Hands on with Borderlands 4 - Preview
I can still recall, back in 2008, I learnt about a game coming from Gearbox Software called Borderlands. A few months later, the game changed its art style, applying a cel-shaded look and then in 2009 upon its release, myself and some mates gathered together in one room and played the game for hours and hours. That began a love of the series and while Borderlands 3 did have some issues, Borderlands 4 seems to be changing the game in meaningful ways. Thanks to 2K, we had the chance to go hands on with the game, so is this an evolution of the series or just a continuation?
We're not prepared for this.
Kairos is the new planet in which players get to explore and planet is a great way to describe it, as there was a lot of space to discover. One of the things that Randy, the CEO of Gearbox Software explained in our little info session before we went hands on with the game, was that the newer consoles meant the locations were much larger than ever before. This did not seem to be hyperbole, as the area that I got to run around in for a few hours was quite large and apart form going into a base, I did not see a single loading screen. Ok, before I go further in on how big Kairos is, I suppose there a need to explain more about this new planet.
Kairos is a place that has been locked away from the rest of the galaxy, and that has been the case for a long time. It has been such a long time that most people outside the planet don’t even know about it anymore and those that live on the planet, have forgotten about the galaxy and even the stary sky above them. The people that live on Kairos have not forgotten about things because they are dumb, but rather they have been controlled by the Timekeeper, a being who rules the planet with an iron fist, and a synthetic army. The people are controlled by bolts that are implanted into the back of their heads and should anyone attempt to get around that, they are taken away and never seen again.
This larger planet means that there is a lot to do and in the area, we had access to, the Fade Fields, it contained a lot of things to climb, animals to avoid and of course, enemies to shoot. I still remember the first game, once you left Fyrestone, I could see cliffs and gulleys, but they were only decoration. Here if you see a cliff, there is likely a way up, which I proved because at one point, I found a large support structure for some above ground pipes and I made my way to the top of it. One of the missions I was doing, had me climb all over a crashed spaceship, like I was some sort of interplanetary spider-man, which does lead me to talk about one of the new ways to get around, the grappling hook.
The gameplay has a new hook
Now Borderlands 4 is not the first game to have a grappling hook and I doubt it will be the last, but it does make good use of it. I will admit that when they revealed the game was going to have one, I was snarky about it, like of all the things they could do, they added in a grappling hook. It is a good thing I bought a pie maker recently, as I now have to eat some humble pie, as the grappling hook really makes a big difference to exploring and combat. First let’s focus on exploring, in past games there were always gaps that were to large to jump over, even trying to be clever and using a vehicle often failed, but that is not the case here. Exploring that spaceship wreck had me using the grappling hook to access parts that, if this was Borderlands 3, would have been totally just decorative.
In combat things were even more chaotic with the hook, and that is a good thing. Borderlands players know about exploding barrels, they were often ways to help thin the heard of enemies that would swarm you at times. In Borderlands 4, the grappling hook can be used to pick up these barrels, which can then throw at enemies like a grenade. These are not massive ones though, more like the size of a small gas bottle from your bbq, but they are powerful enough to get a group of enemies at once. You can still use the hook to launch yourself around the place, want to take the high ground, then find a hook point and up you go. Surrounded by enemies and need some breathing space, hook to a light pole and fling yourself away.
It is not just the ability to hook onto things, you can now double jump. I know, this is something that should have been there since day one on the first game, but better late than never right. You can sprint of course, but once you start to throw in some running, double jumps, grapples and even a few slides, it will feel like you are playing Mirrors Edge with all that parkour type movement. I can’t begin to count the number of times that I would run towards an enemy, shoot them and then zip up and over them, turning around and shooting from above, before landing behind them for a few mor shots. The best part about all of this, it felt right, there was no lag in it, no hiccups or delays between motions, it just played out very smoothly. The one thing I did not do at the hands on was play co-op, so I can only imagine the chaos of having 2 or more players treating Kairos like a superhero playground, but I can’t wait to find out.
Final Thoughts
I had a blast playing Borderlands 4, more than I did playing Borderlands 3, because this finally feels like an evolution of the series and there are no annoying twins to be seen. I did play against one of the vault bosses, but more on that another time, but even without that, the gameplay just feels so much faster and of course, it looks so vibrant. I never focus on visuals when it comes to playing early builds of games, it would be like comparing a house that is missing its interior walls to a finished one, but even with months to go until release, I could not help but be impressed by the game. Borderlands 4 was always going to be played by myself, I adore the series after all, but having now put a few hours into the game, I can honestly say it might be one game that I might skip over reviewing, just so I can savour the entire experience for myself.
We also got to chat with Randy and Andrew from Gearbox, you can read our interview here.
