set on the planet Kairos
Image source: 2K/gearbox
However, Kairos is under the iron fist of the Chrono, who rules the planet ruthlessly and keeps his citizens in line with cybernetic implants and synthetic armies. Once you land on the planet, you are captured by the dictator and implanted with a bolt control device. You barely escape with the help of the Crimson Resistance, a group of scrappy warriors who rebel against the Timekeeper’s control of Kairos, and find yourself at Resistance headquarters, where you’re greeted by the familiar face of Claptrap, the playful robot who has become the mascot of the series itself. You’re quickly updated on the rebellion’s dwindling prospects, then tasked with finding and recruiting a teleport of cartoon heroes to support your cause.
This is a setting that’s been seen in every other open-world game released in the past decade. It’s up to you to gather allies scattered across the map before your scrappy band of rebels launch a final assault to take down the big bad. Borderlands 4 follows established genre conventions in terms of story development. Within the larger story structure, though, it plays out more like the Borderlands of yore. While the series isn’t known for radical game design, it has a very unique identity that feels unique. So as you chase map markers, perform side missions, and sign contracts in Kairos (something you’ve done in every open-world game), the way you accomplish these goals feels hilarious and fun.
Grandstanding is back
Image source: 2K/gearbox
The biggest change is in the way you traverse the open world in the game. The traversal tools available in Borderlands 4 make it the fastest game in the series yet. In addition to the double-jump and dash abilities that allow you to pinball around the arena and take on multiple enemies, you can also acquire a glider and grappling hook to extend your range of movement in the game. After the first few hours, you also unlock the Digirunner, a vehicle that makes it easier to traverse Kairos’ three different biomes.
But despite newer ways to travel, the vast world has its drawbacks. In Borderlands 4, you simply press a button on your controller and a guided path to your next objective appears. This is helpful, sure, but it also reduces how you interact with the game world. You’re constantly looking at the guided path next to the map to check where you’re going, and this feature becomes more of a hindrance than a help. The larger map also means that some of the more interesting missions and side quests get lost in the map marker library, while the sameness of filler becomes more apparent. As a result, Borderlands 4 feels less bespoke than other games in the series, despite its larger and more polished population.
You can use Digirunner to travel through Kairos
Photo Credit: 2K/Gearbox (Screenshot – Manas Mitul)
What feels the same is shooting. Guns are at the core of all Borderlands games, and Borderlands 4 is no exception. From the moment you gain the freedom of Kairos, you enter a buffet of weapons. Every lockbox, every chest, every container you open (and you’ll open a lot in the game) stores guns and ammo. You’re constantly comparing your loot to the existing armory in your inventory, checking stats and buffs, and choosing the gun that best suits your needs (or is the coolest). It’s best not to get obsessed with weapons in Borderlands 4, especially early on, because you’ll always find better gear. The game features billions of combinations of pistols, submachine guns, assault rifles, snipers and shotguns from eight different manufacturers.
Each weapons manufacturer also favors a specific playstyle. For example, the Tediore gun cannot be reloaded; when you disengage the clip, you can throw the gun at an enemy like a grenade and a loaded replica appears in your hand; the Malivan weapon comes with elemental buffs that can shock, incinerate, or corrupt your enemies; and the Daedalus gun is versatile and lets you change ammo types, such as turning an assault rifle into a sniper. You can quickly unlock four weapon slots so you can mix, match and equip your preferred arsenal. However, the Jacobs sniper rifle has always existed in the weapon slot of my equipment. I really like using it to land high-crit headshots from a distance, and then use the shotgun or submachine gun to engage in close combat with the remaining enemies.
Guns are the highlight of Borderlands 4
Photo Credit: 2K/Gearbox (Screenshot – Manas Mitul)
The gunplay feels really good too. Borderlands has always been about creating the feel of different guns, and the shooting here is some of the best in the series. It’s lively and chaotic, but also deceptively controlled and calculated. The weapons feel well balanced, and the game throws enough enemy types at you to keep you juggling. Like previous games in the series, Borderlands 4 is not a static shooter. You’re never just hiding behind cover. Shootout involves jumping, dashing and gliding across the arena to facilitate intense encounters. The environment will always help you too. The combat area has grapple points and elemental canisters that can be picked up and thrown at enemies. Borderlands 4’s boss battles best exemplify these chaotic showdowns, which present a tough challenge but rarely become boring.
In addition to the vast array of guns at your disposal, your player character is also a weapon in his own right. Borderlands 4 lets you choose from four vault hunter classes: Kraken, Alien Soldier, Forge Knight, and Gravity Man. The Exoskeleton Soldier has high-tech weaponry built into his exoskeleton suit, perfect for players who want to jump right into mid-range firepower and close-quarters combat. The Forge Knight is an axe-wielding tank class best suited for players who want a damage sponge capable of unleashing devastating elemental attacks. Gravitar is a scientist-level vault hunter who is proficient in high-tech gadgets and devices.
Vex has phasic energy abilities
Image source: 2K/gearbox
I chose Siren Vex as my playthrough. The Vault Hunter possesses supernatural phase powers, which she can use to summon minions to fight alongside her, or transform into more powerful phase forms to deal more damage. Vault Hunters have three different action skills, which are tied to corresponding skill trees. While you can only equip one active skill at a time, you can continually invest points in three skill trees to experiment with your Vault Hunter career. Skill trees are primarily made up of passive skills, but they also include enhancements and capstones that, when equipped, enhance or modify your action skills. Borderlands 4 presents the most versatile and customizable skill tree in the series, allowing for variety in every class. Even if you’re locked into being a vault hunter in a single playthrough, the three skill trees offer enough options to tailor your playstyle to your liking.
Borderlands 4 also improves its visuals, but this comes at a cost. The game retains the series’ signature cell-shaded style, but improves the detail and variety of environments. There’s a lot going on on the screen at any given point, but the overall image is always cohesive and never cluttered. The guns look particularly good, with the game adding visual variety through weapon skins and customization options. On PS5, Borderlands 4 runs well, especially after a patch was released that addressed some performance issues. However, the game does drop a few frames during intense penalty shootouts.
Borderlands 4’s cell-shaded visuals are the most detailed in the series yet
Photo Credit: 2K/Gearbox (Screenshot – Manas Mitul)
Despite some technical issues and common flaws in open-world design, Borderlands 4 is still a capable first-person shooter with plenty to offer. It’s a meaty one and you could probably spend dozens of hours outside of the main story. Gearbox promises a ton of post-launch content, including legendary weapon drops, new missions and boss fights, as well as a 2026 story expansion that will add new vault hunters and new map areas. It also helps that no other real-time looter shooter outside of Destiny 2 can challenge Borderlands 4 and its unique place and relevance in the medium.
Borderlands 4 also has a firm grasp on the basics. A game about guns has to have a lot of firepower, and Gearbox really went overboard in that regard. This is the most fun shooter I’ve played since Hellraiser 2. The expanded range represents the next step in the series’ evolution, but it also has its drawbacks. The game’s open world serves as the natural habitat for Borderlands’ chaos, but it also often strains the game. The relative linearity of previous entries kept Borderlands’ chaotic madness within a container, which worked to the series’ benefit; Borderlands 4 happily axes its way through that container.
