Borderlands 4 Preview: It’s Looking Like the One To Win Me Over

I recently had the opportunity to go hands-on with Gearbox Software’s Borderlands 4 at this year’s Gamescom and I’ll admit, I felt a noticeable amount of trepidation ahead of the appointment. Certainly, as my first appointment of the trip, there’s always a tinge of pre-match nerves for us journalists as we prepare for the relentlessly paced chaos that Gamescom brings, but I wouldn’t say that was the determining factor behind my unease.

The truth is that I hadn’t played a Borderlands title before and when you’re in a room filled with other people declaring which Vault Hunter they’re most excited to try out, you can perhaps understand my predicament. I’m not ashamed to admit all of this; yes, I try to be as well versed in gaming’s major franchises as possible but the cold hard truth is that Borderlands is simply one that’s never really appealed to me. I wouldn’t say FPS is amongst my most-played genres, plus Borderlands’ brand of humour has always struck me as a tad heavy-handed and forced.

I’m sure this is all reading as rather scathing, but I promise my candour is leading to a welcomed twist in the tale. You see, perhaps I was wrong to judge Borderlands; they do say you should never judge a book by its cover. Or maybe I was totally on the money. All I know is that regardless of whether I was wrong or this is simply the instalment to finally get me on board, Borderlands 4 left me thoroughly impressed to the point that I was wholeheartedly sad when the demo came to an end.

Within the session, I teamed up with three fellow journalists via co-op to raid a vault which after three stages of gunning down foes ended in a big ol’ boss fight. The first thing that struck me is how visually impressive the game felt. While I may not have played through a former Borderlands entry, I’m certainly familiar with the franchise’s signature cel-shaded art style and the debate over whether dialling that back was the right call within Borderlands 4. While that signature aesthetic hasn’t been wiped completely, I do think developers have struck the right balance by adding a touch of realism.

Borderlands 4, Credit / 2K

That’s because the visuals felt clean and, as explained to me by several lead developers, that’s important when one of the things Borderlands 4 prides itself on is its fluid, overhauled movement system. Within this entry, players can readily grapple, glide, double jump, slide, and run to and fro, all of which felt wonderfully intuitive to use, particularly during an encounter as chaotic as this particular vault.

Initially, my team and I made our way through several spaces filled with low to mid level enemies, all of which had their own attack styles. Some fired at range, while others ran mercilessly towards you in preparation to land a devastating melee blow, or laid traps around the vicinity. You can likely already see how those fluid traversal techniques soon factored in as I really do think part of my team’s success in quickly laying waste to the threat was due to our agile movement, never quite allowing our foes to get the better of us.

Gunplay felt equally as well considered as the traversal. Shooting down enemies while on the move didn’t result in any kind of lag or delay. I could run 'n' gun to my heart's desire and while it’s all well and good me highlighting the demo’s technically impressive feats, it’s perhaps also important to point out how incredibly fun this made the experience. Whatever I wanted to achieve within this encounter, it felt as if the combat and movement systems worked in tandem to facilitate that.

Eventually, my team had the chance to stock up on supplies before taking on the final boss which came in the form of a plant-like creature. It all began perhaps as expected; we shot at the creature, avoiding its attacks, while aiming at the susceptible fluid sacs situated on its body. Naturally, though, every good boss fight includes a twist. Here, that saw the creature turn the floor into a deathly sludgy swamp which I very quickly realised would rapidly result in your death if stood within for too long.

Borderlands 4, Credit / 2K

That meant that during this stage of the fight, my team and I had to make use of the swinging, gliding, and jumping mechanics to stay on the move. It was a great demonstration of how the devs have really built, as I said, the combat and traversal systems to work hand in hand. It wasn’t an easy fight but the four of us ultimately saw the enemy off, gaining rewards for our hard work.

It’s at this point that I have to stress that it’s difficult to indicate just whether Borderlands 4 will be a surefire hit based on this vault experience alone. I didn’t get to sample any of the game’s open world, nor did the vault we played through really give any inkling as to what’s happening in the game’s wider story. In a pre-demo presentation, developers explained that Borderlands 4 was opting for a slightly grittier tone with drier humour. While I can see how all of the game systems and features I did witness might successfully feed into that vision, it’s not something I can readily comment on.

What I am certain of though is this: as someone who’s always really lacked an interest in Borderlands, I left my hands-on demo for Borderlands 4 brimming with intrigue and that all-important desire to see more. Gearbox Software’s latest instalment is shaping up to be the one that finally wins me over, and I’m eager to see if it sticks the landing.

Borderlands 4 is due to be released on 12 September on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows PC, arriving on 3 October on the Nintendo Switch 2.