It’s been almost six years since Borderlands 3 was released, and while the reviews initially portrayed the game as a good offering, time has not been kind to it. Many docked the game due to its story and writing, with its trademark humor not landing as intended. Others felt that while the gameplay was decent, it fell short of the high standard set by its predecessor. Borderlands 4 has the odds stacked against it, but based on the months leading to launch, it seems that Gearbox Software has listened and is looking to take the looter-shooter title back to their side of the fence.

Ahead of its September 12 release, we had the opportunity to play over 5 hours of the game, which took us through the opening missions and a good amount of progress that opened up the world, its weapons, and the numerous enemies (and loot) along the way. As always, we’ll keep things within the bounds of what we can reveal while being as spoiler-free as possible.

Borderlands 4 – The Final Preview

Borderlands 4 takes players to a brand-new location called Kairos, which is ruled by the Timekeeper. The Timekeeper has a firm grip on everyone in the world, controlling them through devices called Bolts. After a series of events, Vault Hunters have found their way to Kairos, and slowly, its inhabitants are devising ways to combat the Timekeeper’s grasp, setting up a rebellion to bring the tyrant down.

Throughout this preview, one theme pervades Borderlands 4, and it’s the concept of choice. There’s a lot of choice in the things you do and how you go about them, there’s choice in the many weapons and items you pick up, and there’s even choice with the characters and their skill trees. While this was already present in past installments, Borderlands 4 takes it a step further, and the experience is turning out to be a dynamic and fun-filled ride because of it.

New Faces, Same Mayhem

And what is choice without four brand-new Vault Hunters ready to take the fight to the Timekeeper? While their archetypes may not seem too original, their playstyles are distinct enough for players to give each of them a go.

Rafa is an Exo-Soldier who fights using shoulder-mounted turrets and plasma cannons, Harlowe uses tech to take on crowd control duties fused with Cryo and Radiation damage, while Amon is a melee specialist who can get up close and personal.

While we’ve tried each to a certain extent, our favorite was Vex, who can summon allies to the battlefield, diverting aggro away while keeping safe in the backlines.

Each of these characters has three expansive skill trees that can support buildcrafting, as well as an “Action Skill” for each tree that defines their core gameplay. Vex, for example, will have The Fourth Seal, Vexcalation, and the Here Comes Trouble skill trees, with her Action Skill differing depending on the chosen tree.

The Fourth Seal skill tree focuses on overwhelming enemies with clones of herself that can either taunt enemies or deal damage, while the Vexcalation skill tree is centered on dealing AOE damage while healing Vex and providing buffs. Her last skill tree, Here Comes Trouble, summons a spectral familiar literally named Trouble, who can attract aggro and serve as a shield while Vex deals damage from afar.

While each skill tree in Borderlands 4 lends itself to a particular playstyle, players can only equip 1 Action Skill at a time, so they’ll have to choose which one to develop. Even then, these skill trees go deep, and when paired with an arsenal of equipment you can pick up along the way, players can look forward to finding a style that will undoubtedly suit their needs, especially with the option to respec skill points anytime as long as they can afford the fee.

Up, Down, and All Around

Another aspect of Borderlands 4 that emphasizes choice is its seamless open world, which offers a living environment filled with activity. No longer limited to simply running around, players will be equipped with multiple means of traversal within the first few hours. A grappling hook is made available early on, allowing players to reach high areas but also pick up environmental objects to hurl at enemies. A glider is also available, rendering long gaps reachable.

These new tools make Borderlands 4 a significantly more mobile experience, featuring fights that offer players more options to take on enemies beyond just strafing or running around. This directly influences how the world is designed, and it does feel that locations incorporate more verticality and interactive points, making it feel like a playground.

Players will also be given a means of transportation early on, the Digirunner, a customizable vehicle that can be summoned at any time. This is especially helpful when traversing two points that are particularly far away.

That said, rushing from point to point is one way to go about things in Borderlands 4, but taking the time to explore seems to be where the fun is at. At many points in our playthrough, we encountered patrols, a ton of optional side-quests, and several mini-bosses along the way. The world felt alive and rewarding, offering a ton of challenges and loot.

Exploring actually felt like something I wanted to do in Borderlands 4, as it felt like I was uncovering something new in a span of minutes. Scattered throughout the world are Silos, which are key locations that serve several purposes, from housing important Vault Key Fragments that unlock high-level dungeons to acting as fast-travel points that make traveling and respawning easier.

Borderlands 4 also revives its signature art style, which is reminiscent of concept art, featuring bright colors and shading that bring a comic book feel to life.

Blasting 101

Perhaps the most significant update in Borderlands 4 is how guns work and how it affects gunplay and combat, arguably the most critical aspects of the game.

Weapon manufacturers make a return, and Borderlands veterans will certainly recall the likes of Maliwan, Jakobs, and the others. New manufacturers join the mix, with Daedalus, Order, and Ripper lending new weapon traits. Daedalus is a particularly interesting manufacturer, and with a Sniper Rifle that we picked up, we were able to utilize it like an assault rifle or an underbarrelled shotgun. Ripper turns weapons into a chaingun of sorts, requiring a wind-up before turning into an automatic weapon. Order firearms can fire in bursts, but can also charge to fire multiple rounds at once, which is surprisingly effective as a sniper rifle or a shotgun that can deal a ton of damage in one go.

Borderlands 4 is treating its guns to be as customizable as its characters, maybe even more so. Players will be able to stack manufacturer traits (such as Daedalus and Order), leading to a staggering number of possibilities with immense gameplay implications.

Even equipment slots receive an overhaul, giving players four main weapon slots to equip their favorites, from pistols to shotguns. Heavy weapons take up a slot with the grenades as “Ordnance” with cooldowns instead of ammo counts, while shields take up another. Additionally, Repkits are now a thing, serving as “potions” that can heal players in a pinch. Keep in mind that each equipment comes with its own traits and rolls, taking min-maxing even further.

Borderlands 4 also enhances enemies, introducing new foes such as cybernetic/synthetic beings, as well as thugs from the Timekeeper. Boss fights are also bigger than ever, and instead of just being bullet sponges, these bosses seem to operate in phases that will put mobility and the use of environmental points to the test.

In particular, the boss fight in our playthrough was utterly fantastic, and if it is a taste of what’s to come, then it is promising to say the least. No spoilers, though!

If anything, we do have tiny nitpicks. While controls are generally responsive, switching between weapons is not as intuitive as we’d like it to be, and some menus are a challenge to navigate. When playing on a PC, we experience stutters caused by shader compilation, especially when approaching a new area. Frame drops are also evident, even when simply moving around the world and exploring the area.

Overall, from the limited time, Borderlands 4 is taking not just baby steps, but huge strides in the right direction, addressing major pain points from the previous entry and dialing up customization to 11. How effective and fun the endgame will be remains a mystery, but what we’ve seen paints an optimistic outcome should things persist.

Borderlands 4 will launch on September 12, 2025, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC via Steam and Epic Games, followed by a launch on October 3 for the Switch 2.