Review: Borderlands 4 (PS5) – A Chaotic Return That Shoots Straight, Even if Its Performance Stutters

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A video game series lasting more than 15 years and appearing on three different console types is bound to have its share of successes, failures, and updated versions.

The Borderlands series has been struggling lately. Recent releases, like the somewhat underwhelming *Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands*, the disappointing *New Tales from the Borderlands*, and a poorly received movie adaptation, haven’t lived up to expectations. Instead of hitting the mark, they’ve unfortunately left fans wanting more.

Borderlands 4 arrives at a time when a solid, well-made game would be a welcome change. Despite some technical hiccups, it feels like a return to the series’ strengths. While the gameplay isn’t radically different, the open world setting actually works really well.

That open world is the biggest new addition, and it does wonders for the pacing.

You no longer need to travel back and forth to specific locations to finish quests. You can now access any fast travel point from the map, and quests automatically complete without needing to be turned in.

I used to hate those huge, empty areas in the game where all you did was drive around! But now? It’s amazing! You can just call your vehicle whenever you need it, which makes getting around so much faster, especially in the areas where there’s actually a lot going on. It’s a total game changer!

The game removes many of the frustrating travel sections found in previous titles, letting you get back to the action faster. Plus, it still supports easy-to-use co-op, where players can join and leave games without interrupting others.

I really love exploring the open world in this game, but honestly, it’s causing some performance issues. It doesn’t run as smoothly as I’d hoped, even on the standard PS5 and especially on the PS5 Pro. It’s a bit of a trade-off, and the performance hit is definitely noticeable.

Switching to Unreal Engine 5 has unfortunately caused performance issues. Players are experiencing noticeable stuttering and frequent drops in frame rate, regardless of whether they prioritize performance or visual resolution.

The game runs well when there isn’t much happening on screen, but performance gets noticeably worse as more effects appear, fights get bigger, or you play with friends. Ironically, the game struggles the most when it *should* be at its most exciting and action-packed.

Even with the move to the Unreal Engine, the core gameplay of collecting items and shooting remains largely the same, with just a few minor changes and additions. Thankfully, it’s still a fun and effective formula.

The shooting feels more refined, with clearer visual feedback when you hit enemies, and the random items you find are more varied. While the game can become less exciting as you level up, with better items becoming harder to find and stats simply increasing, the carefully designed system of rewards still provides a consistent sense of satisfaction, even in the later stages of the game.

Having lots of different ways to build your character keeps the gameplay interesting, even though you’ll spend a lot of time collecting items and shooting.

Each of the four characters you can play has three different skill trees you can combine in many ways. This lets you create a character focused on speed, applying status effects, using powerful skills, creating specific combinations, or anything else you can imagine. It’s cheap to reset your skills and try new things, so feel free to experiment with builds based on the powerful new weapons you find!

The game now features new ways to move around, including a grappling hook, gliding, and a quick dash. However, these additions don’t feel fully integrated into the gameplay. The grappling hook and gliding are mostly used for simple platforming challenges, and the dash is best for dodging attacks during fights.

Because stamina runs out quickly, you can’t chain together advanced movements using gliding or dashing. The grappling hook also has restrictions – it only works on designated points or objects you can throw.

This installment only offers a small amount of new content, but future versions could be much more impressive and unlock a lot more possibilities.

The best parts of the game, the main boss battles, are the first to really use all the new features together. They’re a significant step up in terms of gameplay compared to previous installments.

These battles are similar to those in massively multiplayer online games, with enemies giving clear warnings before attacking. They use slow, obvious attacks and projectiles, allowing you time to dodge and then strike back with powerful moves.

The enemies have interesting abilities tied to their gadgets, which keep battles exciting and challenging as you fight them and watch them change tactics.

In the story department, Borderlands 4 is more soft reboot than sequel.

This game moves the story forward several years to a new planet, where players are watched over by a powerful, all-seeing villain known as the Timekeeper.

Once you break free from his grasp early in the game, you and your friends can team up and cause chaos throughout Kairos to spark a rebellion, all while preparing to face the Timekeeper on your own schedule.

Borderlands 4 is designed to be easy for new players to pick up and enjoy, offering a fresh start. However, it also includes references and characters that will appeal to longtime fans who followed the series’ storylines about powerful weapon companies and familiar characters.

Instead of the sprawling, galaxy-spanning adventures of past games, Borderlands 3 takes a more contained and focused approach. This is a change of pace for the series, which hasn’t prioritized smaller stories since the second game, and it allows for a more compelling villain and a darker, more serious tone.

The latest installment tries for a more sincere and serious tone, but underneath it’s still packed with the rude, joke-filled humor the series is famous for. Expect plenty of suggestive comments, enemies who don’t make much sense, and the return of Claptrap, who’s just as annoying and hates stairs as ever.

Whether you enjoy it or not, the series still has the same quirky humor it always has, though the jokes now reference more current things. Despite trying to be more dramatic at times, it’s still clearly Borderlands at its core.

That humour features prominently in the bevy of side-quests that are consistently a highlight.

These are essentially little, self-contained adventures that usually develop and resolve their own storylines within a larger narrative.

These side stories range from lighthearted jokes to genuinely moving narratives, offering a welcome change of pace from the main game’s intense action. They’re often more engaging than the central plot, which primarily focuses on setting up future installments and major battles.

Aside from some issues with how the game runs on consoles, the biggest downgrade in Borderlands 4 is its user interface.

Unlike previous Borderlands games, Wonderlands doesn’t show menus as part of the game world. Instead, it uses a standard, somewhat bland interface that you’ll frequently see while managing items and character abilities.

Gearbox has added a clunky mouse cursor that you have to move around the screen, which slows things down a bit. While Borderlands still feels like Borderlands, its menus don’t quite capture that same spirit.

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2025-09-19 14:08