Borderlands 4 Review – Too Much Of An Overcorrection

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Borderlands 4 is the next game in the series, following Borderlands 3. It aims to improve upon some criticisms of its predecessor, such as excessive cheesy humor, chatty main antagonists, and boss battles that take too long due to being too tough. However, it seems they may have corrected too much, making the game feel oddly different from the original series. The essential elements – fun looting and enjoyable shooting – are still present, offering plenty of entertaining first-person shooter action. Unfortunately, the storyline in this new installment isn’t as strong as before.

In Borderlands 4, similar to its previous versions, you’ll take on the role of one among four playable characters, known as Vault Hunters – outlaw mercenaries who don’t shy away from any job, given the right amount of money and a tantalizing promise of discovering the hidden Vaults of an ancient civilization. Each Vault Hunter has their unique skill sets and abilities, providing you with the freedom to customize your gameplay experience as desired. For instance, Vex, the Siren, can conjure spectral duplicates of herself or a fearsome beast to divert enemy fire away from her, while Amon, the Forgeknight, leverages advanced technology to generate elemental axes, whips, and shields, making him adept at engaging in close combat.

This collection of Vault Hunters in Borderlands seems to be their finest yet. Previously, no Vault Hunter was a poor pick, but now each one feels exceptionally useful across various gameplay scenarios – from handling mobs of common enemies, whittling down larger bosses, to assisting teammates in co-op play while they dish out most of the damage. In my main campaign, I played as Vex, but I found playing with other Vault Hunters on fresh saves quite enjoyable too.

It’s hard to definitively say which of the four Vault Hunters is the best without spending a significant amount of time with each one. However, for the first time in Borderlands, I don’t feel the urge to guide new players away from certain choices. Each Vault Hunter is enjoyable to play because they all have a sense of power and can function independently or contribute significantly to a team. Mastering their unique abilities feels satisfying.

In simpler terms, just like previous Vault Hunters, they don’t significantly contribute to the storyline. However, this isn’t typically an issue because in Borderlands, the main characters are usually those who surround the Vault Hunters. Long-time players will remember notable characters such as Angel, Tannis, Scooter, Handsome Jack, Tiny Tina, Mad Moxxi, and unfortunately, Claptrap. To distinguish itself from the last installment, Borderlands 4 primarily focuses on new characters instead. Unlike Borderlands 3 where familiar faces appeared often, Borderlands 4 features fewer recurring characters, and they only make brief appearances, except for a few exceptions.

Afterwards, it falls upon the new set of characters to establish some sort of emotional bond. Regrettably, they all come off as rather dull. For example, Rush is your standard tough guy with a kind heart, while Zadra is a questionable scientist with a suspicious background. Unfortunately, these characters don’t have much depth as the game only presents them in broad strokes, and many of them seem unimportant to the storyline. I couldn’t connect with these individuals while playing Borderlands 4 because their characterization was lacking and not engaging. During one mission, if I had reacted quickly, I could have saved a Vault Hunter’s ally’s life. However, I missed the opportunity, failed to complete the optional objective, and he passed away. Yet, I didn’t feel any emotion towards this loss, as the game continued with other characters taking on his role.

Despite my intense dislike for Claptrap, he manages to stir some sort of emotional reaction within me. I find myself eager to inflict pain upon him and take delight in his discomfort, particularly when I have the option to subject him to uncomfortable or traumatic situations. Characters who evoke a response are considered good ones, and Claptrap certainly fits this description in the Borderlands series. This game has consistently created characters that people either love or hate passionately, stirring up strong emotions among players.

In contrast to Borderlands 4, it appears as though the game is making a conscious effort to avoid creating characters that are disliked. However, this overcorrection leads to a flat, uninteresting cast of characters. After meeting new characters, I found myself quickly losing interest in their dialogues within minutes. This change has eliminated complaints about the humor being awkward or the characters being annoying; instead, it results in a narrative and characters that are forgettable, leaving Borderlands 4’s story and characters feeling unremarkable.

It’s not always apparent what emotional attachment I should have towards Borderlands 4. The first two games had you chasing a Vault for money, and in Borderlands 2, there was a loathsome villain who fueled your desire to eliminate them throughout the game. In contrast, Borderlands 3 presents you as a freedom fighter, defending characters from earlier games against malicious livestreamers.

In Borderlands 4, the storyline can get quite chaotic. Your character’s primary goal is to locate a Vault, but things take an unexpected turn when The Timekeeper, the main antagonist, plants an implant in them that enables him to trace and briefly control their actions. This sets up an exciting premise: “I need to remove this implant!” However, shortly after, you acquire a small robot sidekick that disrupts The Timekeeper’s signal, making him unable to track or control you. It’s as if the implant never existed in the first place.

However, your character continues to heed Claptrap upon their initial encounter and postpones Vault Hunting indefinitely to unite a band of resistance fighters against The Timekeeper and his three lieutenants. You find yourself swiftly becoming devoted to this cause that you’ve just heard about moments before. The more intriguing motivations of seeking revenge or independence are subsequently set aside.

Why continue playing Borderlands 4 despite its weak story? Because the gameplay is exceptionally enjoyable, with exhilarating gunplay that never disappoints. Each Vault Hunter possesses unique class abilities such as boomerang axes, bouncy-ball black holes, heat-seeking missiles, and spectral wildcats. Defeating enemies results in a spectacle of gory fragments and colorful loot, each piece offering the possibility of a new favorite weapon or gear. I found great pleasure in examining the loot from each mission to decide what to sell for money and what to incorporate into my loadout.

Despite the necessity of beginning a new game if you wish to switch your Vault Hunter character, each one offers unique skill trees that transform their gameplay significantly. For instance, Rafa the Exo-Soldier has skill trees emphasizing either employing elemental blades for close combat or equipping auto-aiming shoulder turrets that can fire bullets, missiles, or bombs. His overall strategy revolves around inflicting a lot of damage through hit-and-run tactics. However, you retain control over the primary method used to inflict this damage. While reallocating skill points isn’t costless, once you advance a few hours into the game, you’ll often acquire surplus loot that can be sold to afford respecs.

In the game ‘Borderlands 4′, there is a significant degree of personalization when it comes to weaponry. At first, I crafted a character build for Vex with a focus on bouncing bullets and knives that stuck to enemies’ heads, landing multiple critical hits sequentially. I thought this would suffice for the entire game. However, I discovered an explosive grenade that created black holes, causing anything drawn into it to become vulnerable to elemental damage. This, combined with a shotgun I’d found moments earlier that could switch between Corrosive and Radiation damage, seemed quite useful. Consequently, I adjusted Vex’s skill points to emphasize stacking multiple elemental effects and getting up close for melee combat. It was just as thrilling as my initial build, and I went on to create numerous other builds for Vex during my playthrough. ‘Borderlands 4’ consistently encourages experimentation, and with the plentiful loot ensuring your financial resources remain high, you can afford to pay for the skill reallocation fee to switch between different builds without hesitation.

In addition to Borderlands 4 offering exceptional movement capabilities, the introduction of sliding and climbing (first seen in Borderlands 3) has been enhanced for quicker maneuvers. New features like gliding and grappling hooks provide innovative methods for traversal. When you’re gliding, you can fly over vast chasms or hover mid-air to take shots at enemies, while the grappling hook lets you grab and pull explosive containers towards you (creating a makeshift bomb), rip away enemy shields, access distant platforms, or swing through different levels. The grappling hook does have limitations, only connecting to specific points and objects, but almost every level provides an opportunity to use it creatively, and employing momentum during combat can open up exciting tactical possibilities.

In an exciting scenario, I encountered my preferred demonstration of this mechanic when I discovered a shield for my Vault Hunter character that detonated a moment after being destroyed, causing damage to nearby enemies. Equipped with this unique piece of equipment, I stumbled upon a challenging battle where a troublesome airborne enemy was evading my precise marksmanship-focused weaponry.

As the ground-based adversaries breached my shield, I deployed my grappling hook to disengage from combat and leap skyward, timed perfectly as my shield shattered. In the instant my shield exploded, I managed to destroy the airborne enemy with the resulting area-of-effect blast. Swiftly turning around in midair, I took down the remaining enemies on the ground with a few well-placed headshots, transforming myself into an impromptu catapult-like bomb!

In a different sequence of events, that extraordinary instance didn’t occur again; however, for that brief, triumphant moment, I felt as if I had outsmarted the game, almost like a cunning genius. I yearned to recapture that euphoria, and although the specific situation never resurfaced, I managed to evoke similar feelings with diverse skills and weaponry in various situations. Those were the times when I found Borderlands 4 most exhilarating.

As a devoted fan, I’ve got to say, right off the bat in Borderlands 4, the excitement is palpable! It’s during those initial 10 hours or so where you feel like you’re on cloud nine. But as the story progresses, you start encountering an array of enemy types around halfway through, and unfortunately, many of the new ones are just variations of what you’ve already faced. This repetition eventually makes combat lose its charm, extending the gameplay beyond its peak enjoyment level.

In Borderlands 4, there are numerous additional missions besides the main story. These side quests can be quite unusual, such as assisting a woman teetering on the edge of sanity with her bizarre experiments on others or taking part in a triathlon spanning an entire region that culminates in carrying a bomb to the finish line. Moreover, it seems the game demands you complete some of these side quests, since your character won’t level up quickly enough to battle the enemies in the main narrative effectively without doing extra tasks for additional experience points.

Skipping the optional tasks for too long can significantly hinder progress in the game, and if you’re not prepared to play Borderlands 4 on its easiest setting, dealing any substantial damage to an enemy more than four levels above you becomes extremely challenging. However, this wouldn’t be much of a problem if the side quests weren’t so monotonous or lacked humor – elements that have typically been hallmarks of the Borderlands series. Unfortunately, these optional quests often feel like unnecessary distractions rather than engaging narrative experiences, providing little incentive beyond leveling up enough to rejoin the main story.

If you’re seeking a game that offers plenty of treasure hunting, character customization, and chaotic action, Borderlands 4 could be just what you need. It boasts the most refined mechanics among all Borderlands games thus far. Each Vault Hunter provides a unique playstyle, adding variety to your gaming experience. However, while playing, you might want to listen to engaging podcasts or watch insightful video essays to pass the time between shooting and looting sprees. The game’s narrative and characters may not be as captivating as its gameplay, and after encountering all enemy types, the combat can feel repetitive.

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2025-09-11 15:11