Borderlands 4: Gearbox's Open World Gambit – A Wild Ride with a Few Glitches in the Matrix
AI Gaming News Author · IGN South Africa ·
Borderlands 4 takes a massive leap into a true open-world experience, revamping movement, combat, and story for a much-needed jolt to the series, though it comes with a fair share of technical glitches and open-world limitations that Gearbox will hopefully patch up.
Right, so Borderlands 4 has officially landed, and honestly, I've been tinkering with this story all morning, and bloody hell, it’s wilder than it first appeared. After Borderlands 3 felt a bit like a spell that fizzled – a bit flat, if we're being fair dinkum – the grand wizards over at Gearbox have apparently decided to blow a hole through reality and reimagine what Borderlands can be. And you know what? They've taken some genuinely big swings.
For nearly two decades, my passion for looter shooters has burned brighter than a crit-hit explosion, and Borderlands was absolutely the spark that lit that particular fuse. It's the series where you mow down psychos, they drop increasingly bizarre weapons, and you then use those weapons to mow down even weirder psychos in an endless, glorious cycle. Think assault rifles that shoot tiny rockets and call airstrikes, or grenades that scream absurdities before spewing acid. The sheer, unadulterated chaos of the weaponry is the very soul of the game, and I'm chuffed to bits to say, BL4 keeps that feeling alive and kicking, even cross-pollinating weapon manufacturers for truly unhinged outcomes. It's like finding a magical component in a digital dungeon and slotting it into your favourite artifact – pure, unadulterated joy.
But here's the real magic trick: Borderlands 4 has gone full open-world. No more segmented levels separated by loading screens. This is a proper, honest-to-goodness expansive landscape called Kairos, filled to the brim with side quests, timed activities, collectibles, and puzzles. It's a massive departure from the series' roots, and honestly, a gamble that could've gone horribly wrong. But what happens if you combine that chaotic shooting with true freedom of movement? Well, you get a grappling hook, a glider, and a vehicle you can summon on command to zip across deserts and soar over canyons. Water no longer instantly kills you (praise Moxxi!), and you can even double jump and dash. It's like someone finally remembered that vault hunters should actually be *nimble*, not just bullet sponges. This makes the gunplay feel tighter, more responsive, and just generally more dynamic than any Borderlands game before it. By the end, I was pirouetting through the air, dodging attacks like a pro, and raining hell down upon my enemies – a truly wonderful feeling once I got the hang of all the new shenanigans.
This shift means progression feels less linear. You can spend hours just clearing the 'fog of war,' completing activities, or just messing about, then pivot back to the main story. And here's a neat trick for us co-op aficionados: you don't have to glue yourself to your mates anymore. They can be off doing their own thing, and you can just warp to them instantly if they need a hand. It's a subtle but significant quality-of-life improvement that really oils the gears of multiplayer madness. Because let's be honest, blasting through hordes with a friend or three still feels as awesome as it ever has. This newfound freedom and fluidity make Borderlands 4 feel genuinely fresh, a proper kick in the pants for a series that felt like it was getting a bit stuck in the mud.
Now, about the story. Borderlands has always had this weird knack for surprising you with genuinely touching moments amidst the lowbrow dick jokes and graphic novel aesthetic. After BL3 leaned a bit too heavily into the 'dick jokes' without enough 'touching moments,' I was cautiously optimistic for BL4. And thankfully, it pays off. Ditching Pandora and some of the legacy characters who'd started to wear out their welcome was a brave move. Instead, we're on Kairos, dealing with a malevolent dictator called the Timekeeper. We get some memorable new faces like the charming Levaine, and yes, Claptrap is back – love him or hate him, it wouldn't be Borderlands without that sassy little bot rattling off a few jokes. It's a compelling plot, even if it doesn't quite hit the iconic villain highs of Borderlands 2.
Buildcrafting also sees some love, with expanded options like healing items and throwing knives, not to mention a whole new batch of Vault Hunters. We've got Vex the Siren with her space magic, Rafa the Exo-Soldier who can summon digi-structed weapons, Harlowe the Gravitar manipulating gravity, and Amon the massive Forgeknight with a bunch of melee options. Each feels unique, with distinct skill trees that allow for pretty diverse builds, meaning you and your mates can even run the same Vault Hunter without too much overlap. I mean, who doesn't love to respec their character on a whim to try out a legendary item that completely changes their playstyle? That said, it's not quite on the level of Path of Exile or Diablo in terms of sheer 'go wild' customization. It's good, but my inner wizard always yearns for just *one more* skill node to truly break the game.
But, and you knew there was a 'but' coming, didn't you, mate? This game isn't without its… let's call them 'charming eccentricities.' While the open-world ambition is fantastic, the actual terrain doesn't always rise to the occasion. You'll be gliding along, feeling like a god, only to unsatisfyingly slap into an invisible wall or a surface that just *refuses* to be mantled. It feels artificial, like the digital boundaries of the universe haven't quite caught up with the developer's lofty dreams. It's a bit of a head-scratcher when you expect to explore every nook and cranny.
And then there are the bugs. Oh, the bugs. Playing with friends often felt like a magical mishap roulette. Lag, desyncing, enemies becoming immune to damage (how does that even work?), teleporting baddies, non-host players losing progress or getting locked out of quests... it was a veritable buffet of online multiplayer woes. Some of it, like not uncovering your own map while exploring with friends, feels like an intentional design choice that's just deeply annoying. Other bits, like vending machines offering no wares in co-op, are just plain bonkers. It's a testament to how fun the core gameplay is that even with all that laundry list of digital gremlins, my crew and I still found ourselves utterly hooked, falling head over heels for the loot grind. Gearbox has a track record of delivering post-launch content, and I'm cautiously optimistic they'll iron out these wrinkles, but history teaches us that might take a minute.
Despite the rocky technical performance (at least on the PC version I tinkered with) and the occasional open-world hiccup, Borderlands 4 is genuinely a blast. It's a bold evolution, a proper open-world gambit that largely pays off. The slick combat, exciting new movement, intriguing enemy designs, and a fresh story have injected a much-needed jolt into the series. It's not perfect – what truly great adventure ever is, eh? – but it's a wonderfully unhinged ride that feels like the kick in the pants Borderlands has needed for quite some time. The series feels unstuck, ready to forge a new path. And I, for one, can't wait to see where this digital wizardry takes us next. Who knows what secrets this chaotic universe still holds? Keep an eye out for those future patches, Vault Hunters. We might just have a legendary on our hands.
_Original reporting by IGN South Africa._
Tags: looter-shooter, open-world, borderlands, web3-gaming-potential, gearbox
Original article: IGN South Africa