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Forbes
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Borderlands 4' Is Now My Most-Anticipated Game Of The Year
Borderlands 4 The vibes are good around Borderlands 4. That may sound like a pretty vague statement, but I've been doing this long enough to hold my finger to the wind and know which way things are moving. And in the case of Borderlands 4, all signs point to a successful launch in September, even in the wake of many that may have become disinterested in the series after its last installment. I've always been a huge Borderlands fan, the genesis of the looter shooter genre that Destiny eventually took and ran with (granted, Borderlands originally took a lot from Diablo and the like). Borderlands has avoided being a live service, and that still seems true for 4. But it also has learned significant lessons from its last installment, Borderlands 3, which attracted a lot of criticism despite big sales and made fans concerned for the future of the franchise. Now? Those fears are mostly gone. Almost entirely gone, for me especially. I have more or less not seen anything bad released for the promotion for this game. Not trailers, not interviews and now not an elaborate dump of first-impression previews and active streams of the game from creators. I know marketing is obviously meant to make games look good, but Borderlands 4 looks very good. There are a number of ways the game looks to have improved itself, but I'm most excited about three of them in particular: The Tone, thank god, The Tone – Borderlands 2 started this in some capacity, but Borderlands 3 went way off the deep end when it came to pop culture references (all of which are now significantly dated) and 'edgy' humor like the main villains being livestreamers. Even if the game was fun, the story was…rough in multiple ways. Now? Just watch any of the trailers, especially this latest one, where the game will not forgo humor entirely, of course, but it's a lot more focused on actually menacing villains over Butt Stallions and the like. The writing everyone hated appears, at least, to have taken a hiatus, direct feedback producing clear results, something the game's writers have talked about explicitly. Mobility – For being a game entirely focused on guns, abilities and combat, Borderlands has never exactly been the best-feeling shooter on the market. It appears Borderlands 4 has realized that's a missing component of most combat powers outside of some specific class abilities and has changed with alterations like a grappling hook everyone has access to, and a Warlock-like hover drift moving from locations. This may not be the highest-profile thing discussed about the game, but I think it's going to be key once everyone gets their hands on gunplay. Borderlands 4 Open World – I don't know how many hours I've spent looking at loading screens between the 20+ zones of a given Borderlands game, but that seems to be getting majorly reduced or eliminated with the inclusion of an open world this time around. I know for a time, switching to an open world seemed like an Ubisoft-style gimmick, but I genuinely believe Borderlands 4 will benefit from this. Early previews have also suggested this is a 'dense' world that won't have just endless sprawling spaces, but rather lots of things to find and do across the entire map in large quantities. I'm excited. I can't think of anything else coming out in the latter half of the year that I am personally looking forward to more. While I was always going to be excited for a new Borderlands, the previews for 4 have just been so reassuring they got it right this time. I hope that's the case. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
Geek Culture
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Culture
‘Borderlands 4' Ramps Up The Mayhem Fans Love With Enhanced Mobility And More Complex Guns
Billions of weapons Yes, you read that right, with a 'B' to start, and an 'S' at the end. That's exactly what developer Gearbox Software is promising with the next iteration of its beloved looter shooter, Borderlands 4 . After a brief stint in the fantasy genre with the Dungeons & Dragons -esque Tiny Tina's Wonderlands , the franchise is returning to its roots for its sequel, which looks to build upon everything fans have come to expect from the series while ramping up the carnage to a whole new level. And if our exclusive and almost four-hour-long hands-on session with an early preview build of the game was any indication, the sequel is a shining example of the word 'more'. Not just more Borderlands and more guns, but also more build flexibility, more weapon complexity, and a more engaging experience throughout. Spanning a sizable chunk of the game's Fadefields region, the preview let us loose to explore the sights and sounds of Kairos, a brand new planet discovered following the events of 2019's Borderlands 3 . According to Gearbox, the change in scenery also brings about a shake-up in its storytelling as a whole, featuring a non-linear main quest design allowing players to choose the order to which they handle the plotlines, alongside a host of dynamic world activities and the largest number of side quests ever seen in a Borderlands game, although the preview's curated nature prevented us from experiencing the true scope of the title. For the preview, only two of the four total playable Vault Hunters (the game's treasure-hunting protagonists) were made available – Siren Vex and the Exo-Soldier Rafa. As with all Borderlands games, gameplay progression lives and dies by the build of each character, and Borderlands 4 has taken things up a notch in this respect. As with its predecessor, each class has access to three different skill trees, each with its associated Action Skill, powerful attacks that can turn the tide of battle, which operate on a cool-down system. The difference here lies in just how expansive each skill tree is, with each individual tree possessing almost as many skill nodes as an entire character's roster in Borderlands 3. In addition to various passive stat-boosting skills, each tree also has nodes that augment a character's abilities and moves, alongside a Vault Hunter trait unique to each character. Take Vex, for example, who possesses the Phase Covenant trait, which attunes her melee damage and Action Skills to the element type of her current gun. On the topic of Action Skills, Vex's three Siren abilities mark a dramatic shift from franchise norm, making the class more of a summoner character, similar to Borderlands 3's FL4K. Aside from one skill that gives her wings and the ability to send forth a powerful Eldritch Blast, her two remaining skills focus on spawning minions to dominate the battlefield with numbers. The first summons Trouble, a cat-like creature that permanently stays by her side to attack enemies and respawns when killed. Vex can then use her action skill to cause Trouble to deal damage in an area, transforming into a Badass version, Big Trouble, for a limited time. Her final action skill operates similarly, this time summoning up to three phase ghosts of herself temporarily, with a choice to mix and match between a mobile scythe-wielding variant or a stationary sniper. Rafa, on the other hand, possesses skills related to his high-tech Exo-Suit, which includes one that summons a turret on his shoulder to automatically target nearby enemies, the ability to dual-weld a plasma cannon alongside his currently equipped firearm, or summon armblades to slice through enemies in third-person. As the bread and butter of the Borderlands series, gunplay and core combat feel largely unchanged from previous iterations, possessing the same core gameplay loop of mowing down fodder and dealing with the occasional Badass variant, while looting and swapping between guns along the way. Instead of shaking up the already well-established combat loop, Gearbox has chosen to make minor but impactful changes to the formula. Gone is the need to keep heavy weapons like rocket launchers and grenade launchers in one of the four available weapon slots, as the throwables slot from previous games has been revamped to encompass both grenades and heavy weapons like the aforementioned launchers, miniguns or large energy cannons. This change also means that players no longer need to scavenge for precious heavy weapon ammo, with the tradeoff being that the weapons now operate on a cool-down system. This minor change does wonders for combat, opening up all four weapon slots to be used according to a player's style, opening up the potential to have more weapon classes to swap on the fly, and improving combat effectiveness at all ranges. Recovering health has also been made more streamlined, as apart from collecting health pick-ups in the world and from defeated enemies, players now have access to Repkits, instant-use health items that gradually refill after use. Perhaps the biggest change to combat's flow lies in the game's enhanced traversal mechanics, with players now having access to a grappling hook which can not only propel them at specific points, but can also be used to snag objects like explosive barrels from afar, which then can be thrown at enemies. This feature, combined with the new mid-air glide and quick-dash mechanics, makes movement much snappier during combat, with the easiest way to describe it being like Borderlands meets DOOM: Eternal . But what would Borderlands be without its absurd guns? Absolutely nothing, and that's why firearms have seen their biggest overhaul yet. The franchise's icon gun manufacturer system, which gives weapons of a specific make a unique trait, returns with a bang by introducing three new manufacturers: Daedalus, Order and Ripper. Daedalus guns all possess the ability to switch ammo modes, with an SMG, for example, able to swap modes to fire sniper rounds instead, increasing damage but eating through precious rounds as a tradeoff. Order and Ripper guns both operate on a charging-up system, with the former's guns firing off multiple rounds at once when charged, while the latter's require a spool-up time before firing in rapid succession like a minigun. On the flipside, series staples Dahl and Hyperion have been removed, leaving Borderlands 4's final gun manufacturer count at eight: Jakobs, Vladof, Torgue, Maliwan, Tediore, Order, Ripper and Daedalus. Gun manufacturer changes are not limited to just new ones, though, as each gun can now be made from up to three different manufacturers at once, which ramps up combat to a whole new level. In theory, this means that a weapon has the chance to possess three unique skills at once. For example, a gun can hit hard and with extra headshot damage (Jakobs), while simultaneously being able to swap modes to fire rockets (Torgue) and also be thrown like a grenade when reloaded to deal additional damage (Tediore). The possibilities then are almost endless, harkening back to the studio's promised 'billions' of weapon variations. It seems that they are going all in on gun manufacturers this time, as even the artefact slot, which used to give additional stat bonuses in past games, has now been tweaked to specifically provide bonuses to gun manufacturers, enabling players to further optimise their build to suit their favourite kinds of guns. All that being said, how well does everything come together? In short, combat can be described as chaotic, in the best way, with players zipping all over the place with the new grappling hook, while hovering and shooting mid-air. Some enemies, such as those from the new Order faction, possess unique combat skills of their own, enhancing the chaos unfolding on screen. Badasses, specifically, offer a real threat this time around and are usually much tougher to take down compared to what players might be used to, which does help to encourage tactical use of weapons and abilities. The preview session culminated in a high-level boss encounter, with players similarly receiving pre-determined high-level guns and gear. This was easily the most intense part of all, as despite the more powerful equipment, the boss was still tough as nails, operating in phases that required the use of all the skills learnt so far, such as juggling, grappling, hovering and shooting at exposed weakspots. It was refreshingly engaging, and a far cry from the series' usual boss-fight pattern of shoot, avoid, rinse and repeat, and hopefully, this won't be a one-time affair either, and the game will introduce increasingly more complex encounters along the way. While just an early look at a minuscule portion of the game, Borderlands 4 is already shaping up to be the franchise's biggest and most innovative iteration yet. What remains to be seen is how well the game would handle its open world design and activities to balance quantity with quality, and how its story (which thankfully Gearbox promises would be far more grounded than recent entries) will fare. Borderlands 4 releases on 12 September 2025 for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, and will also release on the Nintendo Switch 2 later in 2025. Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise 'duds' like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying. 2K Games Borderlands Borderlands 4 Gearbox Software Geek Preview
Forbes
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
The ‘Destiny 2: Edge Of Fate' Grind Sounds Questionable At Best
Destiny 2 Edge of Fate We've been able to digest the glut of information we got from the recent creator visit to Bungie headquarters focused on July's Edge of Fate expansion for Destiny 2. The game is now entering a new, untested phase called 'frontiers' with two small expansions a year and 'major updates' instead of actual seasons or episodes. And now, the goal is for Bungie to keep players grinding. And grinding. And grinding. Of course, the grind is a core part of the looter shooter, and that's always been true with Destiny. But I find myself reading through all this and uttering 'ehhhh' more I consume. Granted, we won't fully know how this all works until we experience it in practice, but I'm finding some red flags here and there. The idea is already that Destiny is trying to do more with less. The developer has been slashed to half of what it was a few years ago, plus a chunk of devs are now working on Marathon. So the game is shrinking, hence the two smaller expansions, one raid and one dungeon a year. The goal seems to be to stretch out those two expansions into lengthy, six-month super-seasons punctuated by larger updates in the middle, albeit again, not something like an old season launch. Destiny 2 FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder Bungie is inventing new ways to grind and pursue power, but it feels like it's going to be quite a shift in terms of both the systems themselves. There is what appears to be a seasonal armor grind that will almost force players to complete it if they want the max amount of damage reduction. It's a way to encourage a grind, sure, but in a way that feels more like a punishment if you don't do it rather than a bonus if you do. The same goes for a grind that will flat-out increase your damage with certain weapons over the course of a season. This is also combined with the concept of 'New Gear' as one aspect of how this is going to work. While Bungie says your old gear is 'viable,' it sounds like the goal is definitely a form of soft-sunsetting, as you can see in the most recent TWAB: On top of that, there will not be an increase in vault space, so you're going to have to start cleaning house given how much old gear will be sub-par under the new system even if you can technically use it. New Gear is also the only way you can push your power over the new 200 cap, a system that involves a new form of dismantling and materials that makes infusion more convoluted than it is now, which does not sound like a terribly positive addition. This raises questions about power-enabled activities like Trials of Osiris and raids and the caps for higher level Nightfalls and such, a re-grind that sounds more intense than what we currently have if it's only limited to New Gear. The other issue I see with all this that I'm not seeing mentioned much is that the entire structure of the game changing to be about 'portals,' which will range from strikes to old season activities to new ones added every so often. It's meant to streamline the new player process of knowing what to do but simply shifting around portal activities every major update feels like a somewhat underwhelming motivation to do these grinds in the first place. All of this feels like a stab at what players wanted from a Destiny 3, a hard reset, but without getting…actual Destiny 3. Rather new content drops that are probably a tenth of what a Destiny 3 would look like if it were real. And I'm not sure hard-ish resets without an actual new game, just a new 'era,' will produce the result they hope it does. This is, of course, all a pre-judgement. Even the creators who got to play the Edge of Fate were mostly focused on things like trying out new weapons or early campaign moments. We have a month or so until we see how this works, but I am a bit concerned at this point. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
