Borderlands 4 Review
Borderlands 4
Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Gearbox Software
Genre:
PEGI:
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Borderlands 4 arrives with the weight of expectation on its shoulders. After the mixed reception of Borderlands 3, Gearbox set out to reinvent the looter-shooter formula without losing the chaotic charm that made the series iconic. This time, the adventure takes us to Kairos, a prison planet teeming with danger, secrets, and a new villain who might just be the most unsettling antagonist the franchise has seen yet. The question is: does Borderlands 4 deliver on its promise of evolution while staying true to its roots?
The first thing you notice about Borderlands 4 is its setting. Kairos is not just another wasteland—it’s a sprawling, interconnected world with four distinct biomes that feel alive and visually striking. From the eerie Fadefields to the industrial sprawl of Dominion City, each area offers its own personality and environmental storytelling. Gone are the loading screens between zones; the game embraces a seamless open-world design that makes exploration feel fluid and rewarding. Dynamic weather and day-night cycles add a layer of immersion that the series has never quite achieved before.
Narratively, Borderlands 4 takes a darker turn. The Timekeeper, a cybernetic tyrant obsessed with imposing order, serves as the central antagonist. His presence looms large over Kairos, and his ideology creates a compelling backdrop for the chaos that ensues. While the premise is intriguing, the execution is uneven. The main story lacks the razor-sharp wit and magnetic villainy that Handsome Jack brought to Borderlands 2. Dialogue occasionally falls flat, and pacing issues crop up in the mid-game. That said, side quests remain a highlight, brimming with the series’ trademark humor and eccentric characters—Claptrap and Moxxi return to steal the show in more ways than one.
Borderlands 4’s biggest leap forward is in how you move and fight. The addition of double jumps, grappling hooks, hover bikes, and even gliding transforms traversal into something exhilarating. Combat feels more vertical and dynamic than ever before, encouraging creative approaches to firefights. The gunplay remains the franchise’s beating heart, with billions of procedurally generated weapons and a new “Licensed Parts” system that lets guns inherit traits from multiple manufacturers. This adds a layer of customization that hardcore fans will love.
Vault Hunters are more versatile than ever. Each of the four new characters—Vex, Rafa, Amon, and Harlowe—comes with three branching skill trees and multiple Action Skills, allowing for deep buildcrafting and synergy in co-op play. Whether you’re a solo player or part of a squad, the game offers enough flexibility to keep experimentation fresh for dozens of hours.
Borderlands 4 runs on Unreal Engine 5, and the results are stunning. The cel-shaded art style remains intact but benefits from advanced lighting and geometry systems that make environments pop with detail. On Xbox Series X, players can choose between Quality Mode, which prioritizes visual fidelity at 30 FPS, and Performance Mode, which targets 60 FPS with slightly reduced resolution. Series X generally holds up well, though extended sessions can lead to memory leaks and frame rate dips—a technical hiccup Gearbox has acknowledged and is working to patch. Series S players will notice more compromises, with a 1080p cap and occasional texture downgrades. While these issues don’t ruin the experience, they do remind you that optimization still needs work.
Borderlands 4 shines brightest when you’re in the thick of combat, chaining grapples and hover bike maneuvers while unloading a barrage of absurdly creative weaponry. The loot system remains addictive, and co-op play is as smooth and chaotic as ever, thanks to instanced loot and crossplay support. The world is gorgeous, the mobility is liberating, and the gunplay is endlessly satisfying.
But it’s not all perfect. The story, while serviceable, lacks the charisma of earlier entries. Technical issues—frame drops, memory leaks, and occasional bugs—can break immersion. And for all its ambition, some quality-of-life features, like a field-of-view slider on Xbox, are still missing.
Borderlands 4 is the most ambitious entry in the series, and for the most part, it succeeds. It delivers a vibrant open world, exhilarating combat, and a loot system that remains unmatched in its genre. While its narrative doesn’t quite hit the highs of Borderlands 2 and technical issues hold it back from greatness, the core experience is a blast—especially if you’re playing with friends. For Xbox players, Performance Mode is the way to go, even if it means sacrificing a bit of visual polish.
Article By Kevin Austin
