I’m going to dive right into the chaos that is Borderlands 4. It’s like they decided to grow up but kept the gleam in their eye. Imagine throwing away the clown shoes, putting on a slick suit, and still trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat. Something like that.
So we’re on this new planet, Kairos, where nobody’s ever done the whole shoot-and-loot thing. It’s fresh territory! Like when you open a brand new jar of peanut butter and hesitate before you ruin the smooth surface. Then bam! A moon decides it wants to play and crashes in. Why? Who knows, but it’s a mix of the old and the new. New faces, new weapons, same chaos, just served with a side of uncertainty.
Something I just love (and no idea why it really stuck) — the landscape! Huge and uninterrupted. Running around feels less like hopping between dots on a grid and more like when you try to map out a roller coaster with just sheer will and no math. I stumbled onto a secret boss once. Didn’t even mean to. But that’s the beauty of randomness, right? Kinda feels a bit Destiny-ish, and that’s not a complaint. Well, maybe a little.
Now, this open world thinking is all fine, until you’re trying to find something to do. Gearbox drops in little collectables and whatnot like sprinkles on an undecorated cake. There are random events that pop up. You might get lucky and fall into one, like a spaceship you can raid. But mostly, you’re driving around, waiting for something to happen. It felt kinda empty, like a party where all your friends decided to show up fashionably late.
Oh, the gunplay. Remember how good it was? Still is, thank goodness. Picking up weapons feels like rummaging through a thrift store — you grab something random and hope it doesn’t fall apart in your hands. But it’s not all sunshine. The guns used to each have a personality, a vibe, tied to their brand. Now, it’s just parts and pieces, like building a puzzle that doesn’t reveal the picture until you’re halfway done. It’s intriguing, yeah. But is it satisfying? Like, what happens when you slap a Bugatti engine into a Ferrari? Does it still purr the same?
Here’s the real kicker. They’ve toned down on the humor — cringy as it sometimes was — in favor of a more mature approach. Guess they said goodbye to the days when characters would crack jokes like they were auditioning for a late-night comedy slot. We met this dude, Rush, a real go-getter with muscles and a sense of humor as broad as the Galaxy. He sets us on a mission. But where are the unexpected laughs? Missing, that’s where.
Then Claptrap shows up, the funny little bot at a lakeside, asking us to — and get this — retrieve some of his weirdest treasures. I did it, and it was hilarious! Made me miss those random side moments we had in the older games. They got charm, y’know?
The game doesn’t really joke around anymore. Some missions just feel like errands your mom sends you on, like “go fetch this, then that,” but where’s the sass? Where’s the heart? I wish them all the best, and there’s hope that somewhere in this big world, the humor shines through. But who knows? Maybe I’ll get lucky.
Anyway — wait, no — where was I? Right. There’s this symbolic moment with Claptrap’s stuff going up in a blaze of glory. Kind of like saying goodbye to the old, with a tear in the corner of your eye. It’s gutsy, I gotta give them that. They’re trying something new, and you gotta respect the leap.
In the end, Borderlands 4 might still capture that essence of what made it all fun — a wild ride, different from the trilogy but promising in its own way. But if you’re deeply rooted in nostalgia, just be ready for a tug at your heartstrings. And don’t expect a punchline to make it better.
Played this game at a special sneak peek event. Fancy, huh? Controlled environment — take that as you will.
