Borderlands 4

After years of struggling to get into the series, Borderlands 4 finally hooked me. The fresh world of Kairos, a mostly new cast, and refined gameplay make exploration and combat genuinely fun. Side quests, collectibles, and boss battles are rewarding, and the story sneaks up on you when you least expect it. A soft reboot that works for both newcomers and longtime fans.

Borderlands 4 isn’t just a return to form, it feels like the natural evolution of the series. A solid story, best-in-class side quests, rewarding loot, and some of the most creative Vault Hunter designs yet make this entry stand tall. It manages to respect the chaotic fun that defined the earlier games while laying down a stronger, more focused foundation for the future. For long time fans like me, this is the Borderlands we’ve been waiting for since 2.

Borderlands 4 doesn’t reinvent the Vault—it just rebuilds it stronger. The writing occasionally misfires, and the performance hitches are unacceptable in a AAA series like this. Still, the moment-to-moment thrill of firing absurdly designed weapons at even more absurd enemies carries the experience. It’s messy, noisy, and entirely too much at times—but that’s Borderlands at its most honest. Gearbox hasn’t made a flawless sequel, but it’s made a hell of a fun one.

Borderlands 4 is a fantastic new addition to a beloved FPS franchise. It’s the most mature entry yet, without sacrificing its trademark irreverent humor. The shooting is as fun as ever, with a myriad of exciting guns keeping the action fresh even dozens of hours in. This is a game that will keep you busy for a long time to come.

If Borderlands 4 is a soft reboot, the future of the series looks very attractive. The game introduces interesting ideas and keeps all the systems that have worked in the past intact. While the open world could have been better, this is a very interesting step toward a promising future for the series.

Despite navigation and interface flaws, Borderlands 4 is, without a doubt, an ambitious and extremely fun new direction for the franchise. For those who have always loved the series' stylized chaos, the adventure in Kairos is unmissable, and for newcomers, it's the best entry point since the first game.

Borderlands 4 is easily the best entry since the hallowed Borderlands 2, reclaiming its title as the best looter shooter in the biz. Whether co-op or solo, fans of the series should check it out.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Borderlands 4 and although it doesn't reinvent the series, it provides a formula that fans will appreciate while newcomers will surely be impressed by the frantic co-op online multiplayer zaniness.

Borderlands 4 seeks to right the wrongs by simply upgrading everything the previous installment offered. However, the performance issues and bugs affect the overall experience, preventing the game from being the best version of itself.

Borderlands 4 is a fantastic return to form for the divisive franchise. The narrative is a great change of pace from previous entries, immediately separating itself with a far darker tone, higher stakes, and a great cast of both new and familiar characters. Furthermore, the gameplay represents a significant evolution from what one'd expect from the franchise, offering new customization options, features, and a balance of fun both solo and with a friend. While there are some issues, such as bugs and the game's monotonous traversal, I look forward to seeing how Gearbox continues to develop the franchise in the future.

Borderlands 4 modernizes its formula with seamless zones, tight gunplay, and great co-op features. Sidequests and characters shine, but technical issues, UI annoyances, and a forgettable main villain hold it back. It’s fun, loud, and promising—just not the full evolution yet.

Borderlands 4 is a step in the right direction for this insane, unhinged series. Now that Gearbox has finally opened the series up with a large open-world and even more traversal options, it truly feels like it’s finally reaching its potential. Just be a little more generous with the loot, will you?

Though I have issues with certain aspects of Borderlands 4’s pace and progression, it does so much right that those problems aren’t dealbreakers. Far from it. Sixteen years in, this is Gearbox’s cel-shaded shooter series at its best. From a well-calibrated tone, still-satisfying guns, best-in-class traversal, and an inviting open world, Borderlands 4 answers the question I asked when it was announced. How much can the Borderlands series possibly change? Turns out the answer is both not much… and a whole lot.

Borderlands 4 is the ultimate Borderlands experience, striking the perfect balance of humor, action, and loot. Unfortunately, Unreal Engine 5 feels like the unfunny joke this time around, bringing with it the all-too-familiar stuttering and FPS issues.

Borderlands 4 is the best game in the franchise in many ways, with improved gameplay and a good story, all in a package of changes that truly adds an open world for the first time in its excellence. Despite this, the technical side is a complete mess.

Borderlands 4 delivers everything fans love - humor, loot, and action, but technical issues and a lack of innovation hold it back from becoming a true milestone for the series.

Borderlands 4 feels a lot like the original Xbox 360 game I played in high school, but it finally grew up and got out of its hometown to see the world. Coming back with a new perspective and some fresh ideas. I'm curious to see how the end game strategies turn out over time, and what the franchise has in store next.

Borderlands 4 expands the formula with its first true open world, smoother movement options, and a host of quality-of-life improvements that make it the most streamlined entry yet. The chaotic combat and endless loot remain as addictive as ever, but the many technical issues prevent it from reaching its full potential. Fans will find plenty to enjoy, though it falls short of being the definitive next-gen Borderlands experience.

Quotation forthcoming.

Borderlands 4’s reveal raised high expectations for meaningful evolution, as fans anticipated Gearbox would break away from familiar missteps. Instead, the game sticks to an outdated formula, offering little more than a recycled structure and a story that quickly fades from memory. The gunplay remains exhilarating, packed with the series’ trademark chaos and energy, ensuring the action itself is still a blast. Yet beyond that surface-level thrill, the game feels reluctant to innovate, leaving Borderlands 4 as a solid but uninspired entry that entertains in the short term but does little to secure the franchise’s long-term future.

Despite its somewhat underwhelming story and lackluster open world, Borderlands 4 is a fantastic new entry in the series that offers hours of entertainment through its new, refreshing, and engaging gameplay elements.

After having explored every corner of the galaxy and played the card of excess, the Borderlands saga re-centers its story on a single planet, meant to be the franchise’s first true open world. By returning to less grandiose foundations, but also to less fiery writing, Gearbox clearly intends to offer an experience that doesn’t scatter itself, in order to better master its fundamentals: excellent gameplay with real depth, paired with humor that is better handled and less overblown. That said, it’s also regrettable that the density of its universe relies on exploration and environments that are, all in all, very conventional, along with a certain lack of boldness. Borderlands 4 is efficient, but it won’t send shivers through the industry—showing off muscles we already know all too well.

An open world was the right move for a Borderlands franchise that’s on its back foot. If you can grin and bear through some bad console performance, Borderlands 4 rewards you with a whole lot more looting and shooting. Some small new additions around the edges and a solid slate of bosses and side-quests spice up this fourth numbered entry that’s still as brazen and immodest as ever.

Borderlands 4 shines with its open world and Unreal Engine 5 visuals, but performance issues and weak loot hold it back. Still, once polished, fans will see it’s a solid step forward.

We’re on the fourth game and series fatigue has kicked in, that much is true. We have four games maintaining the same consistent pitch and tone, with the same structure, the same feel, the same missions. I can still play Dynasty Warriors and stay awake, so my getting tired of this routine should be a pretty strong indictment...Borderlands could have done with a shakeup, but a substandard grappling hook and an obscene number of fetch quests in which players take luggage for walkies isn’t it. Such banality permeates what is otherwise a decent enough shooter, impacting so many other elements that it wrecks things. Adding to that is a one-note tone and huge technical difficulties, making Borderlands 4 a far from “premium” game.