Borderlands 4 sands off the franchise's biggest annoyances to become the most streamlined entry yet

After Borderlands 3 saw Gearbox Software’s series swerve into unwanted territory, the focus on one planet and a host of small changes sees Borderlands 4 get off to a much better start.

Ongoing performance qualms on PC aside, I’m having a pretty fun time playing throughBorderlands 4 at the moment. It’s not substantially game-changing, clever, or necessarily all that different from the past three previous instalments before it. What it is, however, is more sure of what it does best than it ever has been, doubling down on the core looting and shooting mechanics that have worked so well from the start and dialling back the elements – both mechanical and narrative-based – that used to distract from the mindless fun players want.

It’s almost a complete U-turn from the ambitious yet undeniably messy planet-hopping exploits of Borderlands 3, which had good intentions, but made the story so much of a focus, the shooting felt like it was playing second fiddle.

Borderlands 4 doesn’t do that. What it does is lock all the action down to a single new planet, Kairos, which is made so interesting and engaging enough all by itself that the thought of blasting off into space hasn’t once yet entered my mind after 10 hours of playtime. Better than that, Borderlands 4 tidies up and softens all the franchise’s usual mechanical edges to make the act of gunning down legions of psychos, and looting better, more powerful weapons something that can be approached by anyone.

In other words, Borderlands 4 is a much-needed course correction. And thank god, too, as its resulted in what may end up being my favourite instalment since Borderlands 2.

Any Borderlands game is only as good as its Vault Hunter classes, of course, and in this area Borderlands 4 gets off to a good start. Vex, Rafa, Harlowe, and Amon all feel weighty to play, coming packed with three different Action Skills that can be charged up and unleashed upon enemies whenever their forces become too overwhelming.

So far, so standard. However, imagine my surprise when, after finishing my first proper mission, I wasn’t suddenly asked to travel all the way back to the quest giver in order to collect my prize (almost certainly a new weapon). Instead, checking in missions is done right there and then, wherever you are in the world, and it truly makes for a less disruptive way to explore Kairos.

The bulk of my time has been spent playing Vex, Borderlands 4’s fresh take on the Siren class that, funnily enough, doesn’t play that much like a Siren. Because while the option is there to unleash devastation, her build options instead focus on summoning. This sees her play less like Lilith from the original Borderlands or Maya from Borderlands 2, but more like my favourite class from Borderlands 3, FL4K, who made a name for his mechanical self being a beast tamer.

This is how my Vex plays, wielding a ghost-like sabretooth tiger called Trouble that turns into ‘Big Trouble’ that I can tell to explode when applied with enough augments. If it wasn’t already clear, the crop of Vault Hunter classes in Borderlands 4 are about as flexible as you’d hope for.

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Back to the borders

Elsewhere it’s the small tweaks and changes applied in Borderlands 4 that add up to one big difference. Alongside there no longer being the need to check in missions in person, the addition of a navigation bar a la Bioshock makes it extremely difficult to get lost in Kairos when searching your next objective. Even in Borderlands 2 there’d be times I’d be trying to find the correct route the game wanted me to take, only to find myself without a real clue and a not very helpful map marker aimlessly floating up in the distance.

Then there’s the inclusion of the grapple hook, which, I get it, has become a bit of a cliché in most AAA video games by this point. In Borderlands 4, though, the ability to latch or swing yourself up to a high ledge brings an all-new dynamism in combat, letting you take on enemies that would otherwise be far off in the distance and annoyingly shooting at you from yards away.

This, combined with the addition of a hover and that of the most classic gameplay mechanics, the double jump, makes the simple act of traversal something I can suddenly use to my advantage during firefights.

As someone who has chosen to stick with Borderlands through both the brightest and darkest of times, I’m happy to see this fourth entry get back to basics. And not only that, it makes small but substantial changes that don’t get in the way of what made it a unique brand of first-person shooter in the first place.

At present I still have so many regions to explore, Action Skill effects to unlock, and bigger, badder enemy types to pop out numbers from in the quest to acquire better, more creative firearms. It’s a shame that so much of the recent conversation surrounding Borderlands 4 has been its inconsistent performance on PC, because beyond these issues lies what is easily the most streamlined and sure of itself entry yet.