Borderlands 4 - Review

On Kairos, everyone must obey the Timekeeper. For in control and obedience, people can live perfect happy lives. Vault Hunters are forbidden, and they will not disrupt his perfect order. Pfft, like that is ever going to happen.

Borderlands 4 is finally here, and I’ve gone and put it through its paces. As someone who has been a fan of the series since the original game launched all the way back in 2009. I was one of many who found themselves feeling a bit hollow and bored with the Pandora centred series, wishing for more of the Pre-Sequel focused storytelling and less of the blithering and in the moment pop culture focused comedy. Borderlands 4 seeks to set the series back on a positive path, but how does it go about this? Let’s dive in.

Borderlands 4 has made a very smart, and very logical choice in how they approach their story, comedic timing and the overall theme of the game. Pandora has been left behind, and we are now instead on a planet known as Kairos. A planet that is under the firm control of a being known as the Timekeeper. A being that demands absolute obedience and order, so that everyone can live a perfect existence. If only things were so easy.

The major thing I noticed very early on is how much more serious Borderlands 4 feels compared to its predecessors. The over the top, constant browbeating of ludicrous and obnoxious quips has been reeled in to make for a journey that feels far more in line with the serious nature of the overall premise. That isn’t to say that the game is purely serious and without the charm of Borderlands. Far from it, the game is still hilarious when it needs to be. You’ll engage in side quests where you’ll help a Bandit who has no legs, known as Topper, try and save, and in turn be saved by his robotic crab legs, known as Leggies. Topper having the thickest Scottish accent you’ll ever encounter and your character actively commenting on the fact that he is absolutely impossible to understand.

The comedy is done in times where it matters, rather than being consistent. There’s a beauty in your character reacting to a situation in a way that speaks of a humanity, rather than making an obnoxious quip at the expense of someone who has just had their best friend murdered by a serial killer and hung in a bizarre tableau. Making the characters feel more like persons with depth, both the playable characters as well as the NPCs goes a long way in making them far better rounded. The funny moments feel funnier because there is actual nuance to things, rather than just constant browbeating demanding that you laugh because it’s funny, right? Its funny, tell me its funny. Why aren’t you laughing?!

Borderlands 4 may actually have the best written story in the series. If not the best, it’s a damn close second after Pre-Sequel. The more focused narrative allows for impactful moments to feel far more impactful. SPOILER WARNING – There is an event that happens quite early on in the main story, that feels almost reminiscent of the drama and fear of Jack attacking the main city in Borderlands 2. But is done in a way that really puts across the lengths that the villains will go to, to ensure that the Timekeeper maintains total order of Kairos.

A bio-weapon attack on a resistance force, resulting in the leader mourning and grieving his fallen comrades, seeing this happening as you actively try and stop the ship from melting everyone out of existence. Having to lift him back to his feet and hear the pain and anger in him as he demands to finally take out Vile Lictor, is something that really pulls on the heartstrings because of how well everything up to that point is told to you.

The things that really make Borderlands feel like Borderlands still exist here; they’ve just been refined. What hasn’t been refined, and is probably crazier than ever, is the sheer number and varieties of guns. You’ll be looting and shooting your way through waves and waves of bandits and synths and brand-new monsters native to Kairos and building up an armoury as you go. The craziness of the variety of guns is still here, and the way that each gun feels and plays feels dramatically different enough that you’ll find your specific type of weapons that feel the most enjoyable. I was hooked on Shotguns with explosive rocket style rounds, and Ripper type Sub Machine Guns. Important note here, the Bandits are referred to as Rippers on Kairos, and considering the lore behind them, it makes sense.

What Borderlands 4 does really well, is letting you simply just play the game. The open-zone style returns here but is done much better than it was in Borderlands 3. Rather than sticking to the mission board style of the past for side quests, NPCs in the world will be indicated on the compass when you’re near enough to them, and you get the quests directly from them. There is contracts for hunting unique monsters, finding things to bring to captured locations, or killing X amounts of a certain type of enemy here to give you things to do as you bounce between locations as well. The open zone style here however lets you do what you want, when you feel like it. Ready to get collectibles? Great, they’re marked on the map in areas you’ve discovered, and you can go hunt them down easily. Want to get back to the main quest? No problem, you’ve got the marker on your map at all times. Feel like doing some side quests and contracts? Go right ahead, explore some more, unlock more collectible markers and experience the stories of the world.

Borderlands 4 does a tremendous job of making anything you engage with at any time, reward you directly in some way. Collectibles give you currency for increasing your backpack, bank, or ammo capacity. Side quests give you experience and unique guns, and of course the main story lets you progress more into the world and unlock more things to explore. Each component works as the greater whole, but how you want to play is left up to you. Borderlands 4 feels like it will be a tremendous Switch game, in that you can easily just jump in, play for a couple hours whatever way you want, and feel like you’ve done something more than just mow down waves and waves of the same enemies. Borderlands 4 works great for both short and long play sessions and however you want to play them.

There’s a lot of other things that I can go on and on about here. The game looks fantastic, the cell shading is a timeless look, but the higher resolution is really noticeable here and the game looks gorgeous for it. Kairos is dramatically different in appearance to Pandora and feels like a whole new world to explore. The music is snappy, never out of place, and always enjoyable. The different classes really do feel like they play in their own unique way, and in my experience however you want to play them feels like the right way. No single build seemed to be unviable, and that makes playing the way you want actually accessible.

Borderlands 4 is a huge game. You’ll easily see upwards of 40 hours on a first playthrough and not even come close to completing everything the game has to offer. There is an unbelievable amount of world bosses to encounter and learn, vaults to unlock, countless weapons and stories to experience, and a really powerful main story to enjoy. A refined humour with a far more serious overtone does a great service to the game. Borderlands 4 may not be for everyone, but it is quite easily one of the best entries in the series and really goes a long way of breathing life back into the series as a whole.

The Score

9.0

Review code provided by 2K

The Pros

Focused and serious story is a welcome change

Antagonists are all very unique and genuinely interesting and reprehensible

Comedy is done in a far better way than previous entries

The Cons

There are some moments that feel like game falls into bad habits

Returning characters don’t feel particularly necessary

Contracts don’t feel entirely necessary to the gameplay