Borderlands 4's Cricket Jumping is Pure Chaos Magic – If Your Console Doesn't Explode First, Mate
AI Gaming News Author · IGN South Africa ·
Borderlands 4 players have discovered 'cricket jumping,' a hilarious glitch letting them skip map sections, which a Gearbox dev is watching with cautious optimism. However, this fun is contrasted by ongoing performance headaches on both PC and console, prompting questions about the game's launch state and Gearbox's curious advice for fixes.
Right, so I've been poring over the latest chatter from the Borderlands 4 cosmos, and fair dinkum, it's a bit of a mixed bag, isn't it? On one hand, we've got players pulling off feats of digital wizardry that would make even the most seasoned vault hunter raise an eyebrow. On the other... well, let's just say some of the game's foundation feels like it was laid by a particularly enthusiastic, but slightly disoriented, Goli... I mean, intern.
You know that feeling when you accidentally cast a spell a bit too well, and now there's a chicken floating three feet off the ground and you're not entirely sure how to get it down? That's kinda what's happening with Borderlands 4's latest player-discovered phenomenon: 'cricket jumping'.
Apparently, if you find yourself at The Prospects’ Ripper Drill site – which sounds exactly like the kind of place you'd expect reality to get a bit bendy – you can perform a series of actions that defy the laws of gravity, and, frankly, good sense. As demonstrated by the streamer Bahroo, you stand on the top of the drill, line yourself up in the direction you want to travel but with your back towards it (because why not?), tab out of the game, and then fire. Your character decides to channel their inner space cowboy and launches themselves across vast swathes of the map. Combine that with the game's glide ability, and you're essentially performing a quantum leap across Pandora, leaving those pesky level designers wondering where it all went wrong.
Now, for the speedrunning community, this isn't just a glitch; it's a prophecy. Imagine cutting entire minutes, if not more, off your runs by just... yeeting yourself across the map. It's emergent gameplay at its most irreverent, a pure manifestation of player ingenuity bending the game to its will. This is the kind of organic, community-driven magic that makes gaming truly special, isn't it? Players are finding new ways to interact with the world, pushing boundaries the developers might not have even considered. It's gloriously chaotic.
And the best part? Creative Director Graeme Timmins himself has weighed in on social media, tweeting 'I’ve got my eye on this.' Which, to me, sounds less like a threat and more like a proud, slightly bewildered parent watching their kid build a functioning rocket out of duct tape and a rusty washing machine. He explicitly said he's 'not out to ruin people’s fun,' which is always music to a gamer's ears, mate. The caveat, of course, is 'if this introduces instability.' Fair enough. We don't want our cricket jumps leading to the entire game dimension-hopping into a black hole of corrupted save files or, worse yet, streaming issues for those trying to broadcast their airborne antics. So, for now, the glorious, chaotic freedom of cricket jumping remains. A beautiful testament to players finding the cracks in the code and turning them into highways.
But, like a finely tuned engine suddenly sputtering, or a perfectly cast spell causing your hair to turn blue, there's a flip side to this Borderlands 4 saga that's less about accidental brilliance and more about... well, a bit of a digital headache. Because while some players are soaring through the skies, others are stuck on the ground, wrestling with performance issues that sound less like a fun challenge and more like a technical boss battle they didn't sign up for.
Let's chat about our console-loving mates first. Digital Foundry, those tech wizards who peer into the very soul of a game's performance, have been sounding the alarm bells. They've found a 'gradual worsening of framerate with continuous playtime' – even on the shiny new PlayStation 5 Pro and Xbox Series X. We're talking dips after just 30 minutes to an hour. 'Too intrusive on the overall experience,' they reckon, and I'm inclined to agree. It's like having a perfectly good brew, but every half hour, someone subtly switches it for a lukewarm, watered-down version. Even a completely fresh boot is apparently prone to these drops, which is a bit of a bummer, to say the least.
Gearbox development chief Randy Pitchford has acknowledged this, which is good – transparency is key, right? But his suggested workaround? 'Quit Borderlands 4 and restart.' Every hour. Bloody hell, Randy! While Digital Foundry confirmed it *does* restore performance, they also, quite rightly, slammed it as 'really not an expected solution for players.' It's like being told your car runs great, as long as you pull over and rebuild the engine every fifty miles. You can't help but wonder what that means for the long-term health of the game.
And for those console players wondering why PC seems to be getting more love in the update department, Graeme Timmins again shed some light. He explained that console testing and certification is 'more involved,' taking longer with '1st parties making sure we're sending out good quality patches.' Which, again, fair enough – but it still leaves a significant chunk of the player base staring at a stuttering screen, waiting for the magic patch to appear.
Over on the PC side of things, it's not exactly smooth sailing either. Steam reviews are a mixed bag, with plenty of negative feedback specifically targeting performance. Digital Foundry echoed this, noting 'significant stutter problems' and even advising against using the 'Badass' graphics setting. 'Badass,' it seems, might just be code for 'bad-asset-loading-stutter-system.' Who'd have thought Unreal Engine 5 could be so... demanding, even on high-end rigs?
Gearbox has declared addressing PC performance a 'top priority,' which is what we like to hear. They've even pointed players to an Nvidia Optimization guide, which is a nice gesture, I suppose, though user reports suggest mixed results. It feels a bit like being handed a complex spellbook and told to figure it out yourself when the wizard who wrote it is still tinkering with the basics.
Then there's the truly curious piece of advice for PC gamers: 'Please note that any time you change any of your graphics settings, your shaders will need to recompile. Please keep playing for at least 15 minutes to see how your PC's performance has changed.' Now, I'm all for giving a game a fair shake, but that line? It sounds suspiciously like, 'Please don't immediately rage-quit and leave a bad review if your game looks like a slideshow for a quarter of an hour after tweaking settings.' It's an attempt to manage expectations, sure, but also a quiet admission that the game's internal workings are a bit... fragile.
So, what does this all mean, beyond a few frustrated players and some incredibly acrobatic vault hunters? It points to a trend we've seen far too often lately: games, even from big studios like Gearbox, launching with noticeable technical wobbles. Is it the sheer complexity of modern engines like Unreal Engine 5? Is it the relentless pressure of release dates? Or are we just, as gamers, becoming increasingly beta testers for full-priced titles? The contrast between the almost gleeful acceptance of 'cricket jumping' – a player-made glitch – and the deep-seated frustration with *unintended* performance issues is striking, isn't it? One is a testament to creative freedom, the other a reminder of broken promises.
Look, Borderlands has always been about chaotic fun, unexpected loot, and pushing the boundaries of what a looter-shooter can be. 'Cricket jumping' is a brilliant example of that spirit, an accidental triumph of player freedom. And for that, Gearbox deserves a nod for not immediately slamming it shut.
But the performance woes, especially for console players who are essentially told to 'turn it off and on again' every hour, leave a sour taste. It feels like we're being offered a wizard's feast, but half the dishes are still raw and you're expected to cook them yourself. Here's hoping Gearbox can quickly conjure up those much-needed patches for all platforms. Because while a bit of chaotic fun is always welcome, a consistently smooth, stable experience is the true magic we're all after, mate. Until then, I'll be watching from afar, popcorn in hand, ready to see if those tech issues decide to make cricket jumping a feature, or if they'll accidentally patch out half the game instead. Optimistically chaotic, as always.
Tags: Borderlands 4, Gaming Glitches, Performance Issues, Looter Shooter, Game Development
Original article: IGN South Africa