6 years later, we can all admit that Borderlands 3 wasn't a bad game. In fact, I poured dozens of hours into the game, but I can't pretend that it didn't have its rough edges, or that I didn't have my problems with it. The humor leaned too hard into slapstick, the game itself gave off 'tryhard' vibes, but remove all of that, and the absolute fun element was still intact in the game.

Borderlands 4 is well and truly here now, and sure, there are definitely some major performance issues that the game is running into, and a lot of bad marketing with Randy Pitchford saying a lot of things that have left a bad taste in gamers' mouths. However, if we were to look past that for a minute, then Borderlands 4 does reveal itself to be a brilliant sequel that is proof that the studio listening to the fans, and actually fixed a lot of problems we had from the last mainline Borderlands game.

Borderlands 4 offers a much more grounded experience

The tone in Borderlands 3 was all over the place

One of the biggest criticisms of Borderlands 3 was its tone, and this was one criticism that was rightly deserved. The game felt like a circus where every character was competing to shout the loudest punchline over each other. Think Marvel movies after their Joss Whedon-ization, but ten times worse. And for that, the story suffered, and so did the villains, who ended up feeling hollow caricatures rather than threats. It was pretty clear that the void Handsome Jack left was being filled, but rather unsuccessfully.

Thankfully, Borderlands 4 seems to learn its lesson, and in my twenty-odd hours with the game so far, the game definitely wears its more grounded tone on its sleeve. Are there some nicely-written and well-placed jokes here and there? Yes, but they aren't overdone, and they never take away from the overall gritty tone of the game. Well, it's about as gritty as a game can be while shooting awfully strange creatures with equally strange weapons.

The grimmer world of Kairos was definitely the right call for the game, and the characters manage to strike a balance between irreverence and seriousness.

A new world and new faces were terribly necessary

Pandora and its characters were getting stale by Borderlands 3

By the time Borderlands 3 rolled out in 2019, even the most devoted of us Vault Hunters were definitely feeling the fatigue of Pandora. The planet had become a running gag at that point, and the series really was relying on familiar faces, which meant that the third game really struggled to surprise players. So, moving to a new world of Kairos, with an all-new team of Vault Hunters was absolutely the right call. This is a new world dripping with volcanic ash, dangerous new creatures, and a completely different vibe.

This new cast is genuinely so much nicer for the palette, and their dynamics, too, are immensely fun to witness. Instead of leaning on the same old characters we've known for over a decade now, Borderlands 4 finally decided to give us new faces in a fresh new world, and that sort of novelty is exactly what works in the game's favor. It isn't one, but it still feels like a reboot of the series' identity, without ever losing sight of what makes it the unique looter-shooter that it has always been.

A more meaningful and rewarding loot system

The biggest quality-of-life upgrade to the looting system

A problem I discovered I had with Borderlands 3 upon a revisit early last year was how its looting system felt bloated. There were too many drops blurred together, and finding that 'perfect gun' became more about inventory management instead of excitement and love for the game. Thankfully, BL4 has retooled this system with its new licensed parts system. Now, weapons can feature traits from multiple manufacturers, allowing players to expand their creativity.

All of this goes towards making loot feel genuinely unique this time around, and sweetening the entire deal are better drop rates and dedicated drops for bosses. My favorite part about the retooled loot system, however, has to be the endgame. The endgame now is actually designed around long-term farming, so not only do I feel like the loot system respects my time, but also my obsession with the grind. This is the kind of major quality-of-life overhaul that makes Borderlands 4 such an incredible sequel, and honestly, I couldn't possibly see myself ever picking up Borderlands 3 ever again after this, now that BL4 exists.

The open-world format was really needed

Traversal in an open-world map changes how we interact with the Borderlands universe

Another huge frustration with Borderlands 3 that I know many players had been how fragmented the world felt in that game. You'd clear out a zone, hit a loading screen, then get dropped into another sectioned-off area that broke the pacing. It wasn't terrible, but it never felt like a living, breathing world you were exploring. Instead, BL3 felt more like a collection of levels strung together. Borderlands 4, however, ditches that structure for a proper open-world format, and that makes all the difference.

Kairos is designed as a seamless, interconnected space, and its huge biomes are a treat for the eyes with their vibrance and different aesthetics. However, at the same time, they bleed into each other perfectly naturally, and thus, progression flows without artificial breaks. Pair that with the improved traversal tools and boy do we have a banger on our hands. The grappling hook helps vertical exploration, the vehicles appear wherever you are and are incredibly versatile, and just the act of moving around in this world feels so rewarding in the moment-to-moment gameplay. This lets you experience the terrain while using your tools creatively and on the fly, while carving your own path through the hostile territory of Kairos. Borderlands 4 has genuinely redefined how you engage with the Borderlands universe through its traversal alone.

Borderlands 3 was great, but lacking

Borderlands 3 gave us guns, laughs, and chaos, but it also showed symptoms of a clearly-aging formula that was begging for reinvention. Thankfully, Borderlands 4 is that reinvention. Gearbox has finally shaken things up in a lot of right ways, and while the third game had me feeling like the series might just be losing its spark, Borderlands 4 is the game that puts this franchise right back on top of the looter-shooter genre, claiming a crown to the throne it created in the first place.