I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that Borderlands 4 is going to end up being the 2nd biggest surprise this year. The first surprise is of course, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. After what felt like a string of weird or low energy announcements or reveals for the game. Gearbox delivered an excellent one-two combo after opening their preorders. They not only had a ton of glowing previews lift from almost every major news outlet, but also a lot of big YouTubers that are both Borderlands centric, like Joltzdude139 and just general content creators, like Luke Stephens.
They did not stop there, however, they also allowed major content creators, like Joltzdude and Admiral Bahroo. Gearbox effectively stepped back, and let people show and talk about Borderlands 4. Allowing unfiltered gameplay to speak for the games quality to the point of me breaking and preordering out of excitement. A lot was learned from these previews and streams, so much so that it is hard to get everything shown. But here are the major points that you need to know about!
An Expansive, Dense and Activity Filled Open World
Kairos, the new setting for Borderlands 4 is going to be a vast and seamless open world. From what has been showed so far, there are no more loading screens between dense areas. You will have a map to keep track of where you have been, a compass to stay on direction, and they are even adding a combat radar for those who dislike the removal of the mini-map. When exploring Kairos you will be able to sometimes just run into random activities. Whether that is random world bosses, or even ships in the sky you can board for extra loot and XP. It all looks and sounds very exciting, especially considering Joltzdude showed off the throwing knife ordnance and looked very strong.
There will of course be side quests, and the ability to play coop with other players. You can also find Vaults to enter that play out like dungeons. Where you have to go in, kill a bunch of mobs from zone to zone, and then go in for the boss kill. The boss that was shown required using the grappling hook to hop from lamps in the environment when the boss floods the floor with lava. It is a really cool mechanic and looked fun to fight.
Kairos is apparently going to be very massive, according to Aztecross in his preview, he mentioned the world may be bigger than Elden Ring, which the sheer scale will be alleviated by the ability to summon a vehicle on demand that also has guns. All of this is wrapped up in a bow with the addition of fishing. Kairos will no doubt be fun to explore and live in. As opposed to running from side quests to side quests and story event to story event. Certain legendaries dropped for streamers, and a Reddit user by the name of DwemerSmith compiled every one that was shown.
More Vault Hunter and Story Details for Borderlands 4
We also got more details on certain Vault Hunters, like Rafa and Vex. Rafa’s action skills will either be his arm cannon, shoulder cannons that auto-target enemies or the blades for a Brick from Borderlands 1 vibes. Vex’s summons can actually be beneficial for team buffs, like restoring shields as Aztecross mentioned. We still know little about Amon and Harlowe. During the recently released story trailer, we did see Amon put two axe’s together for a devastating throw. Which means his abilities may have different functions depending on what skills you unlock.
Finally, the story of Borderlands 4 will be much darker with more muted situational humor. In the story trailer, the new villain, The Timekeeper, got a chance to shine and sounds very menacing. There was only joke I could find, and that was with Claptrap throwing a can at an incapacitated Rafa. The cutscenes in the game will also feature the Vault Hunter that you choose. This means you will not just be watching characters talk in front of you, you will instead be treated to scripted cutscenes, which is a nice change. Side quests will also have elements from their stories connected to the wider narrative.
Overall, Borderlands 4 is sounding like it could come for Borderlands 2’s crown. But we will have to wait and see if the story and everything in-between lives up to the hype. Now all we need is the traditional character trailers and a preview of the opening movie to set the tone before launch. For a more in-depth breakdown, Reddit user Amitkilo has a detailed bullet point list you can find here.
Borderlands 4 is launching on September 12th for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC via Steam with a launch on Nintendo Switch 2 later in the year.
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