Despite a rocky start and mixed reviews, Borderlands 3 is a success. There were some kinks to fix, but the players enjoyed the experience. Still, if a theoretical fourth game in the series is in the works, some things must be changed. In addition, gamers are wondering when Borderlands 4 will be coming out? We try to answer that question here.
But first, some vague hints about its existence.
Is There Going to Be A Borderlands 4?
The short answer is there’s no definite answer. Borderlands as a franchise is a moneymaker, and it’s in Gearbox’s and 2K Entertainment’s best interest to continue the series. In a business sense, it should be in their plans for the future of the looter-shooter franchise.
However, Randy Pitchford, Gearbox’s founder, said was they were making ‘the big one.’ This wording can mean many things, but it’s about 80% sure it’s about Borderlands 4. It takes about 2-4 years for the next mainline game to be released. The third game was released in 2019, which makes this year ripe for a new addition.
Still, they may make a brand new IP from what they learned when making this franchise. All we can do is wait until things get official.
Things We Want to See in Borderlands 4
Players were up in arms with the weapon balancing. Some guns screamed cool on paper but performed like a paper cutout. This made players pick and choose among the thousands of available weapons for the best ones. It cut the flexibility and versatility of the game’s classes and characters. Admit it, when you found the Hellwalker shotgun, you didn’t want anything else.
It’s not that the staggering amount of weapons should be cut down, but it could be necessary. With fewer guns to balance, it might give a better direction than the chaos of having thousands and thousands of guns and only a handful of useful ones.
Anointment is another mechanic that needs to change. They are strong, yes, but most of them activate after the skill ends. To get the most out of them, Moze players usually summon Iron Bear to get out as soon as the animation finishes. Amara ones can be manageable, but often when they use their skills, there wouldn’t be any enemies left to shoot at.
Hopefully, in Borderlands 4, there are better options, even if they are fewer.
Four Vault Hunters are good enough for variety. In fact, BL3 cranked it up to eleven, each with 3 Action Skills to choose from. It provided some versatility, but the gameplay is stagnant, even with the other abilities.
The franchise always has a sniper, a character whose whole schtick is “MOAR DAKKA,” a more supportive class, and a Siren. While the last one is consistent according to lore, the others could have more varied specialties. After all, the second game and the Pre-Sequel got DLC characters. Also, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands got a DLC class which was almost universally accepted.
It would be excellent if BL4 could bring a more varied choice of classes and characters.
- Smoother Co-Op Experience
While the game is cross-platform, many players suffer through stuttering and laggy co-op games, especially when playing on consoles. Since one of the biggest draws is playing with friends, you can see that this is a problem.
Many players will be happy if they can fix this problem in Borderlands 4. Accessibility is a big thing, casting a wider net of players. More players mean more profits, so the devs should focus on this in the next game.
- Loadouts and Instant Switching of Equipment
Any Borderlands player knows the pain of keeping several guns for different circumstances and often pausing to switch to a better weapon. If there were a loadout mechanic, it would make switching weapons and shields around more convenient.
Otherwise, fixing an anointment into a trinket or somewhere it can be saved could also help. This lets the player keep a power-up they know they can use to try out a different one. If it doesn’t work, they have a fallback. The alternative is to gamble, resulting in what could be disastrous results. After all, you’re potentially sacrificing something beneficial to lose it to something worse.
This lets the player salvage their build, as they could win big and get a better anointment. However, with limited resources, it could be long before they can get something usable.
Handsome Jack is one of the best villains. He was charismatic, driven, and absolutely ruthless, but that’s also why players love him so much. Gearbox didn’t make a mistake in making him. They made the mistake of trying to make another him.
The twins were lackluster when compared to Jack. The former were kids throwing a tantrum, while Jack genuinely(?) had good intentions (albeit eventually twisted) for Pandora. Utopias and the worst atrocities often stem from beneficial goals taken to the extreme, which is true for the CEO but not the twins.
Tyreen and Troy had the potential to become good villains, except they weren’t written with a sympathetic tone. They were unrepentant in everything they did, focused on their selfishness, and had no redeeming qualities. Their cult was for their own amusement, and they did nothing for their followers, as their fabled paradise was nothing but a lie.
Jack, at the very least, loved Angel, his daughter. In some subconscious part of his mind, imprisoning her and using her powers to take over Pandora was his way of protecting her. Her existence gives you a reason to sympathize and pity Handsome Jack but still disagree with his methods.
Anyway, Gearbox needs to think of a better villain this time. We don’t need another CEO/streamer/big-personality type. They don’t need to make another Jack because the new villain will never live up to him. They’re better off making up a brand-new one. Also, they should keep the irreverent slapstick humor of the games, as it isn’t Borderlands without it.
With 3 games and several spinoffs, there’s a massive cast of characters to pick for a cameo. The Vault Hunters (sans a few that died along the way), Rhys and Fiona, and Marcus and the other shopkeepers (RIP Scooter) are just some of the characters players would like to see. They can pick from three games’ worth of NPCs befriended (and antagonized).
Of course, this doesn’t mean that all of them should appear in the game. Players want to see how some characters are doing. What happened to Athena and Janey? Are Wainwright Jakobs and Sir Hammerlock enjoying their married life? Where are Fiona and Sasha now? Although a new game will introduce new characters, players will welcome seeing old ones in the new game.
Games like Borderlands
It is time for a new Borderlands game, but if the developers haven’t said anything about it, all we can do is wait. Good thing there are some things you can do to stave off the boredom of waiting.
Did you know there’s an (as of the time of writing) upcoming movie based on the game? It stars Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Bobby Lee, and Jamie Lee Curtis. The movie’s plot is new to the franchise and not entirely canon. Lilith, played by Blanchett, comes back to Pandora to find the daughter of Atlas. She will be accompanied by:
- Roland, played by Kevin Hart
- Tiny Tina, played by Ariana Greenblatt
- Krieg (who in this iteration is Tina’s bodyguard), played by Florian Munteanu
- Dr. Patricia Tannis, played by Jamie Lee Curtis
- Claptrap, voiced by Jack Black
Other familiar characters that will appear are Moxxi, Ellie, and Scooter. Although a clip was shown at CinemaCon, it is the only piece of marketing found. This also puts its release up in the air with no official announcement.
If you haven’t tried the other games yet, that’s another thing you can do. The first game might take some getting used to, but it’s still good to play while waiting. You’ll also get more context and background info for the characters. Lastly, you get to see the story unfold over the games. Tales from the Borderlands and its sequel are a completely different genre, but it’s still part of the canon.
There are 7 games in the franchise to enjoy while you wait. Others may have played through them, but you can always learn something new on a replay.
Borderlands is One of the Pillars of the Looter-Shooter Genre
The looter-shooter genre of games is sparse. Other than Warframe and Destiny 2, there aren’t many other games in the same category. Anthem was a flop, and Remnant: From the Ashes only had average reviews. Risk of Rain 2 and The Division are good games, but the latter has been described as formulaic. Lastly, Outriders was supposed to be another good game but only got average reviews from critics.
The Borderlands franchise is one of the three pillars holding up the genre. If it falls, the genre will be on shaky foundations, and it could become a niche category for those who lived through its glory days. However, this is a double-edged sword as people could praise it because there isn’t any game to compare it to.