Game Review: ‘Borderlands 4’ is Bold, Beautiful, and Broken
Borderlands 4 is a looter-shooter-type game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K. The game can be played either alone through single-player or through multiplayer with up to three additional players. Just like the other mainline games in the Borderlands series, you’ll choose between four “vault hunters” while finding vaults, taking on hordes of enemies, bosses, all told through an engaging story that will please newcomers and fans alike.
While my time with Borderlands 4 was played on PC through Steam, it is also available on the Epic Game Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. There was originally a planned version for Nintendo Switch 2, but it was cancelled due to not being able to get it to run at a steady frame rate for the Nintendo system. As for other technical issues, I will go through that in this review and how it impacted my inability to finish the game (even after the 70 hours I put into playing this game!). That being said, I will describe not only what the game has to offer but also the experience I and others may have had with the game.
Borderlands 4: The classic looter-shooter series continues
If you’ve played a Borderlands game before, you’ll find the experience of starting the game to be similar to previous entries in the series. When you actually start, you’ll come to the point of choosing one of the four vault hunters that are currently available, and this decision is easier said than done. When I first dove into the game, I originally went with the illustrious Siren-class with this version’s Siren being the vault hunter known as Vex. Vex is not only beautiful, but her abilities feel really powerful, and with the skill tree I went with, she has the right amount of area-of-effect powers to take on any crowd.
After playing as the Siren for a few levels, I wanted to try out another vault hunter. After some careful thinking, I ended up switching to the Gravitar-class whose name is Harlowe. Harlowe is so fun to play with her various skill trees and abilities, I decided to spend my entire first full playthrough as her.
With choosing a vault hunter out of the way, I was ready to dive into the world of Kairos. In Borderlands 4, you’ll soon be introduced to the big bad, known as The Timekeeper, and his minions, who are trying to control the entire population of the Kairos. Once you’ve finished the tutorial mission and learned the basics of the game, you’ll notice when you look up into the sky is a giant moon surrounded by cracks of energy. I’m going to try to avoid major spoilers for the first two-thirds of the game because that was all I was able to complete before I experienced game-breaking bugs and other technical issues that prevented me from going any further.
The great thing about the mainline Borderlands game is how fun the gameplay loop is, and Borderlands 4 is no exception. Everything from the way the mobility of vault hunters are, the synergy between the abilities and attributes in each skill tree, to the way each gun feels uniquely fun. I frequently found myself respeccing my skills and just trying out new combinations, whether it be within the same skill tree or trying out the other two that are available.
As for the guns, there are so many new things to check out from new manufacturers such as Order, Daedalus, and Ripper and familiar brands such as Jakobs, Maliwan, Tediore, and others. One of the newer things in Borderlands 4 is that while each gun has its own manufacturer, most of the guns now have something called licensed parts, which combines the base gun with one brand while having parts from other brands. These varieties can have differently licensed magazines or under-barrel rockets, allowing there to be countless combinations and making each gun feel more unique.
How it compares with previous games in the series
If I were to compare my experience playing Borderlands 4 to other games, I would dare say that the gameplay is better than the beloved entry to the series, Borderlands 2. That previous iteration deserves so much praise for the world-building, dialog options, character moments, and story beats that are memorable that it’s almost impossible to compare any other entry to that one. But I would dare to say that Borderlands 4 is the closest thing to that classic game.
Is this game better than Borderlands 2? Subjectively I would say no, but I would say if it’s not better, then I certainly feel that Borderlands 4 is a very close second in terms of the whole package. If I didn’t feel like the game was worth my time, I probably wouldn’t have put 70 hours into it, but the biggest problem I ran into with Borderlands 4 is that I cannot finish it due to technical issues, bugs, and other glitches I ran into during my gameplay.
The technical issues I experienced in Borderlands 4 have made the game completely unplayable. I found this incredibly off considering I put 65 hours into the game before experiencing any issues and then spent another five trying to troubleshoot the problems. I thought maybe it was just specific bosses and areas that this was happening in because I would join someone else’s game in another area, and I didn’t experience these problems. I honestly do not know what happened because my game was working perfectly, and suddenly it was not. Since I started experiencing glitches and bugs in Borderlands 4, there have been multiple updates for the game, and there was even a driver update for my graphics card, and yet, the issues still persist.
Before I dove into Borderlands 4, I was already aware of the assortment of issues that other players were experiencing. Others on the Borderlands 4 Steam forums have been reporting multiple game crashes, black screen issues, save files being completely wiped out, and an array of other gameplay bugs. I keep checking on the Steam forums, and there are players who are still reporting bugs at the time of writing this review.
It is disappointing that a triple-A game of this size and scope would be released with so many technical errors, especially since the previous iteration of the mainline series, Borderlands 3, had so many of these same issues. Eventually the last game did have enough patches and updates that made the game more stable, but charging $69.99 for a broken mess is irresponsible and exploitative for gamers. If you were to go look at the Steam page for Borderlands 4 and look at the mixed reviews, you would see a slew of reviews detailing exactly how poorly optimized this game is.
Final thoughts on Borderlands 4
Borderlands 4 is an extremely fun game, and I have so far enjoyed my time playing it, but with the amount of technical issues and bugs I encountered, I cannot recommend this game in its current state. This game was half-baked when it was rushed out to hit the deadline set by both Gearbox Software and 2K and that is disheartening to say. I love the Borderlands series so much that I have purchased and played nearly every game in the series, with games ranging from mediocre to fantastic. Will this game get the same love that the third game in the series received years after release? I hope so.
My rating for this game: 2/5
Perhaps after post-game content has been released for Borderlands 4, this game might be in a completely stable and playable state, but as of right now it’s a mess. Despite the issues, I’m going to keep trying to play more of Borderlands 4 upon each patch and bug fix released.
My advice to anyone who is interested in playing this game is to wait six to twelve months after release before picking this one up. Of course, your experience may vary depending on your console choice or PC specs because even my powerful PC cannot currently handle the game in its current state, so buyer beware.
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