For years, I’d heard about the Borderlands franchise and its legendary reputation among co-op looter-shooters, yet somehow never tried it myself. With the release of Borderlands 4, I finally stepped into its chaotic, absurd, and darkly comic world.
What drew me in was the mix of over-the-top action, distinctive comic-book visuals, and relentless loot-hunting gameplay. Soon I realized I’d stumbled into a new kind of addiction — and couldn’t help wondering how I’d ignored the series for so long. Still, the journey wasn’t flawless; several issues kept it from reaching true greatness. Here is our Borderlands 4 review.
Story and World (No Spoilers)
Borderlands 4 keeps the familiar looter-shooter formula but expands it with a fully open world, customizable vehicles, and four new Vault Hunters. These heroes venture to the planet Kairos, searching for mysterious Vaults controlled by a tyrant known as the Timekeeper, an immortal dictator who has plunged the planet into darkness.
The story directly follows the events of Borderlands 3. It revolves around the moon Elpis, which Lilith moved to prevent a planetary collision — only for the disaster to resurface elsewhere.
Kairos itself is divided into four massive regions you can explore using the new Digiturbo vehicle, reminiscent of Destiny’s Sparrow. Each biome — from scorching deserts to frozen valleys — is ruled by one of the Timekeeper’s generals, and you’ll have to dismantle their dominion through bullets, chaos, and explosions to help Claptrap’s Red Resistance rise again.
The writing remains true to the franchise’s irreverent tone: endless sarcasm, absurd one-liners, and dark humor that often undercut the story’s stakes. It’s silly, self-aware, and intentionally over the top.
While longtime fans will find this tone familiar, newcomers may struggle to take the galactic peril seriously. Yet, the game occasionally lands brilliant moments — like a Pokémon-inspired side quest or a wild parody of I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream that genuinely made me laugh out loud.
Still, on a narrative level, Borderlands 4 never recaptures the sharp satire and social commentary that made earlier entries special. The depiction of dictatorship feels surface-level, echoing Far Cry more than classic Borderlands depth.
Do You Need to Play the Previous Games?
Although Borderlands 4 follows directly after Borderlands 3, newcomers can jump in comfortably. The game provides enough background summaries and clear introductions to its characters and lore to keep you from feeling lost.
However, veterans will still get more out of it — catching references, appreciating returning characters, and understanding the universe’s history. In short: you can start here, but you’ll enjoy it far more if you’ve played at least Borderlands 3.
Gameplay: Chaos, Explosions, and Endless Loot
This is where the game truly shines. Gunfights are intense, fast, and satisfyingly chaotic. Borderlands 4 introduces three new weapon types that deepen combat variety:
-
Ripper: automatic weapons using a heat-based ammo system.
-
Daedalus: modular guns capable of switching ammo types.
-
Order of the Time Lord: high-damage weapons that consume large amounts of ammo for devastating effect.
Each Vault Hunter can choose from three Supremes (ultimate abilities) and a deep skill tree that lets players tailor their combat style.
However, enemy variety remains a weak spot. Most of the time, you’ll fight similar human factions — Retalhadores and the Order — with only slight variations. A few have shields or elemental damage, but encounters eventually blur together.
Loot, on the other hand, drops in absurd abundance. Gear levels scale constantly, so you’ll rarely keep a weapon for long before finding something stronger. It’s both thrilling and exhausting — that classic Borderlands addiction cycle where everything feels disposable yet irresistible.
You can equip four weapons simultaneously from a vast pool — snipers, shotguns, SMGs, pistols, and assault rifles — all manufactured by different in-game brands with distinct traits. I personally preferred Jakobs guns for their realism, while Order weapons, despite their power, often felt clunky.
Combat remains gloriously chaotic, filled with particle effects, elemental explosions, and random modifiers. In big battles, it’s sometimes impossible to tell who’s shooting whom — but that’s part of the fun.
An Open World Packed with Content
My playthrough lasted around 40 hours, and I barely scratched the surface. Beyond the main missions, there are countless side quests, collectibles, random events, abandoned mines, and mini-boss encounters.
Completionists could easily spend over 100 hours clearing everything. Rewards, however, depend heavily on RNG — after each mission you receive a loot chest scaled to your level, which can feel hit-or-miss.
Each zone also features three hidden Silos that combine to form a Vault key, unlocking a unique boss arena. It’s a clever system, but the random rewards make it worthwhile mainly for dedicated completionists.
Visual Style and Performance
Some critics still dismiss the franchise’s cel-shaded art as “cartoony,” but Borderlands 4 proves how refined this aesthetic can be. The level of detail in characters, lighting, and environmental effects is stunning — the art style feels more like a living graphic novel than a compromise in realism.
Abandoning this identity for photorealism would strip the series of what makes it stand out. Instead, Gearbox has elevated the visual language to new heights.
That said, performance isn’t perfect. Despite using Unreal Engine 5, the game shows noticeable instability. The Lumen lighting system adds impressive depth but occasionally clashes with the cel-shaded visuals. Vegetation suffers from pop-in, and real-time cutscenes are locked at 30 fps, making transitions to gameplay jarring.
On Xbox Series X, I experienced frame drops to around 30 fps during heavy firefights, particularly in open areas with explosions and large enemy groups. PC players will likely need strong hardware — or lower settings — to maintain smooth performance.
Borderlands 4 Review Final Verdict
Borderlands 4 isn’t a reinvention, but it’s an addictive, chaotic return that knows exactly who it’s made for. With a bigger world, more weapons, and vehicles for the first time, it delivers non-stop action and ridiculous fun — even if storytelling and performance lag behind.
The game plays it safe, giving fans more of the formula they love: fast-paced combat, endless loot, and dark humor. It’s not revolutionary, but it’s undeniably entertaining.
If you want a loud, co-op shooter packed with mayhem, Borderlands 4 delivers. But if you’re after a deep, story-driven adventure, you might walk away wanting more.
Don’t forget to check:
