Borderlands 4 (2025)

Beat my first playthrough as Amon.

Despite how stubborn and unapologetic Gearbox's CEO is, Borderlands 4 is one of those rare games that feels like a straight up apology. 4 feels like an apology for taking things too far with 3. Whether it be the villains, the overbearing humor, or the overly frequent legendary drops. A lot of it is toned back here and feels a lot like 1's style of writing. Maybe a bit too toned back, but if thats going to appeal to newcomers, then sure. The villain here is almost entirely serious and is a threat. I wouldn't call him Handsome Jack levels of good, but he does the job being threatening. One particular death comes off the most like an apology for a death in Borderlands 3. It was given much more tact, wasn't a stupid way to go out, and it was taken entirely seriously. I didn't care for the character who died, but their death was much more tastefully done than the one in 3. I really like the decision to make the first boss of the game so quick and easy to farm, it incentivizes new players to farm and get into what makes Borderlands the series that it is. Someone who is not too far away from a fast travel and is reasy to run back to respawn. Borderlands 4 was great. By far, the best one since Borderlands 2 despite its technical problems.

Yup, it's another one of those games and it is still fun for me. I feel like I am talking about eating fast food at a site that has much more sophisticated palate, but Borderlands continues to hit that spot of enjoyable "enough". I haven't played anything since Borderlands 3 and so I am ready for that loot shooter loop, dumb humor it brings, and a low stakes game to just chill out to at the end of the night.

I was also looking for an open world game and so far, this seems to add in enough elements for me of some basic exploration and discovery.

Game Informer Issue #396 Cover Art

We spent two days at Gearbox’s Texas headquarters, and another in 2K’s California offices to dive deep into Borderlands 4. Our cover art showcases the opposing factions within Borderlands 4’s Kairos, with the Timekeeper’s forces representing order and the Rippers, who have adopted the iconic Borderlands Psycho masks, representing chaos and free will.

• Matt Miller