I’ll say right away that I was surprised by Borderlands 4. After the previous two instalments in the series, the fourth main game left one of the best impressions I’ve had of this unusual looter-shooter. The characters are well-written and charming. But most importantly, Gearbox has achieved the impossible and made Claptrap likeable. Keep reading for our Borderlands 4 PC review. It’s one you won’t want to miss if you’re a newbie or a veteran of the beloved series.
There are some performance issues that need to be addressed, particularly on PC, and I would like the side quests to be more engaging. Overall though, this is probably the best Borderlands game yet, even compared to the cult classic second instalment. Borderlands 4 is the first main game in the series from Gearbox that I have truly enjoyed playing since 2012, when Borderlands 2 was released.
Although The Pre-Sequel, Borderlands 3, and the spin-off Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands had their strengths, something always prevented me from enjoying the game, whether it was poor pacing, a terrible script, or an unsatisfying finale.
In many ways, Borderlands 4 feels like a fresh start for the series, with the confidence I loved so much in the first two games.
There are some areas where it noticeably falls short of previous instalments, such as the music and the main villain. There are also some minor issues, such as the removal of additional animations when the magazine is empty, but otherwise, the fourth instalment is magnificent.
The developers clearly understood everything that players had criticized in the previous instalment and made this one as fun as possible. The characters are no longer annoying; in fact, they’re surprisingly entertaining. The cutscenes are no longer frustrating, and most importantly, the gameplay has been diversified and improved in every way. As well as the familiar cat hook, double jump, double dash, and glide, which were not just added for fun, enemies will do everything they can to force you to use these movement abilities. The game also constantly tries to throw you into unusual locations or put you in unusual conditions.
Most bosses have also received a lot of attention. The battles with them are not particularly difficult, but they look great and are incredibly fun to play. They love to test the capabilities of the new movement abilities the most, and you can also replay battles with them.
The build and endgame have also been significantly improved with extra modifiers, the effects of abilities on gameplay, a change in the approach to throwing weapons and much more.
It’s clear that the developers really liked Doom Eternal and The Division 2 — they borrowed a lot from these two games!
But let’s delve into the details!
Of course, the plot and humor of Borderlands are just the foundation. I wouldn’t recommend Borderlands 4 if it didn’t have exciting gameplay involving looting and shooting. If you joined the series for the constant weapon swapping, upgrades, grenades, and so on, you’ll still find an incredibly exciting loot hunt here.
The biggest difference in Borderlands 4 is the transition to an open world. With the exception of certain locations, such as vaults and fortresses at the end of chapters, the map is almost completely seamless — the three main biomes of the planet Kyros are connected to each other. This is impressive, even though the reduction in loading screens leads to decreased performance — I’ll talk about that a little later.
Thanks to the dynamic main storyline and a multitude of side missions and activities, you’ll have plenty to do during your first playthrough of Borderlands 4. While I found that optional entertainment isn’t always worth the time investment, I thoroughly enjoyed the game and feel that this latest instalment has restored the series to its former sharpness and individuality.
Borderlands 4 is set on the planet Kyros. Following the events of the third game, the planet descended into chaos when Siren Lilith forcibly moved the satellite Elpis into orbit around it. This disrupted the flow of time, allowing a dictator known as the Timekeeper and his henchmen to seize power and control the population.
We were one of four Vault Hunters captured by the Timekeeper, but we escaped from one of his camps. We then set off for the three biomes of Kairos, freeing people from the Timekeeper’s clutches and recruiting them to our Crimson Resistance.
The plot is simple, but perfect for a looter shooter. The Timekeeper himself isn’t that much of a villain, but I can understand that the developers probably wanted to make the game safer after the ineffective and annoying villains of Borderlands 3.
Incidentally, as mentioned above, Borderlands 4 is much better written than its immediate predecessor. Each playable Vault Hunter has their own distinct personality, and many of the supporting characters are surprisingly endearing. The returning characters from previous instalments are also good and are written better here than ever before. Yes, even Claptrap.
Borderlands 4 is a great way to spend your evening
Not much has changed in terms of the overall gameplay of Borderlands 4. Despite the transition to an open world, you’ll still encounter numerous villain camps — the main factions being the psychotic Reavers and the robotic Order of the Time Keepers — as well as various clusters of fauna, including flying Kraaks and running Creeps.
The game also features a variety of options, including tougher enemies, enemies with behavior modifiers (including status changes and after-death effects) and powerful world bosses.
However, Traversal has introduced some new features and movement in Borderlands 4 that feel better than in any other game in the series. The grappling hook is a significant innovation, enabling you to swiftly scale high ground and hurl various explosive devices at enemies. The new glider, quick dodge, and air dash also add dynamism to combat and movement.
You also have quick access to a vehicle that can be summoned at any time, provided you are not in an area where driving is prohibited. I much prefer this to having to trudge to the garage as you had to in older games. It makes it much easier to get around Kairos’s huge map. There is also fast travel available at large outposts where you can get quests, but only after you have cleared certain areas of thugs.
Borderlands 4: What about the characters?
The main characters in Borderlands 4 are treasure hunters, of course, and this time we have a particularly memorable cast. As I usually do with games in this series, I played through the game for the first time as the Siren Vex. She is currently my favourite siren in the series. She has a delightfully smug and cheeky personality, as well as some truly devastating combat skills. For instance, she can summon copies of herself to distract enemies and inflict elemental damage.
But let’s get to the point. The Vex Siren can unleash supernatural phase energy with devastating effects or summon helpers to the field. Rafa Exo-Soldier uses deadly high-tech weapons in an exoskeleton. Amon the Blacksmith Knight defends himself, deals damage and is equipped with drones for destruction. Harlow Gravitar controls crowds with her devices and turns enemies into explosions of blood and gore. The unique characteristics of each character increase replayability and cooperative coordination, and add personality to the dialogue.
Naturally, you’ll have access to a wide range of weapons, grenades, and other destructive tools. The rarity system remains the same: rare, exotic and legendary weapons have more characteristics and modifiers. One great thing about the gear in Borderlands 4 is that you can assemble weapons from parts made by different manufacturers.
For instance, landing a critical hit with a Jacobs shotgun and passing it on to someone else can give them access to alternative elemental fire, such as a cloud of corrosive gas or an electric discharge, thanks to the Malivan underbarrel. The Tedior attachment allows you to throw your pistol at enemies instead of reloading, and the more bullets in the chamber, the greater the damage inflicted.
Grenades have also undergone significant changes and now come in several different types. For instance, Jacob’s ‘grenades’ are now deadly throwing knives. You can also load the grenade slot with ammunition, which effectively replaces the rocket launcher from previous games.
Of course, there are some downsides
Performance, obviously. I didn’t experience any major issues, but there aren’t many of us — very few, in fact. If you look at the Steam reviews, you’ll see that almost every comment mentions performance issues. However, I’m sure they’ll have fixed everything by the second or third expansion. GTA Online was also fixed after only 11 years.
Yes, the game isn’t as optimized as it was before, but you can blame all the available upscalers, like DLSS and FSR, for that. We all hope for the best, but when things don’t go according to plan, we start optimizing the game.
There are lots of bugs in all aspects of the game: enemies under textures, flying objects, weapons that won’t go in the inventory slot, and jerky cutscenes. Overall, it’s nowhere near the release version of Cyberpunk, but it’s on a par with the old gazebo, since Starfield had hardly any bugs.
The music is probably the same. It’s not bad; it fits what’s happening. However, it’s nowhere near as ‘vibe-y’ as in the second and third parts.
The rest are minor issues that I won’t list, such as invisible walls, reload animations that don’t change, flying gras,s and grass appearing where it shouldn’t. These are minor issues that are present in absolutely all other open-world games.
However, there is also an issue with the availability of good quests
Such quests have always been a hallmark of the Borderlands series — at least until the fourth instalment.
Remember Wonderlands, which was released three years ago? In that game, the hero was tasked with finding an ancient artefact guarded by a mighty warrior. Surprisingly, the villain did not rush into battle, but instead launched into a tedious monologue.
‘I have killed many people! And I will add your name to the list without hesitation. It is a very long list. If you wish, I will read it before the battle.” Some of the names are difficult to pronounce because they are written in alphabets that no longer exist. But I will do my best. So, Xbraneks the Fourth, Khlyupkin the Pure-Hearted…’
What’s so funny about that? It’s the fact that you could interrupt the chatter with a shot or an attempt at seduction. Or you could listen to the absurd speech to the end. Then the potential boss would get tired and simply fall apart. You didn’t fire a single shot, yet you still won. How cool is that?
You also helped a witch who boasted about his combat skills for ages, but then died at the hands of the first mob. You blew up the ocean with a nuclear missile because it was in your way. Alternatively, you could have defeated the boss by exploiting bugs in the game engine.
The humor was hit and miss. But I felt that the developers were trying hard to come up with funny moments and care about my enjoyment. In Borderlands 4, however, I don’t feel anything, even though I’m doing all the side quests and persistently looking for something to get hooked on.
A typical Borderlands 4 quest looks like this: In the workshop, you meet a raider scientist who wants to cure all the psychos. She’s crazy herself, but her intentions are good. She just needs a couple of devices for her machine. Your job is to run around the world, find the gadgets, and bring them to her. She activates the machine, and the first test subject immediately explodes into pieces. “I’ve cured him of his madness. Next, I’ll cure the whole world,” says the scientist, bursting out laughing. The end.
But perhaps the bosses and main protagonists aren’t so bad
The best parts of the series were memorable because of the villains. Take Handsome Jack, for example, who was the face of the series for a long time. A prequel was dedicated to the villain’s rise to power, and he returned in spin-offs after his death. In Borderlands 2, Jack was constantly harassing the hero, cracking jokes, and telling stories. He often seemed like a cool guy with understandable motivations. Then he would cold-bloodedly wipe out an entire village, capture a key character, and kill influential people. This made players realize that behind the humor and charisma lurked a demon, which was terrifying.
The Wonderlands villain was intense, too. The Dragonlord knew he was a character in a board game. He broke the fourth wall, ruined the plot, and, most shockingly of all, chopped off the unicorn queen’s head in the introduction! At the same time, the character complained: ‘It’s not my fault; I was created this way. Take a closer look at the master; she’s the one who’s really crazy.’
It’s important to note that villains rarely boasted about their own greatness. More often, they did something crazy, and the player realized for themselves that this enemy was truly to be feared.
In Borderlands 4, we fight the Keeper of Time, a tyrant who terrorizes an entire planet. Everyone talks about the Keeper’s atrocities, and he confirms his own power with pompous speeches. The problem is that the villain’s image is based on tall tales: the Keeper talks about his abilities more often than he demonstrates them.
During the introduction, the tyrant provides one entertaining scene, but for the next ten hours, prepare to hear that resistance is futile and that all your moves have been calculated in advance. Just shut up and do something cool! But the Keeper does nothing, generally leaving dealings with the rebels to his trusted associates. Kind of dreary, don’t you think?
We flew away from Pandora and ended up in Far Cry by accident
If the quests are mediocre and the villain doesn’t live up to expectations, what were the developers betting on? I suppose the main innovation is that it’s the first seamless open world in the entire series. You can drive from one end of the map to the other without encountering a single loading screen. Thank you — we’ve been waiting for this, especially after the second part.
But this vast world needs to be filled with content. The developers have filled it, taking inspiration from Far Cry. Outposts are scattered across the regions, which you can clear to gain new fast travel points. There are contracts to kill dangerous enemies or ten ordinary predators. You can also find notes containing a handful of information about the lore. There are also fragments of the key to the Vault you are looking for, accompanied by the words, ‘Where the hell are you, motherfucker?’
These points of interest are not particularly valuable as they are a decade out of date. Even Far Cry 6, with all its sterility, offered more entertainment.
You could quietly blow up the air defense system at the base, shoot it down from a helicopter, and celebrate your victory with cockfights. In Borderlands 4, you repeatedly fly into another outpost and never take your finger off the trigger. I won’t argue that shooting is fun, but I would like to see more creativity.
Bear in mind that Ubisoft specialises in open worlds and has optimised the game well. Meanwhile, Borderlands 4 doesn’t look any better than Wonderlands, and it crashes on PC.
Borderlands 4! Still crazy. Still cool. This successful sequel learns from the mistakes of the past. It builds on the strengths of the series, such as loot hunting, responsive shooting, and memorable character interactions.
Despite some flaws, it offers a fun and exciting co-op experience.
The game draws on nostalgia and past experiences. The huge open world is well-designed and packed with missions. However, bloated content and performance issues can mar the gaming experience. Nevertheless, Borderlands 4 remains a satisfying co-op shooter with friends.
