Since its debut in 2009, Borderlands has been the cornerstone of the looter shooter style, charming thousands and thousands with its frenetic gameplay and treasure-hunting allur. Other titles like Destiny, Warframe, Division 2, and plenty of extra take inspiration from the Gearbox collection. Borderlands itself brings its personal perception from the unique looter collection, Diablo.
Each Borderlands launch arrives with a tidal wave of anticipation, fueled by quirky dialogue, memorable characters, and a passionate neighborhood crafting numerous construct guides to beat the endgame.
Borderlands 4 is no exception, and its arrival is marked by a slew of positive reviews hitting the internet. With an elemental splash marked in every damage type, it looks like Gearbox hit the mark.
- XboxEra (100/100): “Not only is it the best Borderlands game, it’s one of my favorites ever in the open-world co-op looter shooter (or shlooter) genre. A massive open world filled with a wide variety of excellent content, and unashamed use of all the best mechanics that recent other FPS titles have to offer, and a move away from 3’s meme-focused writing fixes nearly every issue I’ve ever had with the series. Of course, nothing is perfect, even if it is a masterpiece.”
- Dualshockers(90/100): “If you already love the Borderlands franchise — even the third game — you’re guaranteed to love this newest addition to this chaotic and bombastic looter shooter. Borderlands 4 is undoubtedly my favorite Borderlands game to date. It is a culmination of everything that the franchise has learned thus far and then some.”
- Game Informer (85/100): “Though many of the series’ core elements remain intact, Gearbox has refined and reconfigured them in such ways that Borderlands 4 rises beyond anything the series has accomplished to this point, making for a chaotic looter-shooter worthy of the series’ sterling early-2010s reputation. It’s simultaneously a poster child for excess and restraint, which sounds paradoxical, but for a series named for existing on the border of seemingly opposed concepts, it feels right at home.”
- VGC (80/100): “Borderlands 4 is a great RPG shooter with rewarding, engrossing gameplay. Some of the set dressing, like the bland new characters and pointless grappling hook, take the shine off, but the sheer amount of fun we’ve had with the game can’t be overlooked. Borderlands 4 reminds us exactly why we were such big fans of the original two games, and falls on its sword in learning the mistakes of 3.”
- Gamespot (70/100): “All in all, if uncovering loot, crafting builds, and unleashing chaotic mayhem is what you’re looking for, Borderlands 4 has you covered. It’s the most mechanically sound Borderlands game to date, and the various Vault Hunters each present an entertaining opportunity to tackle the game in a different way. Just maybe find a good podcast or video essay to fill the moments between the shooting and looting.”
That brings the present Metacritic score to 84.
If you missed it, we even have our personal overview, which is available in at across the present common. I personally gave it 4/5 stars.
“Borderlands 4 delivers the ultimate Vault Hunter experience, a dazzling gem where every system from gunplay to movement to loot shines with obsessive care. I’m struggling to find faults beyond some lackluster performance hiccups that don’t really dampen the chaos. Honestly, writing this review pulls me away from blasting Slitters and chasing legendaries, and I’m dying to dive back into Kairos.”
The foremost perpetrator of decline has been efficiency. Hounding away at my poor RTX 3080, Borderlands 4 is astonishingly unhealthy in terms of optimization. I’m presently reaching a normal 60+ frames per second underneath medium settings at 1440p, with DLSS set to efficiency mode.
Here’s my rig:
- GPU: Nvidia RTX 3080
- CPU: 5900X
- RAM: 32GB DDR4
- SSD: NVME 2.0
Borderlands 4 appears to be one other case of constructing first, with optimization second. Something Tim Sweeney talked about not too way back.
“The main cause is the order of development. Many studios build for top-tier hardware first and leave optimization and low-spec testing for the end. Ideally, optimization should begin early—before full content build-out.”
S.T.A.L.Ok.E.R. 2, Black Myth: Wukong, and even Lords of the Fallen had efficiency points. However, some goliaths like THE FINALS and Immortals of Avuem run simply wonderful!
Hopefully, with time, Borderlands bounces again and refreshes the in any other case poor efficiency with some optimization buffs that can hold gamers’ computer systems from dissolving right into a messy pile of radiation goop.
Some of my different mates are dealing with comparable points, however regardless, they’re nonetheless having a good time. So it actually comes down as to whether or not the minor pains of what appears to be AAA’s “early access” are price it to you or not. For me, they’ve been.
All of that is additionally with none point out as to how the console ports are performing, as no overview codes got for Xbox or PlayStation. If PC is something to go by, it may very well be a nightmare, or maybe, like with different current multiplatform video games, PC is the one left struggling.
What will you do? Have you already made your buy? Or are you planning to attend? Let us know under or on social media. I’m curious what everybody else thinks of the critiques!