Borderlands 4 Review

After mixed Borderlands 3 reviews, Gearbox and 2K Games are looking to make amends with Borderlands 4.

See whether this co-op looter shooter is worth your while with our review.

Borderlands 4 Review

Borderlands 4 starts with a prison break – more specifically, one getting broken out of prison.

Before busting loose, players get to pick one of four Vault Hunters:

Amon, the bruiser and tank class

Harlow, who can manipulate gravity and has a huge energy cannon

Rafa, who uses extra arms and guns to deal more damage

Finally, Borderlands 4’s Siron class, Vex

For our playthrough of Borderlands 4, we utilized both Harlowe and Amon.

After busing out of prison, Borderlands 4 has players crash landing on the planet of Kairos.

Luckily for you, Claptrap is ready and waiting to introduce you to the locals after you kill some creatures for him.

Once the deed is done, players will then meet up with The Outbounders, who need help dealing with a local tyrant.

Teaming up with some new allies and gear, Borderlands 4 will let players do some vault hunting and get revenge on the guy who locked you up. We finished at around 35 hours, though we still had plenty of side content to do.

The start of Borderlands 4 is rough – prepare to die. One’s shield is weak, players barely possess any skills, and one has to find a gun they like. Having a billion guns is great, until you find five in a row you don’t like.

However, once one’s gun rotation in Borderlands 4 is up and running, players are unstoppable. We went from dreading big groups of enemies to begging for mini armies to take out.

This was likely done because most guns in Borderlands 4 now feature an alt-fire mode now. While our Borderlands knowledge is rusty, we don’t remember things being this convenient in other entries.

On that note, some guns in Borderlands 4 allow for swapped elements at will, while others let players use different bullet types on the same gun. Of course, some just provide extra firepower or rockets to really dice up enemies.

We never felt like we were missing anything major in Borderlands 4 – and if we were, one of our alt fires could easily make up the difference.

Even using the guns in Borderlands 4 felt good. Destiny is still top tier, but Borderlands 4 is still A-Tier in the grand scheme of things.

Shotguns have a heavy impact, SMGs rip HP bars down, rocket launchers decimate enemy bases, and the grenades might be the best the Borderlands series has seen yet.

Seriously, unleash a black hole grenade in Borderlands 4 and watch the chaos unfold.

We were even using a sniper rifle in Borderlands 4 for its sheer headshot joy – and we never do that in games.

When you aren’t fighting, you are exploring, finding side quests, and looting.

Kairos is massive, but early hours restrict players to the lower portions of the map. Even so, each area of Borderlands 4 has its own collectibles and challenges to complete.

Some are as simple as destroying speakers or finding a hidden chest, while others grant key fragments that let players unlock a vault.

Put simply, players will have to work hard to 100% Borderlands 4.

Borderlands 4 does suffer from annoying quest intros…

Some have players sitting around and waiting for the quest giver to tell their whole story before the objective. As a result, players will sit around for up to three minutes as they wait to be told what exactly they need to do.

Plus, if you don’t like the Borderlands humor, said minutes will drag on.

That being said, most of Borderlands 4’s side quests were well worth it for extra loot and EXP.

With Kairois being so big, you have a few ways to get around.

Players start with a grapple hook that launches players forth, but one can also grab explosive barrels ripe for throwing.

Borderlands 4 eventually grants players a hover pack to float above, along with a few vehicles to quickly get around.

While we did struggle a bit with Borderlands 4’s steering and handling at first, we got the hang of it in around an hour or so.

Another big thing Borderlands is known for returns in Borderlands 4: Customization.

One can change skins on vehicles and guns, and can also get different outfits and heads for characters. One can even change what your robot buddy looks like!

We love how none of the cosmetics are bought from the store; rather, players earn them in Borderlands 4 by beating challenges and quests. We have a feeling they’ll add paid skins down the line, but we’ll cherish the fact we can earn them for now.

Borderlands 4 does have some technical problems, but they were largely present when playing co-op. Frame drops during this time were common, and a handful of crashes did occur. While we never lost much progress, it’s still annoying nonetheless.

Borderlands 4 also has a problem with invisible walls preventing players from getting on top of certain ledges. It just feels so dated, feeling weird for a game that is so open.

Borderlands 4 is easily the best entry since the hallowed Borderlands 2, reclaiming its title as the best looter shooter in the biz. Whether co-op or solo, fans of the series should check it out.

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