Borderlands 4 is the best Borderlands game I’ve ever played

After a long wait, the eagerly anticipated sequel, Borderlands 4, has finally arrived. For many, countless hours have been invested in playing it, with the journey beginning during the Xbox 360 era when I’d repeatedly play General Knoxx without pause until Borderlands 2 was released.

In terms of Borderlands, I can be quite fanatical, although I don’t obsessively optimize every weapon’s traits. However, I do follow guides while occasionally experimenting with my own character builds. (No joke intended from Kevin.)

Each extraordinary acquisition raises the query, “Does this align with my character setup?” If not, I ponder, “Could I craft a character setup tailored for this weapon?

Guns and loot: Combat redefined

As an observer, I can’t help but marvel at Borderlands, a series renowned for its myriad features, yet it’s the weaponry that truly sets it apart. The moment you unleash the firepower, watch the chaos unfold – bullets flying, enemies falling. It’s an exhilarating rush of adrenaline, the thrill of sending round after round into your foes. Death may be their ultimate fate, but they meet it under the brilliant glint of your preferred weapon.

In Borderlands 4, the weapons are incredibly exciting, consistently providing the wild, gunfight-crazed experience that fans eagerly anticipate without a single disappointment.

In simpler terms, weapons from Tediore, which I’ve often found frustrating throughout my gaming adventures, seem enjoyable for the first time in what could be the best Borderlands game to date. These guns, reminiscent of a young baseball outfielder with poor throwing strength, surprisingly provide great utility in this newest loot-hunting journey.

In my Borderlands 4 preview, I shared that instead of lugging around traditional grenades and rocket launchers, players will now have an Ordnance slot at their disposal. This slot functions as a cooldown ability, allowing us to equip various items such as grenades, throwing knives, laser blasts, rockets, and other destructive devices.

Legendary weaponry

In Borderlands 4, the legendary weapons atop our arsenal are what make us Vault Hunters pulse with life and excitement. The sound of one dropping is like enchantment, causing Psycho-like shrieks from players, some barely able to hear it, as we rush towards the golden or orange loot in a frenzy.

This really depends on your brightness and saturation levels.

Thus far, legends seem to be performing just as well, or perhaps even better compared to their previous performances. Out of the few that I’ve acquired, they’ve generally been exceptional – I’d say they’re almost perfect! (or “they’ve mostly been top-notch”)

Players let out intense, psychic-like shouts, even those with poor hearing, as we all frantically search for the precious gold or colorful loot.

One weapon featured a primary assault rifle function along with a secondary under-barrel shotgun. A successful kill using either would replenish ammo for the other, boosting the damage output of the exchanged weapon by 100%. In close combat, I’d fire off buckshot rounds into enemies’ faces, swiftly switch to my rifle for efficient takedowns. Repeat the process, immerse myself in the chaos. With an abundance of damage and no need for reloads (except if I missed targets), the shooting experience was exhilarating fun.

Occasionally, there were instances where I found myself puzzled, trying to comprehend the unique abilities of certain legendary items, such as that unusual shotgun firing slow, colorful energy balls like snails. Until I have an opportunity for thorough testing (and avoid the need to immediately write a review), I’ll be left pondering whether it truly warranted a spot on my weapon rotation or not.

Get ready to move

The battle system has experienced a considerable revamp primarily because of its connection with the fresh movement system. The return of sliding, combined with double-jump and standard floating, makes battles as vertical as they are horizontal.

Feeling more akin to a chaotic version of Iron Man’s alter ego Tony Stark, I navigated through battlefields, unleashing havoc on adversaries with an array of destructive tools. There’s no question that this movement system sets the bar in Borderlands – it’s smooth, frenetic, and incredibly fun.

I don’t think I could ever go back!

In the open-world setting, there seems to be an issue with respawn mechanics. Somehow, the game appears to be lacking sufficient checkpoints, making it challenging to find them. Though instanced zones seem to work fine, other regions show a significant deficiency of respawn points. My character has died multiple times in situations where the journey back to the action took at least a minute.

Indeed, in that situation, I met my end, only to find myself needing to sprint for more than a minute to return to the fight against those who caused my demise. Initially, this is quite challenging, especially when you lack a vehicle, as running seems like an endless marathon to accomplish.

Story and humor: At appropriate levels

To avoid revealing any plot twists or spoilers from the storyline, it’s best to only discuss information that is already known to the public. Speaking about anything beyond this could potentially undermine the hard work of the Borderlands writing team at Gearbox, so I’ll opt for a straightforward approach instead.

Explorers encounter Kairos, a planet that was concealed until recently. The mysterious Timekeeper governs this planet. The unveiling occurred due to the transportation of Elpis’ moon in Borderlands 3, revealing what was once hidden, and now it is visible for all to behold.

Your role is to spearhead the uprising against the Timekeeper, with the ultimate goal of returning the planet to the hands of its people. Additionally, you might even manage to open a few secret vaults along the way.

So, how’s the writing?

The writing is so much better

In essence, it appears that Borderlands 3 was quite cheesy or awkward to many players, and this seems to be a widely-held opinion among them. I’d even venture to guess that most individuals feel the same way.

In some instances, there were spectacular moments filled with joy and sheer amazement, but these were often overshadowed by what seemed like excessive juvenile humor, reminiscent of a child trying too hard to be funny at the lunch table. Much like that kid who always had something interesting to show you, Borderlands 3 was the game you talked to because it offered fantastic playthings.

As a tech enthusiast, I’ve got to say, Borderlands 4 really listened to the collective voice of gamers like me. There were moments when I braced myself for a cheesy punchline that would spoil an otherwise brilliant scene, or a joke that dragged on forever, but it never happened. Instead, I found myself immersed in an incredible gaming experience that kept me hooked from start to finish!

As an analyst, I can say that the narrative crafted by Gearbox developers carries a distinctly dark undertone, intermixed with the humorous flair we’ve grown fond of in the Borderlands universe. Characters from our past encounters, whom we have grown attached to over the years, make their reappearance in an intriguing blend of sensible awesomeness and humor.

In simpler terms, not everyone might find humor in the same jokes or find certain parts of a story interesting, just like any other content. However, Borderlands 4 appears to have significantly altered our expectations for the series, offering something fresh and new.

The tale isn’t exceptionally innovative or destined to be forgotten, but it resonated well and seemed like a logical continuation of the storyline gamers have been following for the past 16 years.

I guess I’m trying to say, thanks for not messing up this time, guys!

Open world: Done right

You might find yourself excitedly thinking, “Wow, this is amazing and innovative!” More and more games are transitioning into open-world formats. However, some of these games and their updated follow-ups lose their original charm and cohesiveness as they’re forced to adapt to the open-world structure. It seems that Halo Infinite might be falling into this category.

In every installment of the Borderlands series, the gameplay offers a semi-open world environment divided into distinct zones. As the sequels progress, these zones grow increasingly expansive and grand in scale.

Nothing is senseless, and everything feeds toward the progression of your character.

For the initial time, we possess an expansive world that can be freely explored, with only specific instances such as Vaults, fortresses, and certain narrative areas being confined. Remarkably, the principal hub has grown to a colossal scale, so vast that it’s hard to overstate. In fact, I invested my first 20 hours delving into side missions and additional content within the Fadefields, and I found it to be a substantial area on its own – it happens to be the smallest of the three primary zones!

Instead of the lush, verdant clover fields of Fadefield, there’s now the harsh, scorching desert-like environment known as Carcadia Burn. If you need a respite from the heat, consider visiting the Terminus Range, which features a tundra climate similar to that of the Ice Age.

Each of the three major sections offers ample opportunity for extended exploration, where you can delve into both the primary narrative as well as side quests, hidden locations, and additional content. These expansive maps house a multitude of tasks to engage with.

Regardless of where players decide to focus their gaming time, they’ll consistently earn rewards that contribute to the development of their character. Every action has a purpose, ensuring nothing feels meaningless in the game’s progression.

The first instance I recall learning about earning rewards for venturing into unfamiliar territories, I received a small collectible statue featuring the beloved character Marcus Kincaid as a bonus. It was quite lucrative.

This meticulous attention to detail gives the impression that the development team went the extra mile in expanding various aspects of the game. From repeatable tasks yielding legendary loot, spontaneous events, to intriguing items scattered throughout, you’ll find a compelling reason to explore every nook and cranny with eagerness.

What comes as a result of this open world is something players may find troublesome

Performance drops: Not the legendary kind

Upon starting Borderlands 4 for my review, I found myself prepared to criticize its disappointing performance – a level not often seen even in AAA titles. Initially, the game felt like a disorganized jumble, particularly within the open world, where choppiness was prevalent.

Navigating across the zone used to be a bumpy, slow journey due to Unreal Engine 5 apparently loading the following section of the zone into memory. But thankfully, after receiving the recent update, that frustrating experience has noticeably improved for me and other reviewers.

It seems the embargo period for the review might be nearly over, coinciding with the game’s launch. This could imply that reviewers and content creators have had ample time to evaluate the patch. One might wonder if the original release date could have been maintained under these circumstances. To clarify, I completed the entire review on Steam, using PC specifications very similar to those suggested by Gearbox as recommended.

GPU: Nvidia RTX 3080
CPU: 5900X
RAM: 32GB DDR4
SSD: NVME 2.0

I’m a step higher than the suggested 5800X CPU, so it seems I make an almost ideal contender for this ongoing performance argument. With the latest upgrade, which doesn’t encompass all the other performance improvements arriving with the day one patch, I’ve experienced superior outcomes.

While traversing the expansive terrain, there are occasional pauses in the loading of certain areas, but they’re significantly less frequent and severe than before, to the point where the game no longer appears on the verge of crashing. Although this might not seem like a great performance benchmark, it’s important to remember how significantly worse things were initially.

Without a doubt, this system runs the game smoothly, avoiding any trouble, discomfort, or hardship for those using it at recommended or higher specifications. On my setup, I played the entire game in 1440p resolution with medium settings and DLSS on performance mode. Although I could use balanced mode, I frequently encountered instances where the frame rate dropped below 50 frames per second, which made me feel uneasy.

In Performance Mode, I noticed frequent frame rate drops below 60 fps primarily during vast open-world sections and sprawling cityscapes. Remarkably, Borderlands exhibits similar severe performance dips that Dragon’s Dogma 2 experienced in densely populated areas.

Although it’s significantly better, looking towards a busy urban area caused me to dip below 50 frames per second once more. It’s less than desirable, but it’s worth noting that this issue has been gradually improving since I started my review.

My concern lies with gamers aiming to join the arena with graphics cards of 3060 or lower, many of whom haven’t updated their equipment in quite some time. Although the 3000 series was released in 2020 and the minimum requirement is a 2070, it seems that players might need to scale back their graphics settings significantly, aiming for 1080p low, if they wish to maintain a smooth and consistent 60 frames per second gameplay.

In simple terms, it’s generally not well-received by most people that the performance is poor, and justifiably so. Even specifications suggested for optimal play, which manage just 60 frames per second at medium settings with DLSS enabled, raise some eyebrows.

The new installment of Borderlands, assumed to be number 4, appears to outshine its predecessors in terms of visual quality, yet one can’t help but ponder if the price for such an open world and enhanced aesthetics might have been too steep. When evaluating, my primary concern has always been whether this change affects my enjoyment. A seemingly straightforward question that surprisingly echoes with my performance-focused self-image.

How that will be received by the general public is almost universally bad, and rightfully so.

After applying the most recent update, I’m continuing to enjoy the game immensely. However, I’ve noticed that the DLSS performance mode introduces some noticeable jagged edges, particularly with reflections or glints.

Apart from the occasional hiccups, I’ve been consistently keeping up with the game’s frame rate, racking up kills one by one with an ear-to-ear smile, thoroughly impressed with the game’s exceptional playability.

The game runs smoothly for the most part, allowing me to eliminate one enemy after another while I can’t help but grin from ear to ear at how fantastic it feels to play this game.

If you’re passionate about high-performance gaming, it might be worth waiting. On the other hand, if you’re comfortable playing at mid-range settings in 1440p resolution, Borderlands 4 offers a lot of enjoyment and is enjoyable to experience.

I would like to bring attention to the fact that no console codes have been sent to reviewers or content creators. While this isn’t necessarily a cause for concern, it does raise some questions about what we can expect for the upcoming releases on Xbox and PlayStation.

Endgame: The grind of Borderlands

So, how’s the grind?

To begin with, I must confess that I’ve yet to complete the entire Endgame, as I’ve only had the game for about a week. Rest assured, I’m not a fanatic or obsessive player. Believe me, if I were, my wife would probably have something to say about it!

The experience I’ve had with Borderlands 4 is nothing short of incredible! This game reintroduces the beloved Ultimate Vault Hunter, enhanced with additional dimensions due to the introduction of challenges. Players can engage in these challenges, elevating their difficulty level which results in better rewards and even more challenging experiences.

As a researcher delving into the expansive world of Borderlands 3, I’ve found myself immersed in an endless array of Vaults, Mad Moxxi’s Encore mechanics, and a myriad of activities designed for relentless grinding. The weekly challenges, introduced by Gearbox Software, only add to the allure. This endgame experience, a culmination of the entire series, has held me captivated for days on end. I recall vividly completing Borderlands 3 and spending countless hours firing at the same Vault boss repeatedly, meticulously seeking that elusive perfect loot drop.

This is the ultimate endgame of the entire series.

In the new edition, you’ll find a wealth of activities that will certainly fulfill the legendary grinding role. It’s quite remarkable how much content is available for players at launch. Every boss and activity can be revisited using the Moxxi system. Each level-adjusted entry ensures valuable loot drops.

In the beginning, the expense for engaging is quite small compared to the worth of the treasures that you’ll acquire later on. As you progress into Ultimate Vault Hunter mode, Eridium transforms into a highly valuable currency. This currency will be essential for participating in the more challenging battles, but your chances of receiving superior loot will significantly increase as well.

Instead of the original statement: On top of the promised free updates, weekly events, and more, players will find themselves spending significantly more time pondering what to grind next rather than waiting for additional content. This has been a rarity in my experience with Borderlands recently!

In addition to the expected free updates and regular events, gamers might find they’re spending far more time deciding what to work on next compared to the time spent waiting for new content. That’s been quite a change from my usual Borderlands playtime!

Borderlands 4: Should you buy it?

✅ You should buy this if…

You like Borderlands at all
- This is the definitive Borderlands experience. You won’t be disappointed by the gameplay, nor the gameplay.
You love endgame grinding
- Borderlands 4 promises to keep players occupied for weeks, if not months between DLC releases.

❌ You should not buy this if…

You’re a stickler for performance

In simple terms, Borderlands 4 stands out as the ultimate playground for Vault Hunters, setting a high bar for the series in future developments. While some performance issues can somewhat dampen the fun, I’m eagerly anticipating more action, aiming to increase my damage per second (DPS), perfecting my character builds, and engaging in intense grinding sessions. If only it had a story as compelling as that of Naughty Dog!

Spending time on this review took away valuable moments, leaving me feeling exhausted before joining my team for the launch. However, it’s so captivating that I can’t help but feel addicted. Fellow Borderlands enthusiasts should be thrilled, as long as their computer can handle it.

Borderlands 4 releases on September 11, 2025 for Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PlayStation 5.

2025-09-11 15:17

Borderlands 4 is the best Borderlands game I’ve ever played — but with a small hitch