Credit: Gearbox Entertainment
The border zone ceremony is unquestionable. You get a wild, perfect sci-fi world (absolutely engrossed) filled with characters, writing, and stories that have unique charm and comedy in the industry. And there’s the booty. Ah, such glorious booty leaves countless guntime possibilities and hunger for more.
Borderlands 4 is bold and ambitious. A near-new philosophy in both new worlds, new ways to play, new moves, and game storytelling and how you proceed to your murder.
Three hours after Borderlands 4, that’s clear. This is not just a return to form, it is a statement of intent. In a recent press preview, hosted by Gearbox, I had the opportunity to dive deep into the vast slices of the campaign and explore the pristine alien landscape of the new planet Kairos.
It wasn’t my gratitude for the evolving mechanisms of the franchise or the open world that was visually lush and fate. It was a sense that Borderlands 4 was about to grow, or at least rethinking the meaning of the series’ growth, built on the heavy impertinence of chaotic disorder and memes.
LOOTN’Shoot
The tone change was evident from the moment we landed in Fadefields, one of Kairos’ main zones. The absurdity of rapid fires can still exist everywhere. It’s a little more calm than ever before. Instead: more restrained and more focused. Without a doubt, the writing does not abandon the humor of its signature, but it is equipped with a subtle undercurrent of theme weights and for more purposes.
Even Claptrap, the court clown in the series, now feels more like a character with an agency than just a soundboard for one liner. For hardcore fans, some of these characters may be a bit “tamed” or wholesome to the familiar style of Bible.
Credit: Gearbox Entertainment
This philosophical shift flows into how the world unfolds around you. The loading screen and instance zone are no longer available. Kairos lives seamlessly and is designed to reward curiosity more than checklist tics.
Along with your summonable personal vehicle, DigiRunner, I crossed the sparkling plains under the twin Sands, immersed in a cave system bustling with dangerous faunas, relaxed by more than a few events. It’s a world where players trust to wander, not only sprint from waypoint to waypoint.
But headline innovation is a movement, and Borderlands 4 is more than just tweaking the formula. It redefines how you play. Jetpacks, double jumps, dashes, gliding and grappling hooks all converge in a system that feels amazingly modern. In combat, it’s transformative.
One of the early missions was to free the base from the hands of the game’s new antagonist, the Timekeeper. The enemy waves have skyrocketed, but the verticality of the toolbox makes the battlefield a playground. Work on the rooftop, spray into the air, slide and throw a slow knife, then crash with a shotgun explosion.
The weapons also reflect this evolutionary spirit. The new licensed parts system will turn into predatory crafts. Each firearm is not just a deep statistical stick of the skin, but a unique assembly of components with distinct behavior.
One of my favorite finds is the Jakobs Revolver, with a scope and a ricochet modifier barrel. It’s a cruel range and a pure mess of near quarter. Throwing the knife adds a beautifully gelling melee finesse with the momentum of the new movement system. Shooting feels tighter, smarter and more diverse.
Credit: Gearbox Entertainment
That said, the heart of Borderlands 4 still beats the strong in its cooperative DNA. Drop-in/Drop-out multiplayer is as seamless as the world’s design. A fellow journalist joined me mid-session, smoothly expanding the enemy difficulty, and Revive Mechanics, including the systems present from the final stand murder, added a high-stakes thrill to any skirmish. Side missions, dynamic events, and even the entire goal can be played together, suggesting a campaign built for both solo depth and group chaos.
Please look at the parts
Visually, the game is daunting. Borderlands has always had a trademark cel shade, but here it feels sharper, more textured, almost painterly at the moment. Dynamic day and night cycles and weather effects add depth to the already richly realized biome. Rain smoothed the cliffs of the central attack on the mountain peak fortress. Lightning flickered during the nervous boss setup. These are not only part of prosperity, but also part of storytelling.
Credit: Gearbox Entertainment
Of course, the question is looming: What about Endgame? Gearbox has closed what’s waiting for players after the main story rap. The modified booty system, where legendary gear is more unusual, but far more meaningful, suggests a more curated experience. But fans will want to know if this rethinked border zone can last for the long term.
I’ve been thinking about it so far
There is a Tightrope Borderlands 4 Walk. At the same time, it is refinement and reinvention, interrogating rather than abandoning the past. Can a franchise, defined by Bablast and Maximalism, find emotional weight and narrative depth without losing its advantage? Based on this preview, we believe that Gearbox can do it. And for the first time in a long time, I believe it too.
If these three hours pass, it’s not just that Borderlands 4 doesn’t want to be the best game in the series. It wants to be the smartest and most thoughtful border zone ever. The mayhem has evolved and looks great.
Borderlands 4 will be released worldwide for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC on September 12, 2025, with the Nintendo Switch 2 version coming soon.
